Hundreds of North Carolinians switch to train over the car
Posted by admin / Under Amtrak
RALEIGH — If you want to beat the holiday traffic, lose the keys for a train ticket. The ridership for the North Carolina Amtrak station in Raleigh has gone up this Labor Day weekend. The new Piedmont mid-train service between Charlotte and Raleigh began on June 5. From June 2009 to June 2010 ridership has gone up 200-percent. “It's a great way to beat the traffic, you can read, you can work on the computer and you can spend time with the kids,” said Melina Cope. Dozens of passengers are ditching the roads for the ride. In fact, just last...
Published on Monday 6th of September 2010 11:15:12 AM
Kansas Amtrak expansion narrowed to two routes
Posted by admin / Under Amtrak
TOPEKA, Kan. - Transportation planners have narrowed their proposals for expanded Amtrak passenger rail service across Kansas to two possible routes, the Kansas Department of Transportation said Thursday.Depending on which route is chosen, if either of them is, transportation department officials estimate the service will require either $154 million for infrastructure and equipment costs, plus a potential $3.2 million annual operating subsidy paid by Kansas taxpayers, or $476 million for infrastructure and equipment, plus $8 million annually in state support.However, those cost estimates are extremely tentative. Officials are working on more detailed business plans for both routes during the next...
Published on Monday 6th of September 2010 11:15:12 AM
Chance to ride the rails is a dream come true
Posted by admin / Under Amtrak
Trains are as American as apple pie and baseball, which, let's face it, have struggled in popularity since the advent of Breyer's ice cream and ACC basketball. Think Petticoat Junction. Think that old lonesome whistle. Think John Henry, steel-driving man. And don't forget "If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone," and Boxcar Willie, hoboes, Saturday morning "Soul Train," "Throw Mama from the Train," "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles," "I been working on the railroad" and, of course, Johnny Cash's "I hear that train a' coming." When I was a little starry-eyed girl, my friend...
Published on Monday 6th of September 2010 11:15:12 AM
First rail car specs approved for High-Speed Rail Initiative
Posted by admin / Under Amtrak
“This clears the tracks and provides strong direction so Amtrak and states can move forward with modern bi-level equipment designed with updated passenger comfort, conveniences, and safety features to meet the ever-increasing demand for more rail service.” — Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman. Washington, DC: The first specifications for bi-level coach, dining, baggage, and business class rail cars to be constructed under the government’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program have been approved. At its Executive Board meeting today in Washington, DC, the Next Generation Equipment Committee gave the green light to specifications for a bi-level passenger rail...
Published on Monday 6th of September 2010 11:15:12 AM
Amtrak tries early train from Niles (MI) to Chicago
Posted by admin / Under Amtrak
Weekend test run from Niles could become permanent.NILES — Need to be in Chicago early — say, 7:30 a.m. — and don't want to drive? At least this weekend, Amtrak is making it possible for people who live in southwestern Michigan. Rick Harnish, of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, announced Tuesday that Amtrak, over Labor Day weekend, will add, on a test run basis, a fifth train on its Chicago-Detroit corridor that will provide service between Chicago and Kalamazoo. Among the stops will be Niles and the beachfront station in New Buffalo. According to Harnish, if enough riders respond...
Published on Monday 6th of September 2010 11:15:12 AM
"Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers."
This Day In History
William McKinley: US president was shot by an anarchist; he died eight days later (1901)
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