Columbus, Indiana, is located 50 miles south of Indianapolis and has only 50,000 residents. Yet seven of its buildings are designated as National Historic Landmarks. That puts it in the same league as cities like Chicago and San Franciscofor the quality and...
Newsletter 5/30/25: Illinois Moves Forward With High-Speed Rail Study
Amtrak’s Penn Station Redevelopment Has New Leadership
This week, Andy Byford was appointed to oversee the redevelopment of New York Penn Station. Byford has experience managing public transportation systems across the world and most recently served as a senior vice president for Amtrak.
As the busiest railroad station in North America, it’s critical that the Penn Station redevelopment is done right to ensure the future of regional and intercity rail travel in New York. We previously wrote about some of the challenges and potential solutions for reimagining Penn Station and will host a webinar next Friday about the project.
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Andy Byford to Take Lead on Amtrak’s Penn Station Redevelopment Project
Illinois Moves Forward With First High-Speed Rail Feasibility Study in the Midwest
The Illinois High Speed Rail Commission is on track to publish an initial feasibility report for Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly in early 2026. The report will outline potential route options, governance structures, and benefits.
This is the first high-speed rail feasibility study in the Midwest. It can be a major step in creating a network of great, electrified trains that reconnect the region’s major cities.
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Form Follows Function: Capacity Before Architecture at Penn Station
When: Friday June 6 at 11am CT on Zoom
You can learn about the future of New York’s Penn Station through this conversation between Alliance executive director Rick Harnish and Blair Lorenzo, the leader of the Effective Transit Alliance.
How the Railways Will Fix the Future
Speaker: Gareth Dennis, engineer and author of How the Railways Will Fix the Future
Engineer and writer Gareth Dennis will join us from the UK to discuss his new book How the Railways Will Fix the Future. In it, he looks at the history of railways (including the role they have played in extraction and exploitation) but focuses on their power to tackle issues facing us today and to shape a better future. Topics for discussion include lessons to learn from global railway operations on what works best long-term, and what this might mean in the United States.
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