TrainBlog by Marcel Marchon

Image (c) Alan Miller, TRAC. Used with permission.

Which route should the California High Speed Rail Authority choose for the future bullet train - Altamont Pass (yellow) or Pacheco Pass (blue)? The choice seems obvious, doesn’t it?

• California Rail News - August/September 2007
  “Governor and Legislature a clear message
  that they wanted gasoline sales tax
  revenues to be used for transportation,
  rather than the General Fund. They even
  amended the state constitution by passing
  Proposition 1A.”
  (tags: magazines news california rail transit highspeedrail)
• Joint Statement: Lawsuits Dismissed
  California’s two leading advocacy agencies for rail passenger service have settled issues between them and regret the filing of lawsuits, and such lawsuits will be dismissed.
  (tags: news california advocacy trac railpac)
• Valley holds key as California explores a future on rails (Recordnet.com)
  The success of high-speed rail in California … is based more on Valley ridershipthan going from Los Angeles to San Francisco. That’s one of the reasons state transportation officials … must consider the Altamont Pass as the primary corridor …
  (tags: california highspeedrail altamont pacheco)

• Amtrak Train Status History - Check On time performance and Amtrak Delays
  We hope you find this tool useful in determining when your train is likely to arrive. We suggest using the reported average delay as a guideline for when you can realistically expect your train to arrive.
  (tags: links amtrak delays performance)
• raildb.com - Amtrak Train Status - Arrivals
  Average Delays over the last month
  (tags: links amtrak delays performance)
• Railway Age Magazine
  Online edition is freely available on their website.
  (tags: links magazines)
• Canadian Pacific acquiring DM&E
  Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CP) (TSX:CP) Railway Ltd will buy Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. and its subsidiaries for $1.48 billion cash, gaining access to the coal-rich Powder River Basin in Wyoming.
  (tags: news freight cp dme powderriver stocks operators)

• International Railway Journal - Rail And Rapid Transit Industry News Worldwide
  Online edition is freely available on their website.
  (tags: links magazines)

I couldn’t agree more with Noel on this one … This is what California should have done late last year, instead of issuing these bonds - we should just raise the gax tax and there’d be plenty of money to pay for all those projects, even high speed rail possibly. I did some calculations a while ago and the numbers aren’t actually that bad. Since the current gax tax is so low, it could easily be doubled or more and people might not even notice … they’d still pay a lot less for gas than people in Europe and other places.

The increases in gasoline taxes should be used for infrastructure and not just for road construction. Higher gasoline taxes will slow down gasoline consumption and be an incentive to conserve gasoline. As a tax on consumption it gives the taxpayer a choice of how much tax they want to pay. Don’t want to pay more gas taxes, use less gas! Expanding rail passenger service and public transportation will give people more economical choices besides driving and will conserve fuel. In the long run by raising gas taxes we will stabilize gas prices and consumption which will slow down rising gas prices in the future.

[Rail Passenger Association of California & Nevada :: Editorial: Now would be a good time to raise Gas Taxes]

• From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Guide to Transportation Opportunities in Your Community
  The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership has released a guidebook that explores how federal surface transportation law can be used to support local and statewide efforts to build more livable communities and expand travel options.
  (tags: reports guidebooks policy funding planning)

• login: Loksimulatoren
  Hochmoderne Simulatoren machen es möglich: Lokführer sein für einen Nachmittag. Wir öffnen unsere Trainingszentren für Lokführer in Zürich und Olten zeitweise für Privatpersonen.
  (tags: events fun simulation)
• Images & Trains -The mag’
  I&T is a different magazine about railway photography. We propose to you another point of view, why not something new and different, but would to be resolutely modern about the railway of today.
  (tags: magazines links)

• A California budget, at what cost? (San Jose Mercury News)
  …The budget continues to shift more than $1 billion pegged for public transit to the general fund …
  (tags: budget california transit finance)

• July Amtrak California Corridor Ridership and ticket revenue results (railpac.org)
  We have received the ridership and revenue results for July 2007 from Amtrak, and, once again, the Capitol Corridor is setting records, the 10th month in a row.
  (tags: california amtrak capitolcorridor ridership)

• Trains For America - More choices for better transportation
  Reliable trains ought to be an option for intermediate length trips and under-served rural areas. Americans should enjoy the same travel options other nations take for granted.
  (tags: blogs usa)