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Aside from the electoral college point you mentioned, which we can’t really tackle here: And for what it’s worth a reasonable approach to Amtrak regardless of who wins would be to try to make Amtrak as self sustaining as possible by turning it into more of a real estate company than just a transport...

John_Perkowski wrote: ↑Sat Nov 07, 2020 11:38 pm What’s in it for Amtrak?

OK, if you're going to consider Veola/Herzog or any of the other "private" operators who are running state-supported commuter services, why wouldn't MNRR, Metra or SEPTA be in the running to operate a corridor train with the appropriate equipment? Contracting Metra to operate the Hiawatha...

Mr. O'Keefe, assuming Sec. Chou is willing to serve in the Biden administration, it certainly raises the spector of a Joe-Mitch "deal on something". There's nothing illegal about such; it's been part of politics since the Roman Empire. Would any such deal be transportation related, especi...

I am still mulling over who the likely rail appointees would be. Dannel Malloy, former Governor of Connecticut and currently Chancellor of the University of Maine System comes to mind. I was wondering if there might be any obvious choices from New Jersey given the likely tunnel project and Amtrak w...

I find that unlikely, Mr. O’Keefe, and think it’s more likely she will be speaking with DOJ investigators rather than DOT subordinates next year. I don’t expect a huge change in direction at USDOT though - it has had the fewest apparent differences between administrations to my eyes. There have been...

Moderator Note: keep it civil and conspiracy-free, folks.

Show me the savings and the service improvements. Hard numbers, please, and without just gouging employees or customers.

Here we go: There was a proposal for a streamlined locomotive back in the late 70's or early 80's to be called at AMT125. This proposal was for a locomotive that looked very much like the BR class 43 in the front tapering to the profile of an Amfleet car at the rear. Two of these locomotives, one at...

Oh that’s the AMT125 proposal from the 1970s, not the 80s. It was supposed to be something like a GP39-2H (with a 12-645T rated around 2300 hp) wrapped in a tight North River Tunnel-size shell. EMD intended it to be the American answer to the British Rail InterCity 125 or the MLW/Bombardier LRC, wit...

Another good corridor for Brightline to consider is the 3C corridor in Ohio. You will never get a dime out of Ohio for passenger rail service, so Brightline is our best hope for getting rail service started in that highly populated corridor. It fits their criteria of "too long to drive, too sh...

Simplest solution would just be to have the state or Feds buy the remaining unsold bonds. Worst case, the government gets a railroad they probably would have needed to build anyway; best case, the American taxpayer gets a few hundredths of a penny back.

Huh. I'd think that keeping a parking garage would indicate that they wanted people to use their cars only for the last mile. If as you suggest cars are preferred, why have the garage at all if the push is to have people skip the train? I don’t think anyone wants everyone to skip every train. Yes, ...

Big plans afoot to rebuild Washington Union Station but it seems the Feds want to rebuild that fugly parking structure and the City says it is a waste: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/dc-at-odds-with-federal-government-over-multibillion-dollar-redevelopment-of-union-station...

Where's the need for HSR in a post-COVID business environment? Yes, this is true. Business travel will stay depressed from its heights. But also, American HSR has a future for leisure and personal travel (see Brightline east and west, neither is predicated fully on business travel and both will rec...