SMART UnionCommuters could be hit with an NJ Transit fare increase that might reach 9 percent in fiscal year 2016, based on budget documents for the coming year.
NJ Transit’s budget documents said revenue from fares would increase by 8.8 percent, from the $928.6 million earned in fiscal year 2015 to $1.01 billion in 2016, according to an Office of Legislative Services’ review of NJ Transit’s financials.
Raed the complete story at NJ.com.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak is partnering with NOOK by Barnes & Noble, Chuggington and others at select Amtrak Train Days (ATD) events taking place across the country this spring, summer and fall. These celebrations are occurring in more than 20 locations with the official kick-off event at Chicago Union Station on May 9, 2015.
ATD events will feature various components of the Amtrak experience at each location (a dedicated tour of the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays, excursion trains and tours). ATD tour and Amtrak Exhibit Train stops through June include:
The Amtrak and NOOK by Barnes & Noble partnership will create an enhanced travel experience by leveraging expert booksellers to curate a collection of free eBooks and e- magazines for Amtrak passengers – perfect for enjoying a comfortable train ride. Passengers will be thrilled to access bestselling titles from top publishers that have been customized to appeal to every reading preference, including classics, romances, mysteries, thrillers, children’s and business titles. To get ready for the Amtrak and NOOK promotion, you can install the free NOOK reading app today on your Android or iOS device by visiting www.NOOKapp.com.
Chuggington, the sponsor of The Chuggington Kids Depot and Chuggington Live (at our Chicago kick-off event) joins Amtrak with train-themed kids’ activities based on the popular ATK-15-021 children’s animated television series, Chuggington, on Disney Junior. Other partners include Operation Lifesaver, Amtrak Vacations and local and state partner affiliates.
This year, Amtrak is expanding its community program from multiple events on a single day to individual events over the course of the spring, summer and fall. Amtrak Train Days will focus on reaching current and new audiences across America to reinforce the importance, benefits and value of passenger train travel.
Communities from across the nation are invited to join in the celebration of passenger train travel by hosting their own ATD events during 2015. To register an event, find additional tour stops or for more information about ATD, visit AmtrakTrainDays.com.
Amtrak Train Days 2015 Sweepstakes is running from May 9 – Nov. 30. One Grand Prize winner will win a trip for four people courtesy of Amtrak Vacations, one Chuggington Prize Pack and a Walthers Model Train Set. Winners will be chosen on Dec. 1, 2015.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak is partnering with NOOK by Barnes & Noble, Chuggington and others at select Amtrak Train Days (ATD) events taking place across the country this spring, summer and fall. These celebrations are occurring in more than 20 locations with the official kick-off event at Chicago Union Station on May 9, 2015.
ATD events will feature various components of the Amtrak experience at each location (a dedicated tour of the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays, excursion trains and tours). ATD tour and Amtrak Exhibit Train stops through June include:
The Amtrak and NOOK by Barnes & Noble partnership will create an enhanced travel experience by leveraging expert booksellers to curate a collection of free eBooks and e- magazines for Amtrak passengers – perfect for enjoying a comfortable train ride. Passengers will be thrilled to access bestselling titles from top publishers that have been customized to appeal to every reading preference, including classics, romances, mysteries, thrillers, children’s and business titles. To get ready for the Amtrak and NOOK promotion, you can install the free NOOK reading app today on your Android or iOS device by visiting www.NOOKapp.com.
Chuggington, the sponsor of The Chuggington Kids Depot and Chuggington Live (at our Chicago kick-off event) joins Amtrak with train-themed kids’ activities based on the popular ATK-15-021 children’s animated television series, Chuggington, on Disney Junior. Other partners include Operation Lifesaver, Amtrak Vacations and local and state partner affiliates.
This year, Amtrak is expanding its community program from multiple events on a single day to individual events over the course of the spring, summer and fall. Amtrak Train Days will focus on reaching current and new audiences across America to reinforce the importance, benefits and value of passenger train travel.
Communities from across the nation are invited to join in the celebration of passenger train travel by hosting their own ATD events during 2015. To register an event, find additional tour stops or for more information about ATD, visit AmtrakTrainDays.com.
Amtrak Train Days 2015 Sweepstakes is running from May 9 – Nov. 30. One Grand Prize winner will win a trip for four people courtesy of Amtrak Vacations, one Chuggington Prize Pack and a Walthers Model Train Set. Winners will be chosen on Dec. 1, 2015.
The FBI on Friday will offer a new reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for a train derailment caused by an act sabotage in Arizona – nearly 20 years after it occurred.
The FBI did not say why the new reward is being offered now to find whoever sabotaged rail tracks in a remote area 70 miles southwest of Phoenix and caused the Amtrak passenger train the Sunset Limited to derail and fall off a bridge at around 1:35 a.m. on Oct. 9, 1995.
Read the complete story at NBC News.
The uncertain path of Amtrak’s Hoosier State line took another curve Monday when state officials said they are close to a deal to keep it running for the long term.
The Indiana Department of Transportation said it has reached an “understanding” with federal railway officials to keep the Chicago-to-Indianapolis route running.
Read the complete story at Indystar.com.
Funding to save the Southwest Chief did not make it into the budget proposed by the Colorado legislature this week, Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports.
“We must now seek support from Gov. Hickenlooper and the Joint Budget Committee, which will review appropriation requests beyond the current proposed budget,” Smith said. “We need to get their attention and approval as soon as possible. Please call the governor and the following legislators and ask them to fund the Southwest Chief Commission.
“This train is essential to Colorado’s transportation system,” Smith said. “You might also remind Gov. Hickenlooper that he committed to finding funding for the train at the bill signing last year.”
Hickenlooper’s office phone number is (303) 866-2471.
For funding to pass, the bill needs the support of the following members from the state’s Joint Budget Committee:
Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith asks that all members from the state call or email key legislators to pass the bill funding Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.
“A bill to save the Southwest Chief will be heading to the Colorado Legislature’s Senate Appropriations Committee very soon. We need you to contact key legislators today to help save Amtrak service in Colorado,” Smith said.
“As you may know, SMART Transportation Division and our partners have been working over the past several years to save passenger rail in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. After a lot of hard work, we now have a bill that gets the fight to preserve Amtrak’s Southwest Chief over the line in Colorado. State Sens. Leroy Garcia (D-Pueblo) and Larry Crowder (R-Alamosa) have introduced Senate Bill 176, a bill that will fund the remaining portion of Colorado’s share of capital costs to save Amtrak for Colorado’s passengers. The bill was endorsed by the Transportation Committee last month, but now it needs to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee before it can reach the full State Senate.
“Your voice will make the difference! Following negotiations, advocates for rail service have managed to cut Colorado’s total share of costs to rehabilitate the Southwest Chief’s tracks from $40 million to $8.9 million. This is a huge victory for passengers, and it only happened because of the federal grant that Southeastern Colorado communities successfully applied for in 2014 in collaboration with Kansas, Amtrak, and BNSF Railway.
“Please take a moment today and contact the following senators via email and phone (it’s fine to leave a message):
What we need you to say:
“Personalize your message, but make sure to clearly ask for their support of SB-176 in the Senate Appropriations Committee. And remember: always be respectful.
“Here are a few other points that you can make to the senators about why the Southwest Chief is so important to the people of Colorado:
Amtrak on Tuesday renamed its operations center in Chicago to honor Joseph Szabo, a fifth-generation railroader who headed the Federal Railroad Administration for 51/2 years of the Obama administration.
Szabo, 56, left the administration in December to return to Chicago, where he is a senior policy adviser on transportation at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
Read the complete story at the Chicago Tribune.
The following release was issued by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court’s March 9 decision affirming Amtrak’s power to create on-time performance standards could get slumping Midwest arrival times back on track.
“This is a good Supreme Court decision that should help rail passengers across the country,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, which filed an amicus curiae brief in the case. “For every passenger who has been delayed for hours in Northwest Indiana or outside of Cleveland while oil tanker cars slog by, today’s court decision can be an important step forward.”
The Association of American Railroads challenged a federal law that allows Amtrak to help set on-time performance standards for railroads, arguing that Amtrak is a private company rather than a government entity. The Supreme Court, agreeing with the Department of Justice and ELPC, held that Amtrak is more like a government entity.
The DC Court of Appeals had struck down a provision of the 2008 rail reauthorization bill that instructed the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak – consulting with the Surface Transportation Board, freight railroads, states, rail labor, and rail passenger organizations – to develop metrics and minimum standards for measuring Amtrak passenger train performance and service quality.
“Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling settles that legal question,” Learner said. “Amtrak is a government entity. Given this ruling, the existing on-time performance standards should be enforced and passenger rail should again be given priority.”
In an amicus curiae brief filed by ELPC, on behalf of itself and the National Association of Railroad Passengers, All Aboard Ohio and Virginians for High Speed Rail, ELPC found that on-time arrival rates had suffered since the appeals court ruling. In 2012, Amtrak achieved a nationwide on-time performance rate of 83 percent. Since the standards were invalidated by the Court of Appeals, on-time performance fell to an abysmal 42 percent.
While this is a major victory for Amtrak passengers across the nation, the Supreme Court’s ruling does raise the possibility of a lengthy court fight should the Association of American Railroads seek to continually litigate other issues around on-time performance.
“The highest court in the land has spoken and we hope that freight railroads will move forward as a partner to improve passenger rail service across America,” added Learner.
HALIFAX, N.C. – An Amtrak train hit a tractor-trailer that stalled on railroad tracks in North Carolina, toppling the engine onto its side and injuring several people, officials said Monday.
Halifax County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bruce Temple said the accident happened around noon in the town of Halifax.
Read the complete story at the Associated Press.