Passengers aboard Amtrak’s Adirondack service can experience the splendor of Upstate New York’s fall foliage season in unique fashion when the historic “Great Dome” car returns for a six-week run Sept. 24 through Nov. 3, 2015.
PART I: Defining and Expanding High Speed. Considering the future of the NEC helps answer the question: What are the factors governing the expansion of high-speed rail on other railroads?
2015 is adding up to be a year of innovation, and a few surprises, in the North American locomotive market.
Weekend travelers have another high-speed option for Northeast Corridor (NEC) service between Boston and New York, as Amtrak expands its Acela Express service between the two cities, the company announced on Sept. 4, 2015. Tickets are now available at Amtrak.com, the Amtrak mobile apps and other booking channels.
Here’s a mystery for you, but don’t anticipate—as in the board game, “Clue”—that it’s “Col. Mustard, in the library, with a candlestick.” The perp here is the U.S. Senate—the deed done under the Capitol Dome and with a pen (okay, a word processor).
Hugely popular Pope Francis is visiting the U.S. in September, and Amtrak says its Northeast Corridor services are “uniquely suited” to carry passengers to and from various locations the Pope will be visiting in New York, Philadelphia and Washington and “is taking steps to prepare for an influx of rail passengers” by providing extra trains with added capacity to meet the anticipated demand.
National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) President and CEO Jim Mathews issued a statement responding to the recent incidents that have affected intercity and commuter rail operations in the New York/New Jersey region of the Northeast Corridor. We reprint it here in its entirety, unedited:
The following are comments by Michael R. Weinman, Managing Director, PTSI Transportation, in response to the “reasoned and considered thoughts” expressed by Dr. Francis P. Mulvey in the Guest Blog published by Railway Age on June 30, 2015, “We must do something transformational about Amtrak.” Dr. Mulvey’s original words appear in italics.—William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age
Amtrak’s May 12th Philadelphia train derailment has renewed focus on funding Amtrak. With more than 200 people injured and eight fatalities, the debate has shifted from “Can we agree to do anything for Amtrak?” to “How much can we agree to do for Amtrak?”
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Roger Wicker’s (R-Miss.) “Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act,” S.1626, has been approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the senators announced on June 25, 2015. The committee unanimously passed the proposal.