Passenger Rail

All Aboard Florida's Brightline is more than a privately funded passenger rail service. The ability to develop dynamic mobility-centric urban centers of Transit Oriented Development was a significant factor in the decision to launch the service.

October 27, 2017 - Modern Cities

A new passenger rail line between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is just one of the links being proposed along the Gulf Coast.

November 7, 2015 - The Advocate (Louisiana)

Long stretches of Connecticut's "lifeblood" shoreline rail line lie in the path of rising seas and future floods. While moving the tracks further inland is prohibitively expensive, a resilience plan is still needed.

August 7, 2015 - The Connecticut Mirror

In a segment for WNYC, journalist Simon van Zuylen-Wood discusses Amtrak's current status as a "national embarrassment." Decades of lackluster investment, he argues, make it difficult to prove demand in the first place.

May 5, 2015 - WNYC

Deepa Sanyal writes the second installment of a series devoted to the idea of "Rail Redux"—this time examining the question of what components are necessary to drive a "true rail resurgence."

August 21, 2014 - PlannersWeb

The last private passenger rail in the United States closed in 1983, but a private company is working on a 240-mile service between Orlando and Florida. CityLab recently detailed how a relic of the past could transform the Florida of the future.

June 17, 2014 - CityLab

Ever dream of traveling from Rockland, Maine to Charlotte, North Carolina without using a car? With the Northeast Rail Map you can plan your journey via the East Coast's long-distance, regional, metropolitan, and heritage rail lines.

November 5, 2013 - Greater Greater Washington

Ever travel to a foreign country and gaze longingly at their sleek modern rail stock? Pardon my wandering eye, but passenger trains in the U.S. are undeniably ugly. New rules being developed by the FRA could ease the import of foreign beauties.

November 1, 2013 - Next City

Unless these states come to an agreement with Amtrak by Oct. 16 to help subsidize regional rail service, required by the Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act of 2008, Amtrak will cease operating them. Agreements were reached with 16 states.

October 8, 2013 - Governing

In 19 states across America, "small-town mayors, state budget hawks and fans of passenger rail" are debating whether to subsidize passenger rail service or see it disappear thanks to a 2008 Congressional mandate. States have until Oct. 1 to pony up.

September 13, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

The latter half of the twentieth century saw the slow decline of train travel and the deterioration of America's grand railroad stations. Amid growing rail readership, the country is embarking on a new era of station construction.

July 24, 2013 - Urban Land

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

What the U.S. does with twenty-five workers, Spain does with nine; 'work rules' are part of the problem when it comes to the lack of productivity and high costs of America's regional rail systems.

August 31, 2012 - Bloomberg

For those following the intense debate over intercity passenger rail in the US, the following recent news items might have a few planners scratching their heads:

August 27, 2012 - Samuel Staley

This week it was announced that a private company will pick up the passenger rail ball dropped last year by Gov. Rick Scott by financing a $1 billion project to connect downtown Miami to Orlando by 2014.

August 12, 2012 - Miami Herald

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

Jeff McMahon explores the potential of passenger rail in coming years as automobiles and airplanes "become a little more obsolete."

March 21, 2012 - Forbes

Passenger rail used to connect Columbus, Georgia with Atlanta, but the tracks have been silent since 1970. Today, local leaders and activists are pushing for a restoration of train service to Atlanta from Macon, Athens and Columbus.

November 14, 2011 - The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer