A year later, Walker rail blunder looks even worse. Last Dec. 9, exactly a year ago, federal officials redirected $810 million in transportation funding that Gov.
Scott Walker had rejected to improve Wisconsin's rail system. That rejection may go down as one of the biggest political goofs in state history. Walker had campaigned against the proposed Madison-Milwaukee passenger train project, saying it represented "runaway government spending" and would cost state taxpayers in the long run. "I'm going to stop that boondoggle train to Madison" became a rallying cry for Walker, whose own polling showed that dissing Madison — and the train — was a winning issue despite the wider long-term implications for the state's transportation system. Walker played that high-stakes gamble throughout the race, saying he could persuade Congress to redirect the money to fix Wisconsin's highways or bridges.
Now, as other states move forward to upgrade their rail systems — the 110 mph train could be a reality by 2015 — Wisconsin is floundering. Troy's rail transit vote roars toward deadline. Stay on track in 2012 with the Railroad Examiner - National Railroad. Amtrak. Amtrak’s Fallen THREE RIVERS September 4, 2012 Amtrak’s THREE RIVERS, named for the three rivers that enter Pittsburgh, was begun on September 10, 1995 to replace a portion of the historic BROADWAY LIMITED.
Running from the steel city to New York City, the train was extended over the rest of the route of the BROADWAY along the ex-B&O Willard Sub to Chicago [...] Read the full article → Amtrak’s New Transportation Center in Normal, IL August 26, 2012 On July 15, 2012, Amtrak opened a new transportation center on the north side of their ex-Chicago & Alton Route in Normal, IL. Read the full article → After 10 years, Downeaster proves successful. PORTLAND – Amtrak’s Downeaster is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this week, capping off a year in which annual ridership surpassed half a million passengers, Amtrak launched its eTicketing pilot program and workers made progress on an expansion of service north to Freeport and Brunswick that’s to begin in the new year.
Ridership has doubled over the past six years, and the number of passengers topped 500,000 for the first time in 2011, Amtrak said. All told, more than 3.5 million passengers have ridden the train. “It’s been a success by every measure and we’re looking forward to the expansion of the service to Brunswick,” said Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s vice president of Northeast corridor infrastructure and investment development in Philadelphia.
“This is a corridor to watch.” The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which oversees the Portland-to-Boston service, has a string of events planned leading up to Thursday’s anniversary. “If you fly, you don’t see much. Amtrak gives up traditional hole punch in favor of iPhone ticketing application. The program has been in the works for about five years, but has taken major steps this year with two pilot efforts.
In February, Amtrak started using e-ticketing on Auto Train, a train that travels between Lorton and Florida, and allows passengers to bring their cars aboard. Last month, Amtrak launched a pilot of the e-ticketing model on the Downeaster, a line that runs between Portland, Maine, and Boston. For Amtrak, the e-ticketing effort is expected to improve efficiency and safety. Today, conductors are responsible for keeping track of collected tickets, which are later sent to a facility in Texas to be scanned and documented. Additionally, conductors aren’t able to send real-time updates to its reservation system to indicate exactly who is on the train, valuable information in the case of an emergency or accident. For customers, the new system means they can exchange tickets more easily if, for instance, they want to take an earlier train.
Matthew F.