United Rail Passenger Alliance

Vol. 2, No. 27 – September 28, 2005

1. Memo to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas: No good deed goes unpunished. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 26 – September 24, 2005

1. Harrumph. Under alleged great political and public pressure, Amtrak has backed off on its fare increases, specifically reducing the outrageous 70% multi-ride discounts to a less, but still outrageous 50% discount. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 25 – September 14, 2005

1. It’s September. The House and Senate are back in Washington, everyone from the judicial and executive branches of government are back from vacation, and things are revving up for action, even with the major distractions of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the Supreme Court nomination hearings. One piece of legislation that holds great promise is S. 1516, the Lott Amtrak reform bill. It will be fascinating to watch and see what amendments and deletions are made to the bill as it works its way through the legislative process. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 24 – September 08, 2005

1. This arrived just a couple of days after Hurricane Katrina stormed into the Gulf Coast. It is from a gentleman who owns a travel agency in a New Orleans suburb, near the New Orleans airport. He closely follows Amtrak. Read more…

The successful long distance train of the future

Read more…

J. Bruce Richardson
United Rail Passenger Alliance
September 2005

The successful long distance train of the future will look very different from today’s Amtrak long distance train. The train of the future will look more like the successful trains of the past which made money for their owners for very specific reasons.

Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 23 – August 29, 2005

1. Hurricanes and trains just don’t mix well together. While there is an illustrious history of passenger railroads trying to evacuate refugees from storms (often with disastrous results for both the refugees and train crews and equipment, too), these days that’s not going to happen. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 22 – August 23, 2005

1. What’s a good socialist to do these days? First, the socialists lost control of the federal government after seven decades of decadence and failed social experiments. Then, they lost control of the California governorship to an immigrant Hollywood superstar that’s (gasp!) a moderate/conservative Republican. At the same time, more and more Americans are realizing that the term “intelligentsia” is not a term for true intelligence, but rather a codeword for liberal bigotry that tolerates no one who doesn’t agree with them. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 21 – August 20, 2005

1. There have been lots of questions this week about S. 1516, the Amtrak reauthorization bill authored by Senator Trent Lott. Here are some of the questions and answers. Read more…

Vol. 2, No. 21 – August 20, 2005

1. There have been lots of questions this week about S. 1516, the Amtrak reauthorization bill authored by Senator Trent Lott. Here are some of the questions and answers. Read more…