Download or read book Waiting on a Train written by James McCommons and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2009-11-06 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the tumultuous year of 2008--when gas prices reached $4 a gallon, Amtrak set ridership records, and a commuter train collided with a freight train in California--journalist James McCommons spent a year on America's trains, talking to the people who ride and work the rails throughout much of the Amtrak system. Organized around these rail journeys, Waiting on a Train is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism. Readers meet the historians, railroad executives, transportation officials, politicians, government regulators, railroad lobbyists, and passenger-rail advocates who are rallying around a simple question: Why has the greatest railroad nation in the world turned its back on the very form of transportation that made modern life and mobility possible? Distrust of railroads in the nineteenth century, overregulation in the twentieth, and heavy government subsidies for airports and roads have left the country with a skeletal intercity passenger-rail system. Amtrak has endured for decades, and yet failed to prosper owing to a lack of political and financial support and an uneasy relationship with the big, remaining railroads. While riding the rails, McCommons explores how the country may move passenger rail forward in America--and what role government should play in creating and funding mass-transportation systems. Against the backdrop of the nation's stimulus program, he explores what it will take to build high-speed trains and transportation networks, and when the promise of rail will be realized in America.
Download or read book Chicagoland Commuter Railroads written by Andrew T. Roth and published by Enthusiast Books. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Commuter, or Suburban Rail Passenger Train Services have been an important part of the Chicago Metro area for well over 100 years. Since the city and its suburbs are economically interdependent upon one another, passenger service could not be discontinued without severe economic impacts on the entire Chicago area. The Metra Commuter Rail Service and the Indiana Commuter Transportation District (South Shore) services have realized this and are providing a crucial life line for the many Chicago-Suburban corridors, and have made substantial gains and many expansions since the 1980s. This book reviews the commuter services offered in the Chicago area on the Chicago & North Western, The Milwaukee Road, the South Shore, the Illinois Central, the Rock Island, the Burlington, the Wabash, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, the South Shore, the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroads before the development of the RTA, Metra and NICTD.
Download or read book New Haven Passenger Trains written by Peter E. Lynch and published by . This book was released on with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Caltrain and the Peninsula Commute Service written by Janet McGovern and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rail line now called Caltrain was started in the 1860s to create a faster alternative to stagecoaches and ships between the key cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Operated by Southern Pacific for many years, the Peninsula Commute Service is the oldest continuously operating passenger railroad in the West and boasts seven depots in the National Register of Historic Places. This indomitable iron horse has filled a vital transportation role, from evacuating San Franciscans during the 1906 earthquake to getting commuters to work. With the dawn of the 21st century, Caltrain reinvented itself yet again with its innovative Baby Bullet express trains.
Download or read book Amtrak America s Railroad written by Geoffrey H. Doughty and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the story of Amtrak, America's Railroad, 50 years in the making. In 1971, in an effort to rescue essential freight railroads, the US government founded Amtrak. In the post–World War II era, aviation and highway development had become the focus of government policy in America. As rail passenger services declined in number and in quality, they were simultaneously driving many railroads toward bankruptcy. Amtrak was intended to be the solution. In Amtrak, America's Railroad: Transportation's Orphan and Its Struggle for Survival, Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, and Eugene E. Harmon explore the fascinating history of this popular institution and tell a tale of a company hindered by its flawed origin and uneven quality of leadership, subjected to political gamesmanship and favoritism, and mired in a perpetual philosophical debate about whether it is a business or a public service. Featuring interviews with former Amtrak presidents, the authors examine the current problems and issues facing Amtrak and their proposed solutions. Created in the absence of a comprehensive national transportation policy, Amtrak manages to survive despite inherent flaws due to the public's persistent loyalty. Amtrak, America's Railroad is essential reading for those who hope to see another fifty years of America's railroad passenger service, whether they be patrons, commuters, legislators, regulators, and anyone interested in railroads and transportation history.
Download or read book Study of Essential Railroad Passenger Service written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Romance of the Rails written by Randal O'Toole and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American transportation has undergone many technological revolutions: from sailing ships to steam ships; from passenger trains and urban rail transit to airplanes and automobiles. Normally, the government has allowed and even encouraged these revolutions, but for some reason the federal government is spending billions of dollars trying to preserve and build obsolete rail transit and passenger train lines, including high-speed trains that cost more but are less than half as fast as flying. O'Toole asks why passenger trains have been singled out -- and whether this policy makes sense. -- adapted from jacket
Download or read book Rail Passenger Service in the State of Georgia written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Northeast Corridor written by and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Railroad Passenger Train Service written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Transportation and Aeronautics and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Emergency Rail Passenger Service Operating Assistance written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Hiawatha Story written by Jim Scribbins and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published: Milwaukee: Kalmbach, 1970.
Download or read book Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness Us Federal Railroad Administration Regulation Fra 2018 Edition written by The Law The Law Library and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-09-21 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 FRA is amending its existing regulation entitled Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness by revising or clarifying various provisions. The final rule clarifies that railroad personnel who communicate or coordinate with first responders during emergency situations must receive certain initial and periodic training and be subject to operational tests and inspections related to the railroad's emergency preparedness plan. The final rule also clarifies that railroads must develop procedures in their emergency preparedness plans that specifically address the safety of passengers with disabilities during actual and simulated emergency situations, such as during train evacuations. The rule also limits the need for FRA to formally approve certain purely administrative changes to approved emergency preparedness plans. In addition, the final rule requires that operational tests and inspections be conducted in accordance with a program that meets certain minimum requirements. Finally, the rule removes as unnecessary the provision discussing the preemptive effect of the regulations. This book contains: - The complete text of the Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section
Download or read book A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860 written by Ulrich Bonnell Phillips and published by New York, Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1908 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trains Buses People written by Christof Spieler and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the best transit cities in the US? The best Bus Rapid Transit lines? The most useless rail transit lines? The missed opportunities? In the US, the 25 largest metropolitan areas and many smaller cities have fixed guideway transit—rail or bus rapid transit. Nearly all of them are talking about expanding. Yet discussions about transit are still remarkably unsophisticated. To build good transit, the discussion needs to focus on what matters—quality of service (not the technology that delivers it), all kinds of transit riders, the role of buildings, streets and sidewalks, and, above all, getting transit in the right places. Christof Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit board member, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identify what makes good transit with the right information. In the fun and accessible Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit, Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. He profiles the 47 metropolitan areas in the US that have rail transit or BRT, using data, photos, and maps for easy comparison. The best and worst systems are ranked and Spieler offers analysis of how geography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city have resulted in very different transit systems. Using appealing visuals, Trains, Buses, People is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker with a vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. While the book is built on data, it has a strong point of view. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit and is not afraid to look at what went wrong. He explains broad concepts, but recognizes all of the technical, geographical, and political difficulties of building transit in the real world. In the end,Trains, Buses, People shows that it is possible with the right tools to build good transit.
Download or read book Effect of Railroad Mergers on Commuter Transportation written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency. Subcommittee on Housing and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effect of Railroad Mergers on Commuter Transportation Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs of 90 2 March 26 27 and 28 1968 written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: