RailTEC: Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling

1) CA HSR SF to LA should have run directly from SF to LA via the I-5 corridor. 2) CA HSR should utilize overhead catenary. Its proven technology. 1st section of CA HSR SF to LA should have been over the Grapevine between Los Angeles Union Station, San Fernando Valley and Bakersfield. That would have served as a demonstration project that would address a missing rail link and connected existing Pacific Surfliner to San Joaquin Amtrak routes

Want to Use Less Oil? Stop Blocking Electrified Trains Italy Reaps High-Speed Benefits While CA Leaders Tweet Nonsense Letters to the Governor. Could this have something to do with big oil?

Much needed investment. Need to ask for bikes-on-trains parking on these new train cars now!

Amtrak signs deal for 83 multi-powered trains. Some will replace rail cars that are 50 years old. Under the plan announced Wednesday, Amtrak will replace nearly 40 percent of its rail car fleet by 2031 and invest $2 billion in facilities upgrades systemwide.

Developer offers bicycle parking (instead of motor vehicle spaces) in 21-story high rise proposal in Kitchener, Canada!

Proposed Kitchener condo would include 0 parking spots, bike spaces instead A proposed downtown Kitchener condo development would feature exactly zero parking spaces.

Reducing travel time on Metro-North between New Haven and Grand Central Terminal is a goal Governor Elect-Lamont has publicly advocated for since his New Haven Train Day presentation at New Haven Union Station in 2010. Joseph Giulietti is a good choice to carry out that vision.

New DOT boss has trained for the job for more than 40 years Joseph Giulietti has walked every mile of the Metro North railroad track in his three decades working in Connecticut's rail industry. After bootstrapping his way up from foreman and engineer, the 66-year old, former Metro North president sees commuter rail as a state's economic driver. That belief w...

Connecticut DOT officials have announced they will forego their prohibition of standard bicycles on its Hartford Line, a rail service that opened earlier this summer. The new line operates from New Haven to Hartford (except 3 trains that run between New Haven and Springfield.) Bicycle advocates demanded that policy change. However, Connecticut Yankee cycling advocates need to be sure that the new policy allows bicycles on each and every Hartford Line train.

In New Policy, Bicycles Will Be Allowed On Hartford Line Trains The Connecticut Department of Transportation will unveil a new policy for bicycles on board the CTrail Hartford Line on Thursday morning at Union Station in New Haven.

A well written informative op-ed by New Urbanist architect John Massengale, co-author with Victor Dover of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns.

Opinion | There Are Better Ways to Get Around Town New York and other American cities should look to Europe for ideas about solving the urban traffic and safety crisis.

Brightline: Running today. Bikes on Board

33 minutes to downtown — with leather, wifi and wine. Fido can ride, too. Brightline previewed its Fort Lauderdale-to-West Palm Beach service Friday. Customers can begin riding Saturday. While prices are low for now, that could soon change.

The problem New York cyclists and cycle advocates faced in mid-Manhattan during the late 1980's (see street sign photo) is the problem bicycle commuters face today on Metro-North and LIRR and every commuter rail line on the Northeast Corridor. (Credit to Steve Ellman for his FB post of the New York Times article in 2012.)

For New York Bike Advocates, Delayed Gratification Transportation Alternatives, the bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group, is bracing for a new administration less friendly to the agenda it has pushed for decades.

Protected bike lanes in Miami Beach and Miami, FL. Brightline trains with bike racks service later this summer. Here's a well written story about protected bike lanes: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article155626279.html

Safer bike lanes to debut in Miami and South Beach. Will regular folks jump on? Protected bike lanes, which have led to jumps in cycling all over the country, are making a belated debut in Miami and South Beach, where planners say that’s what it takes to get regular people confident enough to pedal on city streets.

State Street New Haven Station is located in downtown New Haven. The downtown New Haven Metro-North and Shoreline East Station resembles Grand Central Terminal of Connecticut, not by it's architectural features, but by the fact that no public parking is provided at State Street. The topic of this Infrastruction Thursdays radio program is the future role of New Haven State Street Station.

Infrastructure Thursdays | Trains & Bikes Hosts Doug Hausladen and Giovanni Zinn talk to Richard Stowe, founder of RailTEC, and look forward to 2017's big infrastructure projects.

While living along the New Haven Line Corridor, I nearly always brought my bicycle on Metro-North New Haven Line trains. Bicycles on Metro-North cars were restricted. Metro-North planners liked it that way. Technically you weren't allowed on trains with bikes for nearly half of each weekday. Conductors were mostly supportive of cyclists, but a state-sanctioned commuter rail council was not. There were no bicycle accommodations on the old train cars. With a pending train order of 380 train cars, I thought why not have bike parking on the new trains? I met with & spoke to cyclists, media and elected officials in order to persuade officials that providing bike parking on the new train cars was an achievable and desirable goal. I even contacted a potential manufacturer, Sportworks Northwest, and passed on contact info to Metro-North officials. I met friends and allies along the way, David Bedell, Mary Mushinsky, Melinda Tuhus, Tom Kehoe, Ken Coughlin, Jason Stockmann, Kim Martineau, Michael Norris, Doug Hausladen, David Marcus, Aaron Goode, Matthew J. Feiner, Hunter Smith & others. A number of us worked together through our advocacy group, RailTEC. Allies at Elm City Cycling and other cycling groups supported our vision. Governor Jodi Rell signed on after receiving a number of letters including a letter from then-New Haven Mayor DeStefano and she ordered Connecticut DOT to include bike racks on the new M-8 cars. When it was all said and done, Sportworks Northwest picked up the largest bike rack on trains contract ever and in mid-August DOT

Commissioner Redeker (see excerpt below) announced that the bike racks would be installed on all New Haven Line train cars. That's good news :-)

Can you help us take the next step: make on-board bicycle parking available at peak hours for cyclists traveling within the State of Connecticut?

Richard Stowe

Bicycle racks on every New Haven Line train
By: DAVID GURLIACCI | August 18, 2016
Darienite.com

Following the recent purchase of 405 new, state-of-the-art M-8 rail cars that are now in service on the New Haven Line, the state began outfitting the cars with bicycle racks in response to customer demand.

“This is another example of our listening to our customers and taking positive action,” Commissioner Redeker said.

Bicycles are not permitted on peak-hour (morning and evening rush) trains.

The cost of installing the racks was $209,000. Connecticut’s share was $135,000 and the State of New York paid the balance under the 65-35 percent financial agreement between the states.

Check out this old story on the New Haven Line bike racks:

More Bike Racks Coming to Metro-North Trains If you're riding the rails on Metro-North, soon it will be easier to bring your wheels along too.