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Train Travel: A Great Way to Go in Southern California and America
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
How was your Memorial Day weekend travel experience? For many Americans, it meant dealing with traffic congestion and airport indignities. For those of us who were able to choose train travel, it was a much more dignified, relaxing experience.
I took Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner from Los Angeles Union Station to San Diego recently. As one who has grown up in Southern California, the passenger train revolution that’s taken place here in recent years as been a welcome change from crowded freeways.
L.A. Union Station has been transformed in the past several years from nearly dead to the busiest train station west of Chicago. It is now a busy hub of all types of rail travel, from local light rail to the Chicago-bound Southwest Chief. At Union Station it is possible to transfer to the L.A. Metro Rail system and take the train to Hollywood, Pasadena, and Los Angeles. L.A. Metrolink commuter rail provides connections throughout the area’s suburbs. Similar connections are available in San Diego on its light rail and commuter train system. These kinds of connections are called “intermodal”, and they make rail travel all the more attractive.
Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is one of America’s great train rides. Much of it along the ocean and a great alternative to driving the I-5, it whisks you to San Diego and Santa Barbara from Los Angeles in about two hours and forty-five minutes, often faster than driving and with none of the hassles. People from all walks-of-life took the train, from business people to students to seniors to families young and old. It connects communities large and small in California, places that the discount airlines bypass. And did I mention the ocean views!
Americans want more passenger trains. A Harris Poll was released a few months ago that confirmed that Americans want to see more trains accommodating our transportation needs than any other mode, especially more car and airline travel. Given the current state of gas prices, is this any wonder? Amtrak’s routes, both the shorter “corridor” services and the long distance routes, provide travel not just to big cities, but also to many small towns where air travel is either very expensive or non-existent.
Unfortunately, many in government just don’t get it. Just a few weeks ago the Secretary of Transportation released a study on congestion that never mentions passenger trains. And despite widespread support for more trains, Amtrak struggles for support from Congress and the Administration while our aviation and highway systems are heavily invested into.
Help put America back on track! We need more investment in Amtrak and passenger rail. Contact your Congressional representatives and let them know you want Amtrak to receive its full appropriation this year.
-Dennis Lytton
NARP At-Large Board Member
Los Angeles, CA
Posted by NARP
Welcome to NARP, Darryl!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Our new intern, Darryl J. Yates, started with us on Monday. He is about to graduate from Morgan State University (Baltimore) with a B.A. in Political Science. Last summer, he was an intern on Capitol Hill in the office of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). From June 1999 to December 2000 he volunteered at The Baltimore Zoo, helping with the summer education program, with caring for tropical animals, and with various administrative tasks, and also serving as tour guide and docent. In the summer of 1998, he volunteered at the Baltimore County Public Library, leading various children’s reading activities and registering hundreds of children for the summer reading program.
—Ross B. Capon
Posted by NARP
Amtrak at 35: More progress to come but more fights to fight
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
First of all, sorry for the lack of entries lately. It’s been pretty busy around here, but we are committed to this blog and making regular updates.
Amtrak celebrated its 35th Birthday on May 1. Several groups held “Amtrak Birthday Parties” at stations across the system including Jacksonville, Meridian, and the Iowa stops. NARP issued a news release on the occasion to remind the media about positive Amtrak facts after a lukewarm-at-best AP Wire story was released on April 28.
The fight isn’t over to preserve passenger rail in this country…which is all the more incredible given the ever-increasing cost of gas and higher than ever demand for more passenger rail service. The fiscal 2007 appropriations battle should be commencing at the end of this month or the beginning of May; be sure to let your legislators know that you want to see Amtrak fully funded and allowed to thrive, not staved to death.
—Dave Johnson