John Tierney, a "train buff", rides on Amtrak's Sunset Limited.
" For most Americans, trains are either unavailable or too inconvenient and expensive compared with planes or buses...What environmental or economic sense does it make to give 170 passengers on the Sunset Limited priority over a freight train that's keeping 500 trucks off the road? ...Some optimists believe that short-distance trains in...densely populated corridors...could cover their operating expenses and possibly generate a profit if they were run by a private company freed of political constraints...Not even optimists, though, expect Amtrak's long-distance network to become profitable. Long-distance trains have been losing passengers to planes throughout the world, including Europe."
Thanks to [email protected]
FULL STORY: Amtrak Must Die

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
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Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
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Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
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Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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