Posts Under "Rail":
January 22, 2009
Metro worked.
According to a Metro press release the transit agency gave more than 1.554 million rides on Inauguration Day - the highest one-day total ever. 1.12 million of those were by rail, far surpassing the previous record held by the Reagan funeral, and even beating the record set on January 19th - unique as the day before the inauguration AND a Federal holiday.
The fact that so many people could be moved by the transit agency is both a testament to its planning AND the ability of mass transit to, well, move mass amounts of people. With estimates ranging from 1 million to 2 million people on the Mall for the ceremonies, it's clear that Metro did its job. There would have been no way to move that many people into and out of this city in private vehicles or even tour buses. Simply no way.
Lots of people argue that mass transit is an unreasonable expense on the part of governments, that it cannot be viable on its own, and that fares never cover costs. But I believe that Tuesday's events show that mass transit is not simply one option for providing transportation but in many ways the best way to provide it. So many more people were served by the Metrorail system than could have ever been served by surface streets and concrete freeways.
It's worth noting that thousands more came by train and bus, but very few came by private vehicle. In a nation of SUV's and drivers, it's amazing that mass transit played such a huge role in this event.
Metro worked. And that's something we can all agree on.
1:33 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Metro, Rail, Washington, DC
June 11, 2008
The House of Representatives authorized Amtrak for another five years, and did so by a veto-proof margin today, marking a stiff rebuke to those like John McCain who would see Amtrak's demise.
Over the objections of the White House, the House passed the bill offering $15 billion over five years to Amtrak. The Bush administration threatened a veto, but the increasing popularity of passenger rail and the ever-decreasing popularity of President Bush limits the relevancy of the President on this issue.
The vote also means that should the bill become law, and John McCain wins the White House, he will be unable to veto Amtrak funding from the budget, as the money was appropriated before he took office. Since McCain will likely be a one-term President (he will be 76 at the end of his term), this means Amtrak will survive his "non-negotiable" position.
The House vote was 311 - 104.
7:09 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Metro, Northern Virginia, Politics, Rail, Washington, DC
Getting home for the last couple of days on Metro has been a bit of a challenge.
On Monday, an Orange Line train derailed outside Courthouse station, which caused single-tracking around the incident and backed up both Orange and Blue line trains heading into Rosslyn station. Took me an hour and 40 minutes to get home on Monday.
Tuesday night, my train was taken out of service at Pentagon City station, and turned around (for reasons passing understanding). Then, the next train was delayed a number of times due to a malfunctioning train at Farragut West station. We sat on the train for almost an hour, and the operator even encouraged passengers to switch from hot cars to cooler ones because "we're going to be at this a while."
In all, I blame the girl on the train yesterday for the delays since she was on the derailed train the day before. But it was an interesting experience with a number of strangers who were more than happy to just chat with the people around them. You don't get THAT on the 101 at rush hour!
Let's hope today's commute home is faster, better, and more manageable.
Updated at 6/11/2008 @ 7:40 pm So much for that idea. A heat kink was discovered in the track outside Ballston station meaning trains have to share the same track on the...you guessed it! Orange Line! Oddly, today was 15 degrees cooler than yesterday, AND Metro said the derailment wasn't caued by heat because the "tracks are underground"...much like the tracks to Ballston? Hmmmmmm...
11:57 am | Comment (4) | Print | Categories: Metro, Rail
June 8, 2008
To be sure, Amtrak has its share of flaws. Efficiency, timeliness, and accessible service are always issues with passenger rail.
The problem is that McCain - and a large number of Republicans including the current administration - see highways as the solution to America's transportation problems. That's old thinking. As anyone in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast knows, rail transportation is critical - for both intercity trips on Amtrak and commuter rail, and intracity trips on the subways of New York and Boston, and Washington's Metro.
Washington has seen the kind of anti-rail pro-highway conservative like McCain before. Eisenhower was pro-highway. So was Kentucky Democrat William Natcher. He blocked Metro construction, demanding that Washington be blanketed with freeways that would have destroyed the historic neighborhoods and community feeling that Washington enjoys.
With oil prices on the rise, it's time to look at alternatives to highways and freeways. The end of Amtrak would be a disaster to the Northeast, and the privatization of passenger rail would ensure its end at the hands of rising fares and declining service to small communities.
Rail is not a money-making proposition when it comes to passenger rail. It's a public service, just like the Metro. It moves people, provides efficiency, and belong to the nation as a whole. And it's threatened destruction is reason enough to make sure McCain never takes the oath of office.
9:40 am | Comment (3) | Print | Categories: Rail, Travel