Commentary

Philadelphia transit tour: 14 rail lines in 10 hours

As I write this, it’s been just a week since I returned from the recent annual Rail Transit Conference sponsored the first week of June by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Philadelphia. It was an interesting event, with a lot I could report about, including my own presentation at the “Current Technology and Trends” session. But by far my most memorable experience was completing (or should I say “surviving”?) another of Tom Hickey’s legendary multimode, multi-system rail-hopping tours — this one sampling 14 different transit modes or lines in the Philadelphia region, operated by three different agencies, in the course of 10 hours.

Commentary

Study: LRT ridership gains are spectacular

OK, one more leap into the briar patch of controversy over light rail transit (LRT) vs. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), with a glance at diesel multiple-unit (DMU) light railway, and some observations about federal New Starts policies.

Commentary

Research: BRT can truly be pricier than LRT

In my last article (Research study: New light rail projects beat BRT), I summarized the general results of a research study, co-authored with my colleague Dave Dobbs, that I presented in mid-November to the 12th National Light Rail Transit Conference in Salt Lake City, a confab sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Research study: New LRT projects beat BRT

An array of new light rail transit (LRT) projects came out ahead of new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in a research study I presented earlier this month to the 12th National Light Rail Transit Conference in Salt Lake City, sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Co-authoring the study with me was my colleague Dave Dobbs.

Texas Eagle highlights passenger train success

Listening to naysayers, and watching the efforts in Congress to defund Amtrak, you’d never realize that, as a regional and intercity mass transportation system, Amtrak is actually a top performer — setting new ridership records in eight of the past nine years.

Commentary

Rapid Streetcar concept gaining ground

Just over eight years ago I cooked up a new concept in rail transit that I called Rapid Streetcar. Since then, it’s been attracting a lot of interest within the public transportation industry (although a lot of would-be “experts” using it as a buzzword don’t always get it quite right).

Commentary

At APTA conference, rail transit at its best

Big D, here I come! On June 2, some colleagues and I will be rumbling (literally) into Dallas to attend selected events in and around the 2012 Rail Transit Conference of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Commentary

Austin MetroRail: The Little Train That Can, and Does

It’s been a hard climb, but Austin’s relatively small MetroRail transit service—built and operated since March 2010 by Capital Metro—is finally starting to prove its worth.

Commentary

Safety outreach urgent as transit improves

The good news is that fast public transport services are making a comeback in America’s urban cityscapes, taking the form of electric light rail transit (LRT), regional passenger rail (“commuter rail”), and even Bus Rapid Transit. And Amtrak’s intercity rail passenger services—which overwhelmingly use surface alignments through urban and suburban areas— may be gradually getting better in both speed and frequency on some routes in future years.

Commentary

Cincinnati streetcar project breaks ground

They’ve done it! On Feb. 17th, Cincinnati finally broke ground on its streetcar project.

LOAD MORE