Illinois Quietly Rewrote the Rules: Intercity Rail is Now Transit When the Illinois General Assembly passed its $1.5 billion transit package, it did something more profound than stabilize budgets or prevent service cuts. It fundamentally reconceived the role of...
Newsletter 9/19/25: Long Distance Trains Need More Seats and California HSR Udpate
Long-Distance Trains Need More Seats Too
An order for new coaches is needed now.
Our Sept. 2 blog entry on scant seat availability on state-supported Amtrak routes based in Chicago, premised on an analysis of the subject by Joseph P. Schwieterman at DePaul University, was widely read – and it raised the question of seat availability, or lack thereof, on Amtrak long-distance trains.
It turns out many of those trains sell out regularly too – which is why it’s essential that Amtrak place orders at once for additional Amtrak long-distance coaches and sleeper cars.
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Why Do They Hate California High Speed Rail? Because It Could Actually Succeed
Texas and California, America’s biggest states by population, both have massive infrastructure projects underway. You know something about California’s 500-mile high-speed line from San Francisco to Los Angeles, probably. But you likely haven’t heard about the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), which is reconstructing I-45N and segments of connecting freeways in Houston.
It’s interesting to compare the two projects.
California HSR is a popular punching bag for critics of both high-speed trains and California. Columnists and media outlets obsess over its costs. In a recent essay in Forbes, for example, Steve Forbes summed up years of attacks by calling it a “disgraceful boondoggle” and writing that “it’s long past time to derail this fiscal fiasco.”
By contrast, the NHHIP barely registers in national discussions. Which seems odd, since Houston’s project is far more expensive and delay-plagued than California high-speed rail. It will cost an estimated $13 billion for the 25 miles of work, or nearly $500 million per mile. The projected cost of the high-speed line from San Francisco to LA is $128 billion, or a little over $200 million per mile.
But costs aren’t the only or even most relevant way to compare the projects.
Consider the value they’ll deliver (or not) when they’re finished.
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Illinois Lawmakers Face a Critical Choice in October: the Future of Transit and Regional Rail Is at Stake
Illinois residents: please contact your representatives and tell them to pass HB3438.
The bill, already approved by the Senate, is up for debate by the House during the Assembly’s veto session. Lawmakers can choose to do nothing, which will force Metra to slash service. Or they can pass the bill, which does much more than just restore the status quo.
For starters, it will start Metra’s transition into a regional rail system that serves more people, traveling between more places, for more reasons—at all hours, not just during the daily work commute.
But this is about much more than just Metra and Chicago. The bill also allocates $200 million annually for downstate transit. And, for the first time ever, it makes intercity passenger rail an eligible investment.
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Luncheon – Averting the Fiscal Cliff: The Road to Regional & High-Speed Rail
When: Friday, October 10, 11am to 3pm CT (Doors open at 10am)
Where: The Collective, 120 S Riverside Plz, Chicago, IL 60606
From the urgent fiscal crisis threatening Chicago-area transit, to the future of Metra and high-speed rail in the Midwest, you will hear directly from leaders addressing today’s most pressing transportation challenges.
Accelerating the Permitting Process for High Speed Rail Projects
When: Friday, October 24 at 12pm CT
Speaker: Terry Hynes, Senior Counsel, Sidley
Environmental review and permitting of high-speed rail projects can take many years or even more than a decade. This increases the cost of projects, discourages private investment, and makes the public wait to enjoy the benefits of high-speed trains. In this talk, you can learn about a proposal to designate the Surface Transportation Board as the lead agency for all high-speed rail projects, to accelerate review and permitting.
WI: Legislature’s New Passenger Rail Caucus Wants to See Train Service Open the Throttle
More Money, Less Red Tape. Here’s CA High-Speed Rail’s Wish List for Success (Fresno Bee)
Intercity Rail Travel in Wisconsin Is Moving Backward
Ditching Cars for Rail, Wisconsin Amtrak Passengers Find Accessibility
Columbus, OH: Where Are Our Trains?
Nebraska Lawmaker, Passenger Rail Advocates Host Town Hall in North Platte
Justice Department, Norfolk Southern Settle Lawsuit Over Amtrak’s Crescent
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