Al Engel, Amtrak VP of high-speed rail, answered questions about high-speed rail submitted on Facebook and Twitter. His videotaped responses can be viewed on the Amtrak YouTube channel.
Read More →Pursuit of private financing is one of several actions taken by the agency to expedite its next-generation high-speed rail vision plan since it was announced in September 2010. The business plan will identify and develop public and private funding sources and address fundamental issues of risk, credit, debt and investment phasing among other criteria.
Read More →Agency has increased security since documents seized from Osama Bin Laden's compound revealed al-Qaida planned to derail trains in the U.S.
Read More →The 8th World Congress on High-Speed Rail will take place in Philadelphia from July 11 to 13, 2012. The event will bring together both the public and private sectors to provide insight and best practices for implementing high-speed rail projects at every stage – from planning, financing and construction to operations and management.
Read More →Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer proposed "no-ride" lists for U.S. domestic trains, similar to the no-fly lists used in aviation, following intelligence discovered at Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan.
Read More →Selected 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects. Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications.
Read More →The funds enable Caltrans to add new bi-level equipment, including 27 new railcars to accommodate a significant increase in ridership on the San Joaquin and Pacific Surfliner rail corridors.
Read More →Study found that private sector commercial bus operators received $0.10 per passenger trip, while Amtrak received $57.04 per passenger trip; private sector commercial air received $6.35 per passenger trip; and publicly funded mass transit received $0.95 per passenger trip.
Read More →Soliciting through a "neighborhood watch style program" the efforts of people who are already watching the trains to keep an eye on suspicious activity on trains and around stations and tracks.
Read More →Comparing the first six months of FY 2011 (October to March) to the same time period in FY 2010 shows ridership is up 5.9 percent, or 802,745 passengers. In addition, during that same period ridership has increased on all three of Amtrak's major business lines: Northeast Corridor up 3.9 percent, state-supported and other short distance corridors up 7.7 percent, and long-distance trains up 5.3 percent.
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