During the worst days of the coronavirus, people were avoiding crowds, which meant they weren’t traveling. As a consequence, ridership on Amtrak’s long-distance trains dropped to around 15% of capacity,...

The Amtrak leadership is continuing its cost-cutting, despite negative response from Rail Passengers Association and almost universal opposition from numerous sources, including individual travelers. The new directive says that, effective...

“Two hundred billion over ten years for our deteriorating infrastructure.”  Remember that? It was the big promise back during the 2016 campaign. And passenger rail was going to get a...

I have no idea what the total rainfall has been this winter here in Maui, but it’s been a lot. In fact, we’ve had more days of heavy rain than...

I’ve just made the last couple of reservations for my trip to Washington, DC, at the end of this month for the annual Spring meeting of the Rail Passengers Association....

The federal budget for the Fiscal Year 2019 has been prepared and is ready to go to Congress for final approval. Washington insiders seem to agree that, barring something crazy...

I had an interesting conversation the other day with someone who has been around the intelligentsia, the rich, and the powerful throughout his professional career. Furthermore, he’s familiar with and...

Yesterday, we heard from Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline, who spoke about some of the challenges the railroad has faced during this start-up period. One has to do with grade...

If Amtrak’s top management really was plotting to dismantle the long-distance network, it would seem those plans have been put on hold. In a recent appearance before the House Transportation...

I’ll be attending the annual Fall meeting of the Rail Passengers Association next month. It will be held in Miami and to get there from the West Coast by train...