Babe: wake up! Chuck Walsh has a new Lackawanna Cutoff Video out following the election of Mikie Sherrill as NJ Governor! Shorter version: she’s way better for the project than Jack Ciattarelli would have been… youtu.be/pUkOX36T8Uk

Good afternoon from Lake Charles, Louisiana and the Amtrak station here. The Sunset Limited calls here 3x weekly, and today is one of those days, but the westbound version is already an hour late and I don’t have that much time to hang around. This is the former SP mainline (now UP with BNSF rights)

I had several comments yesterday that the PAVE Act had strong opposition and was likely to be defeated. I was ready with comparisons to Austin & elsewhere, that it often takes several bites at the apple to pass a transit referendum. Instead this morning, Charlotte can get going!

Great news from the Charlotte region, friends!

We delight when any public leaders find intercity passenger rail & rail transit convenient to conduct their travel.

Charlotte voters will be voting on the PAVE Act today (Public Access to Valuable Equity), a one-cent sales tax that will support the construction of the Gateway Station, Red Line regional rail to Lake Norman and Silver Line LRT to CLT Airport.

Turning trains into trams | Benedict Springbett/Works in Progress – worksinprogress.co/issue/turnin...

Looking at the schedules for DART's Silver Line & Trinity Metro's TEXRail, there are close connections (usually 4-5 mins) at DFW North allowing transfers between the routes for Plano/Ft Worth trips. Silver Line: dartorgcmsblob.dart.org/prod/docs/de... TEXRail: ridetrinitymetro.org/texrail-sche...

"Illinois State Sen. Mike Halpin said he hasn't spoken with the railroad yet, but the new money will allow the project to reach the dollar amount to update Iowa Interstate Railroad's tracks. The infrastructure needs improvements to meet the criteria set for passenger lines."

The easiest take on this map is there should be true HSR on the NEC. And it’s correct. But even if our federal politics weren’t completely f’ed, the more valuable take is understanding that HSR requires massive $s + political capital in dense populations👇 & challenging terrain🏔️

The Illinois Senate last night passed significant transit & intercity passenger rail funding, with the House already having passed their version. Now on to Governor Pritzker to become law. Aside from NY’s Congestion Pricing, this is the best state response to fiscal cliff threats.

Miami-Dade’s $2.2 billion North Corridor rail plan moves ahead as residents seek safer, faster transit options | The Miami Times – www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/m... #MIA #MDT #trains #Florida #FL

Yall want some KCS (CPKC) signal shots on the New Orleans Subdivision to start your day, right? 1) Gonzales (with the KCS Holiday Train tied down on the mainline) 2) 🟢🚦: CP Baton Rouge at Lakeshore Dr 3) Bonnet Carre Spillway Causeway 4) Lobdell Station (W BR Parish)

If Amtrak Mardi Gras service is ultimately extended to Baton Rouge + ATL-FTW I-20 Corridor (via Shreveport) becomes a reality, connecting BR - Shreveport will become imperative. The CPKC mainline is the obvious candidate with very low freight traffic, but there's so many unguarded private crossings.

My Springsteen Top Guest Appearances Countdown continues with #7 is Bruce's most successful recorded collaboration in "Because The Night." Here, Patti Smith & The Boss perform the standout number at the Beacon Theatre in 2018: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zMM...

With Northstar rail on fast track to closure, one city tries to pull the brakes | masstransitmag.com/rail/news/55... #Minnesota #MN #MSP #trains #transit

Hello from New Roads, Louisiana, 761 railroad miles south of Kansas City on the now CPKC (former KCS) mainline to New Orleans. About 35 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, it’s the largest incorporated community on the RR between BR & Alexandria. On the horseshoe lake False River.

This video is a fair overview of the current reality of Amtrak and U.S. intercity passenger rail. I wouldn’t have used the some descriptions in some cases, but, overall this provides decent context of Amtrak ridership, mission, investment & performance. youtu.be/dXC_IPcDW_A

I got off track on my Springsteen Top Guest Appearances Countdown but back at it today with this Warren Zevon duo at #8. Recorded for Zevon’s final album, The Wind, in 2003, the song won a Grammy in 2004. Springsteen also later covered Zevon’s “My Ride’s Here.” m.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEl...

It’s been an exciting few weeks for rail transit in the U.S., with the following openings: •Honolulu Skyline Phase 2🚝 •KC Streetcar extension🚉 •DART Silver Line🚆 Next up: Sound Transit’s Line 1 extension to Federal Way on December 6. 🚉

I'm working on identifying the details of the operating windows of shared track sections with CPKC (Shiloh Rd-Renner Jct) and the Dallas, Garland & Northwestern (various), but the best thing they did was building this flyover of BNSF's Madill Sub in Carrollton to eliminate at-grade crossings...

I had a busy day yesterday but congrats to DART on the opening of the new, 26-mile Silver Line regional rail route, connecting Plano, Addison, Carrollton and Coppell with DFW Airport, plus the existing Red/Orange & Green lines in the process. Features Stadler DMUs. See alt texts for photo locations.

There’s no Bluesky poll option, so comment below, but should Amtrak have a fare ceiling under dynamic pricing? If so, how high should it be? Ie. One-way coach seats for this Mardi Gras trip on a Saints gameday (during the holidays) are reaching 5.6x the floor price of $15.

Train Beer Friday: Streetcar Kolsch by @AvondaleBrewing in Birmingham, AL. It's hard to tell if the brewery was on the city's historic streetcar network, but it's real close to the shortline AL & TN River Rwy. and Norfolk Southern's AGS South District, host to Amtrak's Crescent🍻

Continuing my pre-Springsteen biopic Top 10 Countdown of appearances of The Boss performing with other artists. #9 is what Bruce dubbed “the Bridge & Tunnel Summit” at MSG, with Billy Joel joining Springsteen & the E Street Band for “New York State of Mind” youtu.be/DZq5hy2RsvM

Happy @kcstreetcar.org Expansion Friday to all who celebrate! Stretching nearly 6 miles from the Riverfront to UMKC, the service has outperformed nearly every other modern streetcar operation in the U.S. on its initial route.🎉🚊

Not rail-related but with the Springsteen biopic coming out, I’m going a Top 10 Countdown of appearances of The Boss performing with other artists. Starting at with #10 a group Bruce has played with numerous times, U2 (or Bono). This is from 2009 at MSG: m.youtube.com/watch?v=Va3R...

No single piece of HSR infrastructure is higher on my wish list than an Allegheny Base Tunnel, from the Pittsburgh metro area to either Johnston or Somerset. Could host trains connecting a dozen or more states, truly worthy of massive federal investment. 🚄Am I wrong?🚇

This shot by Siemens Mobility of the Cascades Airo finishing testing at the FRA facility in Pueblo is just gorgeous. The trainset will now be heading to the Northeast Corridor for high(er) speed testing before heading to its permanent home on @amtrakcascades.wsdot.wa.gov

This is interesting, to me, moreso for the prospects of - once again - restoring excursion or seasonal service to Rockport that connects with Amtrak’s Downeaster in Brunswick on the state-owned corridor, rather than the equipment acquisition…

Direct service between Grand Central Terminal and Albany-Rensselaer will be a nice RETVRN. And seems like a bit of creativity in response to Amtrak Empire Service reductions with the East Tunnel work. Still would like to see some attention to service W of Schenectady... gothamist.com/news/metro-n...

The funding provides “local match for federal funding in the second step of developing the route under the FRA’s Corridor ID program…addressing such details as forecast demand for the service, train frequency, station locations, potential revenue, and an environmental report.”

Not all grade crossing incidents turn into full-on wrecks for Amtrak. Last night, train #26 - eastbound Mardi Gras service en route to Mobile - was able to stop before a crossing in Biloxi where a semi bottomed out. Photo by Michael Suarez on Friends of Amtrak - Mobile on FB. Great job by engineer!

Back in February, I was aboard the Sunset Limited from Tucson to Lafayette and recorded this video over Union Pacific's Houston Subdivision from West Jct. to downtown Houston. It's only taken me 8 months to post the full video... youtube.com/watch?v=5gTx...

Happy Honolulu Skyline Segment 2 Opening Day to you & yours! Follow @hnltransitfan.bsky.social (or especially on the other platform) for the best coverage! A couple scenes from my July visit, with a train testing near the Airport, and the then-end of revenue service trackage Aloha Stadium station.

Currently, Dubuque has no passenger rail service, but the Illinois Department of Transportation is developing a passenger rail line connecting Chicago to Rockford, Illinois, expected to begin service in 2027. Dubuque is less than 100 miles from Rockford.

Listing of annual state funding & per-rider cost for Amtrak state-supported routes. Data generally from amtrak.com/state-fact-s.... Unless I'm wrong (please say so if I am!), the NNEPRA has an absolute bargain going with the Downeaster. View alt text to copy/paste. A few notes 👇🛤️

Looking up the annual operating investment for the various state-supported routes. And, folks, one route is substantially lower in both total annual funding amount needed (due to high passenger revenue) and per-passenger subsidies. Anyone down with which one it is? Story at 11…

Addtl thoughts: 1) Imagine ridership when its actually, you know, Mardi Gras... 2) Each train is carrying about 25% passengers than a standard configuration CRJ 900 3) This isn't even a very high population corridor with meh trip time. Imagine how good other corridors could do🤔

Transit measures are on the November ballot in these local elections in Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina & Washington | Smart Cities Dive – www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/local-t...

Calculations by the Louisiana Assoc. of Railroad Passengers for @amtrak.com Mardi Gras Service: "The trains so far have averaged 105 riders per train, so 420 per day times 365 would be 153,300 for the year. That's more than double the first year estimate of 70,000." www.wxxv25.com/ridership-es...

Gilman (Vermont) grapples with its identity as rail is poised to return | @vtdigger.bsky.social – vtdigger.org/2025/10/12/g... #VT #trains #NewEngland #freight

Upcoming rail openings in the US 🎉🚈🚆 @hnldts.bsky.social Skyline (Aloha Stadium to Kalihi TC) - Oct. 16 @kcstreetcar.org (Union Station to UMKC) - Oct. 24 DART Silver Line (DFW Airport to Shiloh Rd.) - Oct. 25 @sound-transit.bsky.social 1 Line (Angle Lake to Federal Way Downtown) - Dec. 6

The city of Buffalo & NFTA have selected a developer for mixed-use growth at the LaSalle Metro Rail station, with formal approval/agreements still needed. Buffalo's light-rail network (in subway at LaSalle) is among the top performing systems per-mile in the U.S. TOD at more stations could grow that

Train Beer Friday: Boxcar Bumpkin Pumpkin Spice Golden Stout by Off The Rails Brewing in Pocatello, ID. There's plenty of boxcars to be found just behind this brewery via Union Pacific's massive presence on its Nampa and Montana Subdivisions. 🍻

Had some things come up during my visit to Avon, Colorado a couple weeks ago, including views of Union Pacific's (former SP) Tennessee Pass line – inactive since 1997) and the impressive local & regional bus options. Here's a synopsis thread of that visit...

These fans are lucky @nctcogtrans.bsky.social stepped up to fund Texas' portion of the operating budget to support the continuation of Heartland Flyer service this year!

NY MTA completes Phase 1 of Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement Project | @MassTransitmag – www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrast... #NYC #MetroNorth #MNRR #Harlem #GCT #trains #rail