Tag Archives: AMTRAK

“All aboard”: Ten planning lessons from riding USA railways

Moonlight over Fort Madison, Iowa After completing a long-distance trip across much of the United States this week, it seemed appropriate to list those planning lessons learned from this and previous rail travel experiences. While much of my ridership has … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, air travel, Alternative transportation, art, books, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, environment, Europe, fun, geography, government, highways, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When the node breaks…put logic back into logistics

I am writing everyone from a hotel room near the Denver and from my gate Denver International Airport. In case you didn’t see the update to the last post, my dream ride on the California Zephyr ended before it ever … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, Bus transportation, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, Economy, environment, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, nature, North America, Passenger rail, planning, product design, rail, seasons, spatial design, tourism, transportation, Travel, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

California Zephyr dreamin’…on such a winter’s day

Greetings from Boulder, Colorado, everyone! This evening I will be boarding Amtrak’s California Zephyr in Denver for the trip back east into the polar vortex. Not to say it’s not plenty cold and snowy here, but in comparison to what … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, cities, commerce, culture, environment, fun, geography, history, infrastructure, Ireland, land use, Maps, music, Passenger rail, rail, seasons, sustainability, tourism, transportation, Travel, UK, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riding the rails to/from college

Below is a list of college cities and towns and their fiscal year 2013 AMTRAK ridership data. Very large central cities with a 2010 Census population exceeding 500,000 (like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Austin, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, cities, climate change, Communications, education, energy, environment, geography, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Passenger rail, planning, pollution, rail, schools, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Geography of AMTRAK’s 2013 ridership

Below are fiscal year 2013 ridership data from AMTRAK for the 20 leading states. As can be seen, passenger rail is no longer just a Northeast Corridor phenomenon. All three states along the Pacific Coast placed in the Top 20; as … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, cities, commerce, environment, fun, geography, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Passenger rail, planning, rail, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Train Kept a Rollin” – AMTRAK’s busiest stations

Below is a list of the 25 cities/intercity railroad stations with the largest AMTRAK ridership in fiscal year 2011.  As a rider/supporter of AMTRAK and as an avid fan of railroad travel in general, I was quite surprised by some of the cities/stations … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, architecture, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, downtown, geography, historic preservation, infrastructure, land use, North America, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, rail, revitalization, Statistics, technology, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop toying with AMTRAK funding, dammit!

I am so sick and tired of the conservative element in Congress annually trying to defund all or part of AMTRAK. Who are these fools? AMTRAK is regularly setting records for ridership and they want to reduce funding – approximately … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, air travel, aviation, bicycling, Bus transportation, Cars, civics, climate change, commerce, Communications, culture, energy, environment, geography, infrastructure, land use, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, pollution, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The time for 21st century rail in America

Posted in economics, Economy, Europe, Passenger rail, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Another round of kudos to AMTRAK

I had the sincere pleasure of riding AMTRAK for the second time this year over the past weekend. This time it was from Indianapolis to Chicago on the “Cardinal” and then from Chicago to East Lansing on the “Bluewater.” Both legs … Continue reading

Posted in economics, Environment, Passenger rail, States, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Eco-dude’s (my) favorite way to sight-see from sea to shining sea

Eco-dude returned home last night on AMTRAK from a long weekend from Chicago and I have to say, the train is the only way to travel over land (especially when you do not have a cape). It was truly enjoyable, smooth, … Continue reading

Posted in Cars, Cities, economics, Environment, fun, land use, politics, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments