RAIL Magazine

At the same time, the bulk of the Capitol extension was planned to run in the I-10 alignment, which would have limited ridership potential.

The problem with ending the Capitol extension (red ❌ below) for the Indian School Road corridor (yellow highlight) is it’s an east-west orientation route being stapled onto the north-south running B Line, rather than the more natural western extension of the A Line.

Phoenix council votes against Capitol light rail extension, shifts focus west The focus is now on plans for Valley Metro to extend the light rail along Indian School Road in west Phoenix.

"The focus is now on plans for Valley Metro to extend the light rail along Indian School Road in west Phoenix.

The City and Valley Metro say community engagement will be next, making sure to hear from residents and business owners along the corridor."

Dech named new president of NICTD, operator of South Shore commuter line - Trains CHESTERTON, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has named David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, as its next president. Dech wi...

[I don't blame Dave Dech for moving on from Tri-Rail, with major operating funding uncertainty ahead. He was doing great work there & will do the same at the SSL]
Dech named new president of NICTD, operator of South Shore commuter line | TrainsMagazine - www.trains.com/pro/passenge...

I said on the right side of the ROW, not sidings.
The mainline is used by freight and it’s busy. The frequency needed for local service in the heart of the city would be incomparable with CSX traffic and the Canadian carriers.

Sorry to disagree, but put rails back in where they were and resume local rail transit at a fraction of the cost of a new corridor.

This is a view of the Belt Line corridor in Buffalo, N.Y., former New York Central. Now owned by CSX with trackage rights for CN & CPKC, along with rare Amtrak diversions. Key to notice is the full grade separation + right side of the ROW, which once included 2 additional tracks

Looking west towards Levelland at Smyer, TX

Looking east towards Lubbock at Smyer, TX

And finally, this is the agri industry in Smyer, TX. First photo looks west towards Levelland and 2nd east toward Lubbock

Eventually it was acquired by the ATSF. It was abandoned west of Whiteface in 1984. The WT&L operates 107 miles of former ATSF trackage.
This is the scene in Levelland. I believe the first photo was where any station/depot was located.

Looking west towards Bledsoe & NM in Whiteface

Looking east towards Levelland & Lubbock at Whiteface

On the western side of Whiteface, TX is the end of extant track of the West Texas & Lubbock RR. Historically, it was built as the South Plains and Santa Fe Railway in 1925 from Lubbock and reached as far as Bledsoe, near the New Mexico state line. (Cont.) See photo alts for info.

Delegate from Virginia Beach seeks study of extending light rail to the Oceanfront Voters rejected extending light rail into Virginia Beach nearly a decade ago, but a lawmaker from the city wants to explore The Tide’s future here.

www.whro.org/local-govern...

One year ago today, I went over to Control Point Baton Rouge on the CPKC (former KCS) mainline after about 7 inches of now. Contrast that to how it looks on a pleasant spring day…
It doesn’t look like we’ll see any measurable snowfall here in the next few days but ice is likely.

Here’s the southeastern edge of the winter storm, somewhere over northeastern Louisiana.
Stay safe & warm, folks.
Ice is worse than snow.❄️

Also, don’t forgot about the possibility of the Northstar equipment…
(If Amtrak officially purchases it, vs leasing it, they should swap out the seating for longer-distance seats and add a café space, even if losing some seats)

This is probably the most relevant. This is all from a presentation to Pewaukee about their station, so it was not a top level focus on the whole corridor.

Mardi Gras is doing very well with just 2 RTSs, a slower average speed and a worse population corridor.
Is there any guarantee waiting longer would produce a political scenario where additional funding is available for more trips & higher speeds?

It’s tough without owning the railroad…

No idea so far. My assumption is they’re extensions of current trips. Sounds like there need to be clarity needed as this moves forward…

Madison narrows down possible Amtrak station sites MADISON, Wis. -- The City of Madison released its final Passenger Rail Station Study earlier this week, naming two potential sites that meet Amtrak’s requirements and the city’s long-term transportati...

So far, this is the first I’ve seen related to the airport in Madison. All 3 possible sites I’ve seen proposed are essentially in the city proper.
www.channel3000.com/news/madison...

According to MidwesternPRA on the other platform, Amtrak is working to extend two daily Hiawatha trains from Milwaukee to Madison by 2029.

See their full thread here: x.com/midwesternpr...

Not this time, unfortunately. I’m doing a project with the S Plains COG and San Angelo is in the Concho Valley region.
I’m actually heading to the Lower Rio Grande Valley after this…

Two Docs Brewing features the Buddy Holly mural from my quoted post, and are located at the north end of downtown on the BNSF Slaton Sub. Notice the orange & green units above left of their delicious an well-poured Helles in the 4th photo…

The Santa Fe bypassed the heart of downtown Lubbock in the late 50s, with some extant rails (north: 1sr 2 photos; south: 2nd 2 photos) still recalling the legacy to the Depot downtown (the first building in Lubbock to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Ooh, wee, ooh, i look just like I’m in Lubbock, home of Buddy Holly.
The city’s former Santa Fe depot is now the Buddy Holly Museum. Rails are long gone from downtown but just northwest is the jct of BNSF’s Slaton & Plainview Substation, which I’ve annotated in the 4th photo🛤️👓

Alright, music & rail fans: what city am I in now?

There is a deep seated cesspool among local officials who will derail (pun intended) a project because their district/constituency do not directly & concurrently benefit. This is an element holding up moving forward with a passenger rail station in Baton Rouge.

Was up in Monroe (LA) yesterday for some work meetings and stopped at this crossing of the CPKC/NS Meridian Speedway just east of downtown, near the diamond crossing of UP’s Monroe Sub. Some CPKC power (still in KCS livery) can be spotted in the 1st photo past the signal mast & tower.🛤️🚦

It’s frustrating. It was a process intended to stop roughshod highway projects and has been twisted in a pretzel to make transit projects vastly more difficult to achieve while state DOTs get to rubber stamp their own highway environmentals.

…are you displacing a key population of people? Or are you disrupting a cemetery, in addition to the concerns about the spotted salmon or watersheds. Things like flood & rainwater mitigation and impact on our travel models are considered. So, not just air quality or protected woodlands.