Free Republic

Union Station had as many as 100 stores more than two decades ago. It’s down to about 40 retailers and eateries while more than half its commercial space sits vacant. Calls for fire and emergency services show the range of problems at the station, including drug and alcohol intoxication, overdoses and assaults. Meanwhile, foot traffic remains well below pre-pandemic levels, with Metro and commuter rail traffic roughly halved, even as Amtrak reaches more solid footing.

President Biden apparently went off the rails with a heartfelt story about how he’d ridden some 1.5 million miles on Amtrak and being personally congratulated by an Amtrak conductor — who had actually retired some 20 years before. “When I became vice president, one of the Capitol Hill newspapers estimated that I had taken more than 7,000 round trips on Amtrak over my career. I think that’s an exaggeration,” Biden said on Friday when he helped the nation’s passenger rail system celebrate 50 years, Fox News reported.

Amtrack, the government run passenger rail system, purchases soda for $3.40 per serving, and then resells it to customers for $2.00. Meanwhile, McDonald’s purchases soda for 9 cents per serving, and then resells it to customers for $1.29.Amtrack, the government run passenger rail system, purchases soda for $3.40 per serving, and then resells it to customers for $2.00. So they are selling it at a loss. The taxpayers make up the difference. Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/amtrak-lost-800m-on-cheeseburgers-and-soda Meanwhile, McDonald’s purchases soda for 9 cents per serving, and then resells it to customers for $1.29. So they make a profit. Source: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sYIxP3SJKxsJ:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/13/a-trend-the-restaurant-industry-could-do-without/+&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us In my...

After more than five hours of deliberation Wednesday, a jury found a trash truck driver not guilty in a fatal 2018 train crash. Dana Naylor Jr., 31, initially was charged with involuntary manslaughter and maiming while under the influence after authorities said he drove a Time Disposal garbage truck onto train tracks on Jan. 31, 2018, and was struck by a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress. The collision killed Chris Foley and severely injured Dennis Eddy. Both men were passengers in the trash truck. The DUI maiming charge was dropped Wednesday morning after being rendered moot by...

FULL TITLE: Two dead and 70 passengers are injured as Amtrak train smashes into freight carriages in South Carolina At least two people have died and dozens more are seriously injured after a passenger train smashed into freight carriages in South Carolina. Officials said more than 70 people had been transported to local hospitals after the Amtrak service flew off the line. Several of those injured suffered broken bones. It's still unclear if any of the passengers are being treated for life-threatening injuries. The crash occurred around 2.30am when the Amtrak service, traveling between New York and Miami, collided with...

The new house is on the edge of Cape Henlopen State Park, just north of the boardwalk: three stories, six bedrooms, three fireplaces and an expansive view of the Atlantic Ocean. The new owners are Joe and Jill Biden, rich for the first time in their lives, thanks to a three-book publishing deal - two by him, one by her - that allowed them to purchase the $2 million vacation home in this beachiest of beach towns. Red, white and blue bunting hangs from the second-floor balcony. There's a small wooden sign, "A Promise Kept," over the entrance, and two...

Forty hours in a single day? Some excellent reporting here by Diana Stancy of The Daily Signal. I realize that when we start talking about dollars in reference to a federal agency, it’s hard to know what’s excessive. Amtrak pays $200 million in a single year just for overtime? Is that a lot? In the context of a $3.7 trillion federal budget? Short answer: Yes. Amtrak’s entire personnel cost amounts to $1.2 billion, so you’re talking about one-sixth of that in overtime. But it’s when you really dig down into the reporting of hours that it becomes clear some of...

I am not making this up. The Official Amtrak Merchandise store. (click the pic)

Full title: NTSB Investigator: ‘Nothing at All’ Heard From Amtrak Train Engineer Communications to Suggest Train Hit by Projectile There was no communication between the derailed Amtrak train engineer to the dispatch center to suggest that a projectile had hit the ill-fated train, National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Robert Sumwalt said. “We interviewed the dispatchers and we listened to the dispatch tape, and we heard no communications at all from the Amtrak engineer to the dispatch center to say that something had struck his train,”

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 ended the federal government's financial support of many passenger rail routes. The federal subsidy for the operational costs for the Wolverine passenger rail service running from Pontiac-Detroit-Chicago, for example, has ended. The Michigan Legislature, however, included an extra $19.3 million in the budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year to replace the lost federal funds. This sum represents a tripling of the state subsidy required to cover Amtrak's operating costs compared to the previous year. Michigan taxpayers will provide a $98.11 subsidy per roundtrip passenger in fiscal 2014. Two other Amtrak lines,...

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- People are used to seeing TSA inspectors at airports but on Wednesday, a specialized team made their presence known at the Amtrak station in Emeryville. Train stations are difficult to secure because they're so wide open but on Wednesday, the TSA showed up unannounced to let the public, especially potential troublemakers, know that they are keeping an eye on the rails. Amtrak passenger Vera Molina said she noticed all the black-clad TSA inspectors right away and it's a presence she appreciates. Asked if she would like to see them more often she said, "I would, can't...

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is tightening its grip on domestic travcel. I don't mean the random, unpredictable security checks at bus, subway and train stations which already exist. I mean a coordinated and systematic police control of internal travel within America. Groundwork is being laid. Application to Make U.S. Into an Airport Screening Zone The application was tucked away on page 71431 of Volume 77, Number 231 of the Federal Register (November 30). It was surrounded by soporific references to forwarding "the new Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review...

<p>A government watchdog says Amtrak's train operators are testing positive for drugs and alcohol more and more frequently over the last six years.</p>

A woman apparently walking and looking down at her cellphone was fatally struck by an Amtrak train in Ventura on Saturday. Responding officers said they found the victim, identified only as a 28-year-old woman from Ventura, underneath the train. She was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the train conductor, the southbound train was traveling at about 40 mph around 5:15 p.m. as it approached the Amtrak station near the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Harbor Boulevard, when the victim was seen walking on the tracks. The conductor began sounding the warning horn, but the victim appeared to be looking...

Alternate title for this post: Dreams from My Freightcar: A Story of Pace and Incompetence 1. Why can't private passenger trains operate like plane companies? 2. Why don't we rip up some old tracks and turn them into true high-speed elevated rail that travels at 500 kilometers/hr? 3. Why is Amtrack, as it is now, so inefficient and crappy when train transportation is supposedly so efficient (CSX's 430+miles/gallon fuel) 4. There seems to be an inverse relationship of luxury to efficiency. Plane travel is torture, but it's efficient. Train travel could be luxurious since it's not fuel inefficient, but is...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland Transit Administration says more training may be called for after three MTA officers detained a man for taking pictures at a light rail station. Pat Warren has more on the incident. According to the ACLU, this isn’t the first time MTA Police have overstepped their bounds. In a YouTube posting, Christopher Fussell left the camera rolling when he was confronted by three MTA officers for taking pictures at the Baltimore Cultural Light Rail Station. “It is my understanding that I am free to take pictures as long as it’s not for commercial purposes but for...

CHICAGO -- Officials say passengers boarding Amtrak trains at Chicago's Union Station will now face random screening of their carry-on bags. Officials say the new policy goes into effect Thursday. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said Wednesday the new security measure, which will involve Amtrak police swabbing carry-on items to detect explosives, is not in response to any new threat. Magliari said it represents an expansion of precautions that have been implemented on Amtrak lines in other parts of the nation. He said the screenings will be conducted periodically, and passengers will be randomly selected. If passengers decline to participate in...

When the powerful Mid-Atlantic winter storm grounded all flights and shut down highways in the Mid-Atlantic region, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited, bound for Chicago from Washington, seemed to offer 115 passengers the perfect cozy alternative as it sped through the snow-swept countryside on Friday night.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A measure to put Amtrak passengers on the same footing as airline passengers, allowing guns in checked-through baggage, was passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The legislation, part of the transportation and housing appropriations bill, was approved 68-30. It would deny federal subsidies to Amtrak if it doesn't change its rules. The House version does not include the provision. Domestic airlines allow licensed gun owners to transport their weapons in their checked-through baggage. One senator said the gun measure "is going to put a severe burden" on Amtrak, CNN reported. But the measure's sponsor, Sen....

LAGUNA NIGUEL -- More than 50 law officers were breaking up an estimated 8,000 people drinking alcohol and mooning passing trains late Saturday, as an annual "Moon Over Amtrak" party was shut down due to complaints about public nudity. The event drew a crowd of about 8,000 Saturday along the tracks near Mugs Away Saloon, 27324 Camino Capistrano, but things got out of hand as businesses and residents called in complaints, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino. California Highway Patrol officers were called in to assist Orange County sheriff's deputies shut down the impromptu event, where thousands of...