Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Rail

What American Commuter Rail Can Learn From Paris

By Alon Levy | Feb 13, 2017 | No Comments

In the U.S., regional rail is mostly good for one type of trip: the commute. But in Paris, regional rail is oriented toward all types of trips, and people ride throughout the day, not just at rush hour. One key to success is running frequent, predictable service all day long.

American passenger railroads will be able to save hundreds of millions of dollars annually by using trains designed to standard European specifications. Photo of France's TGV via Wikipedia

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Federal Regulators Will Let U.S. Railroads Run Faster, More Efficient Trains

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 30, 2016 | No Comments

Antiquated regulations that date all the way back to the late 1800s compel American passenger rail operators to use trains designed like “high-velocity bank vaults,” as former Amtrak CEO David Gunn once put it. That finally appears set to change with the FRA’s release of new draft safety rules for traincars.

Let This RPA Vid Explain Why We Need More Rail Tubes Under the Hudson

By Brad Aaron | Oct 29, 2015 | No Comments

The Regional Plan Association produced a nice explainer video on why the region needs to build more rail capacity under the Hudson River, the risks facing the existing train tubes, and what will happen if one of them has to be taken offline for repairs before another tunnel gets built. The situation with the tunnels has heightened urgency because New […]

Governors Want Feds to Pay for Half of Hudson Tunnel; They’ll Split the Rest

By Stephen Miller | Sep 15, 2015 | 3 Comments

Governors Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York sent a letter to President Barack Obama today with an offer: If the federal government picks up half the tab of building a new $20 billion Hudson River rail tunnel, the two states will split the rest [PDF]. It’s a step forward in […]

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Shoes Off, Laptops Out, All Aboard!

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 4, 2015 | No Comments

Rail travel has many advantages over flying, like the view out the window, or arriving at a downtown location. Perhaps most importantly: You don’t have to get to the train station an hour early to go through security checkpoints like you do in airports. But last month’s attack on a Paris-bound train has amplified calls to beef up rail […]

Gas Tax Hike Will Help New Jersey Pay for New Rail Tunnel

By Charles Komanoff | Aug 13, 2015 | 15 Comments

To history’s list of epic negotiations, we may someday add the prospective deal to finance the Gateway Project between Newark’s and New York City’s Penn Stations. With two belligerent states, a disgraced Port Authority, and Amtrak and the federal government on the hook for Gateway’s $15 billion (and counting) expense, divvying up the cost will […]

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