Amtrak

Dirty looks, shushing, even brawls; the lengths that "vigilantes" take to policing the rules of railroad quiet-cars can be extreme. William Power and Brian Hershberg look at how different transit systems, and their passengers, enforce quiet rides.

March 1, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

A new report from the Brookings Institution delves into the ridership and financial winners (and losers) for America's largest intercity rail operator. Last year, Amtrak made money on its 26 routes shorter than 400 miles.

March 1, 2013 - The Washington Post

States with Amtrak routes less than 750 miles (excludes lines within Northeast Corridor) will need to subsidize the budget shortfalls - the difference between fares and operating costs, or lose the route. States may cut some lines to prop-up others.

January 30, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

By announcing this week that it will scrap plans to upgrade Acela trains incrementally, and instead replace them all with new equipment, the passenger rail carrier is signaling that it is speeding up the timeline for higher-speed rail service.

December 14, 2012 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Stephen Smith sheds light on the problems of leadership holding back Obama's dream of high-speed rail.

November 21, 2012 - Bloomberg

Compared to Europe's high-speed rail, paved roads, and underground power lines, America lags behind with its unreliable trains, potholes, and overhead power lines. Uwe E. Reinhardt questions why Americans put up with the decaying infrastructure.

November 20, 2012 - The New York Times

The speedometer on the Chicago to St. Louis train hit 110 mph - and stayed there for five minutes, but it was enough to elevate the spirits of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the other dignitaries on-board. Normal speeds top out at 79 mph.

October 22, 2012 - The Huffington Post

Once a national hub of passenger rail service, St. Louis's majestic Union Station hasn't seen a train in five years. The impending sale of the station may provide the opportunity to bring a historic use back to one of the country's grand relics.

October 11, 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The subject of recent politically charged threats, the rail carrier surpassed its record for annual passengers for the ninth time in ten years. Ridership has grown a total of 49 percent since 2000.

October 10, 2012 - Transportation Nation

Amtrak announced this week that they will train 8,000 employees across the nation on how to identify and report potential victims of human trafficking.

October 9, 2012 - USA Today

While the decades long effort to augment and improve New York's atrocious Penn Station have stalled, D.C. is moving ahead with plans to expand Union Station and redevelop the land above its tracks. Fred A. Bernstein looks at the two projects.

September 18, 2012 - Architectural Record

If Romney/Ryan win in November, we may know what to expect in terms of national transportation spending if they were to follow the Republican platform adopted on Aug. 28. In terms of increasing transportation revenue, it may not differ from Obama's.

September 1, 2012 - The Hill's Transportation Blog

Sacramento's downtown train station recently relocated its tracks to accommodate new transit oriented development - but the long, winding walk from depot to platform has presented problems for passengers, including a fatal heart attack on day one.

August 21, 2012 - The Sacramento Bee - Transportation

Amtrak is considering where to build stations in Philadelphia for high-speed rail. One of the options is a new station in Market East, an underdeveloped part of downtown. Leadership sees the project as a potential catalyst for new building.

August 19, 2012 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Long lines at airport security and weather delays have contributed to Amtrak's commanding travel mode share between D.C. and NYC, and majority share between NYC and Boston, but the lead is threatened by the competition and aging infrastructure.

August 17, 2012 - The New York Times - Business Day

With a flurry of ambitious, and big ticket, proposals unveiled over the past three weeks, chronically under-budgeted Amtrak is shifting its strategy in the hopes of proving its potential worth.

August 4, 2012 - Bloomberg

You read that right...$7 billion. In a plan to be unveiled today, Amtrak is proposing to transform the second-busiest Amtrak station in the country into a hub for high-speed rail and redevelopment, report Jonathan O'Connell and Ashley Halsey III.

July 25, 2012 - The Washington Post

With the CA state Senate's appropriation of $8 billion toward their $68 billion high speed rail plan, the spotlight turns to the other coast - the Northeast Corridor, with Amtrak's unveiling its updated, $151 billion plan. Both run 220 mph trains.

July 15, 2012 - Reuters via Chicago Tribune

Milton Lindsay examines America's efforts to build a national system of high-speed trains and finds mixed results in the nation's eleven intended corridors.

July 13, 2012 - Next American City

Burgess Everett and Adam Snider look at the growing debate over where to allocate limited high-speed rail funds: on the East Coast, where rail already has a foothold, or out West, where California has the land and starter funds to make it happen.

May 15, 2012 - Politico