United Rail Passenger Alliance

Volume 5 Number 26

1. It’s been a lousy month for passenger rail. The horror of the Metrolink crash in Southern California with over two dozen deaths and dozens more passengers injured will remain with us for a long, long time. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 25

1. Thanks for the overwhelming response to the last issue of TWA’s presentation of the updated Concepts of the Successful Long Distance Passenger Train of the Future. In addition to the basic distribution through TWA, there have been over 600 additional downloads of the white paper from URPA’s web site, and there have been visits to the web site from over 60 countries around the world, including mainland China and Russia. It’s tough to know how that white paper translates into the two languages of China and Russia, but it’s nice to have a diverse readership base. Read more…

1. Amtrak is smiling approvingly at one of its bankers, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who has filed a bill in the United States Senate to provide Amtrak with $2.8 billion to overhaul existing equipment and build new rolling stock.If this bill becomes law (and, it is only in very early stages), Amtrak must take this opportunity to properly equip itself for the future – both financially and to meet passenger demand – with the correct selection of equipment, not just replacements for existing rolling stock.
2. URPA has updated its 2005 white paper, Concepts of the Successful Long Distance Passenger Train of the Future (PDF).

Volume 5 Number 23

1. You just never know when an issue of TWA goes racing out over the Internet what’s going to come back in return. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 22

1. Ah, summertime! Those lazy, hazy days when America hits the rails and roads. Here’s an enroute firsthand report from a dedicated railfan who had just a bit too much of Amtrak’s hospitality. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 21

PLEASE NOTE: URPA is experiencing some cosmic hiccups in our computer system’s subscription and distribution program. Therefore, if you have recently cancelled your subscription, or recently added a subscription, you’re not being ignored by the humans on this end, but the computer program is being cranky. We’re working as fast as we can to debug this program. Thanks for your understanding.

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A comparison of the Empire Builder to the Hiawatha Service trains:

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Volume 5 Number 20

1. We need to have a very serious conversation – right now. Let’s plunge in. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 19

1. “There’s trouble my friend, right here in River City,” sang Tony Award winner Robert Preston first on Broadway in 1957 and on the silver screen in 1962′s The Music Man. Preston was playing Professor Harold Hill, who had just arrived in fictional River City, Iowa on the Rock Island Railroad. The setting was pre-World War I, and the trouble was River City’s children were trying out near-beer, known by the brand name of Bevo, and reading a salacious monthly magazine called “Captain Billy’s Whiz-Bang.” The alleged real fear Professor Hill was promoting was the satanic influence of a new pool table just arrived in town in a pool hall, which was unfortunately owned by River City’s mayor. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 17

1. When the telephone rings here at URPA World Headquarters, one never knows who could be on the other end of the line. These days, it’s often a reporter, looking for a quote about the correlation between high gas prices and Amtrak ridership. (If you believe all reporters call with an open mind about a story, and are not looking for a specific quote to back up what they believe, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you while the price is still cheap.) Read more…