East Coast HSR Summit set for October

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Filed under: Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, United States High Speed Rail

French team consults India high speed project

The Hindu Daily News Service files this update.

French team to sign MoU for high-speed rail corridor

New Delhi, Aug. 11 (PTI): An expert team from the French Railway is coming to India for carrying out technical feasibility study of the high-speed rail corridor this month-end.

The team arriving on August 26 would visit some of the proposed sites for the high-speed corridors to prepare a detailed study report suggesting possible measures for going ahead with the project.

If everything goes well, the team is likely to sign an MoU with the government to assist the Indian Railway in the project, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

You can read the whole darned thing and figure out the geography and currency valuations. Good luck. Bottom line, good infrastructure has a price. Mobility and are productivy are worth it.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Specter holds town hall meeting in Stroudsburg, Pa.

United States Senator Arlan Specter conducted a town hall meeting for about 200 people and, according to reports in the Pocono Record, topics included Iraq, immigration and transportation. TFA does not concentrate on light rail or “commuter” projects, but surely a Scranton, Pa. to NYC link is inter0city rail transportation, and right down our ally.

Commuter rail service
Specter was optimistic about restoring commuter rail service between Scranton and New York City through Monroe County. Specter is a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

To emphasize how important he thought rail service is, he said he wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of 89-year-old appropriations committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va,, who he said “paved half the state of West Virginia.”

Perhaps somebody should tell Senator Specter about the Cardinal.

Filed under: Passenger Rail Politics, Regional USA Passenger Rail

From our friends up north, a word on VIA Rail Canada

There have been rumblings from the Canadian prairie provinces lately, as reported by the Regina Leader-Post. VIA Rail Canada is the Amtrak equivolent, right down to the seeming policy of benign neglect.

We have identified suggestions for both the reform of VIA Rail and providing a stable source of funding.

VIA’s status as a Crown corporation created by order-in-council and its dependence on year-to-year appropriations from Parliament has prevented it from making and implementing plans and investments, including private financing and partnerships that would boost ridership and revenues, gain efficiencies and reduce costs.

There is no place at present in VIA’s structure for provincial or private participation in its financing or operations.

The state of Washington supports a daily Amtrak train from Seattle to Vancouver. The province of British Columbia, in a groundbreaking move, announced it is investing $4.5 million to enable a second Seattle-Vancouver train in time for the 2010 Olympics.

There is some push for restored service and more connections with Amtrak service, but would Homeland Security give permission? Such moves might enable a more efficient, effective and more popular passenger rail service. It would permit daily VIA operation through the Rockies and reinstatement of Vancouver-Calgary-Regina-Winnipeg service.

The reports also makes note of the frequent derailments and safety concerns of freight railroads. Sound familiar?

Filed under: International High Speed Rail