“I finally had a chance to ride the new NextGen Acela and I have to admit, I was wrong: This really is Amtrak’s train of the future.” – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →
Talking Transportation: Tips for Riding Amtrak Acela
|
Opinion
Recent Posts
How Safe Are You on E-Scooters and Skateboards?
|
As if our roads weren’t dangerous enough already, there’s a new generation of “micro-mobility” silently swishing around our streets for us to worry about: electric scooters and skateboards. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
CT Traffic Deaths Down Except for E-bikes. Wrong-Way Crashes Down. Train Fares Up.
|
“Higher rail fares (with the same slow service) and unending traffic are other reasons more than 17% of Connecticut residents chose to work remotely. In some towns the numbers are much higher: 39% of Weston residents and 36% in Westport.” – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
Diana Jackson, “Walking the Walk” All 2,192 Miles of the Appalachian Trail
|
The Darien native is one of over 3300 people each year who try to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. But she’s one of the 25% of them that actually completed the task. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
A Transportation Centennial: Formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, August 1925
|
“As one historian put it, a Pullman porter had the best job in his community and the worst job on the train. There was no room for promotion. Passengers often referred to Pullman porters by demeaning names like “boy”, or “George”, applying the first name of the Pullman cars’ owner.” – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
Talking Transportation: Amtrak’s New Acela rains
|
By Jim Cameron
Amtrak’s oldest new trains are arriving shortly: the NextGen Acela (finally) starts running between Washington and Boston on August 28. Ordered in 2016 for $1.8 billion, the first trains arrived from the Alstom assembly facility in Hornell, NY in 2020. That meant jobs there for 1300 workers and business for 180 suppliers across 29 states. These new trains are 95% “made in the USA”. Like any new trains, the new Acelas required extensive testing, especially for crash worthiness and compatibility with the aging tracks and wires in the Northeast Corridor. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
Talking Transportation: 1969, Woodstock on the Tappan Zee Bridge
|
I remember one station wagon that pulled in to my toll lane, caked in mud up to the windows and stuffed with a dozen zonked-out kids. “Hey man,” said the driver with bloodshot eyes that struggled to focus. “We don’t have any money,” (to pay the 50¢ toll). “How about these instead?” That day, his Tappan Zee toll was an orange and a warm Coke. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, 1969, Jim Cameron, NY Thruway Authority, Tappan Zee Bridge, Woodstock
Talking Transportation: Higher Fares, New Ticket Rules on Metro-North
|
At least one MTA Board member called the hikes “scary” and another exclaimed that he was “actually kind of offended.” But, hey… there is nobody on the MTA Board representing Connecticut riders so they both voted to approve the hike as did the entire MTA Board. After all, it’s not their money. – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
Talking Transportation: Saving AM Radio, Losing NPR Funding
|
If your listening habits tend toward the NPR stations at the lower end of the FM band you’re in for disappointment. Congress has just voted to claw back (“rescind”) $1.1 billion from funds previously allocated to CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which funds both PBS television and NPR radio stations. – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion
Talking Transportation: The Inevitable Fare Increase
|
Driving isn’t an option, especially with an additional $9 toll now added to your daily drive into Manhattan. And work from home was great, while it lasted. But now you have to show up at the office in person at least a few days a week. – Jim Cameron Continue Reading →