Commentary

Implications aplenty in Supreme Court Amtrak ruling

The Supreme Court March 9 sent back to a federal appellate court for reconsideration a freight railroad challenge to a provision of the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) that allowed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak to collaborate in establishing minimum on-time performance standards for Amtrak passenger trains operating on freight railroad-owned track. The 9-0 unanimous decision was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Commentary

2014: Railroads face problematic Washington landscape

Take it from an iron horse’s mouth that if it ain’t one damn thing, it’s another, and 2014 will present for railroads a repast of challenges on Capitol Hill, before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and federal courts, and at the labor bargaining table.

Indiana, Amtrak reach pact on Hoosier State

Amtrak and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announced Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, that Amtrak’s Hoosier State would continue to run for at least another year, with an option for four additional months.

Commentary

Amtrak update: Fire burn, cauldron bubble

What a fascinating October this has been for Amtrak.
Commentary

Amtrak’s vision must navigate the money trap

A mark, a yen, a buck, a pound, money makes the world go round. (Yes, lyrics from the musical, Cabaret.) But money is a scarce commodity, especially for Amtrak, which competes with other publicly funded projects—not the least being mass transit, aging water and sewer systems, highways, commercial aviation, and ports.

For EMD, a passenger rail rebirth

After an absence of 12 years, Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (a subsidiary of the Progress Rail Services Corp. division of Caterpillar Inc.’s Rail Division) has reentered the passenger locomotive market.

Competitive bidding for corridor passenger rail service in play

Among priorities of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee is reauthorization of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), portions of which are a growth hormone for state-subsidized intercity passenger rail corridors that are separate from Amtrak’s long-distance network, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, and commuter rail operations.