Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Amtrak

There are lots of ways to help the country's transportation system — but it all boils down to ending the hegemony of car drivers, argues a new report.

Report: We Really Need to Divert Money from Drivers to Transit Users

By Gersh Kuntzman | Sep 10, 2020 | No Comments

The federal government needs an entirely different way of funding transportation — one that would finally allocate billions of dollars that currently subsidize and encourage driving to fund and expand transit, a new report argues.

The proposed, and currently unnamed, Penn Station South. Area residents have some notes. Image: Governor's Office

Op-Ed: A Better Plan Than Cuomo’s $8B Penn Station Annex

By Robert Hale | Jun 22, 2020 | No Comments

The governor would disrupt Midtown in order to enlarge the station. "Through-running" would enable us to avoid that — and provide one-seat rides around the tri-state.

New York's economy would be paralyzed if the 100-plus-year-old Gateway Tunnel were to collapse.

Feds Must Fix Hudson River Tunnel Before Catastrophic Failure Cripples New York

By Julianne Cuba | Feb 27, 2019 | 23 Comments

The Regional Plan Association estimates that a failure of the tunnel would cost billions to the New York region and send home values plummeting.

There are less expensive ways to solve the problem of LIRR concourse crowding than building a $1.6 billion Amtrak train hall across the street from Penn Station. Photo: Glugalug/Wikimedia Commons

Integrated Planning Can Help Free New York Transit From Dependence on Trump

By Alon Levy | Feb 14, 2018 | 1 Comment

The New York region can’t count on Washington to fund its transit mega-projects.

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What the Amtrak 501 Derailment Says About America’s Failure to Prevent Train Crashes

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 19, 2017 | No Comments

While the investigation is just beginning, initial reports indicate that the train entered a tight curve at too high a speed.

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House Votes to Slash Amtrak Funding Just Hours After Horrible Crash

By Angie Schmitt | May 13, 2015 | No 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 […]

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