Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Amtrak

House Votes to Slash Amtrak Funding Just Hours After Horrible Crash

By Angie Schmitt | May 13, 2015 | 51 Comments

Just hours after seven people were killed and hundreds injured in an Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia, the U.S. House voted to cut funding for the passenger rail service. Early reports suggest the derailment was caused by excessive speed — exactly the type of crash that could be avoided with a new safety system that Amtrak is in […]

What’s New in the House Amtrak Bill?

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 5, 2015 | 16 Comments

In what’s being called a “rare burst of bipartisanship,” the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill yesterday reauthorizing Amtrak funding for four years at its current levels. Despite a last-minute, Koch brothers-backed push to eliminate funding for the railroad completely, the House advanced its bill to provide Amtrak with $1.7 billion annually for four years. It’s […]

Don’t Look Now, But the House Amtrak Bill Actually Has Some Good Ideas

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 16, 2014 | 84 Comments

Tomorrow, the House Transportation Committee will consider a bill that changes the nation’s policies on passenger rail. The proposal, while it includes some cuts, is a departure from the senseless vendetta many House Republicans have waged against Amtrak in the past. The National Association of Railroad Passengers, NARP, says the plan contains “commonsense regulatory and […]

Oil-Laden Freight Trains Delaying Amtrak, Commuter Trains Across U.S.

By Steven Vance and Payton Chung | Aug 14, 2014

Oil production is booming across North America, as new technologies make it possible to extract liquid crude oil from sources like the Bakken shale oil field in North Dakota and Montana, or Alberta’s tar sands. The ever-increasing volume of crude oil mined in remote Great Plains locations often finds its way to refineries via “rolling pipelines” – freight […]

Will the Supreme Court Help Amtrak Run Its Trains on Time?

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 13, 2014 | 35 Comments

The Supreme Court has the chance to redeem its spotty record of late by making the trains run on time. Yes, it’s in their power. If you’ve noticed lately that Amtrak trains have been more delayed and more run-down than usual, there’s a very good reason for that. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for […]

Amtrak to Begin Welcoming Bikes on Long-Distance Routes

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 24, 2014 | 69 Comments

The nation’s intercity passenger rail service just got a lot bike-friendlier. Amtrak announced last week that it is installing new baggage cars — equipped for bike storage — in all trains on its long-distance routes by year’s end. The change will allow Amtrak riders to “roll on” their bikes, rather than disassembling them and transporting them […]

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