Amtrak

To celebrate 40 years of service, Amtrak is letting kids ride free on trips booked before May 6th for travel through June 9th. Click here for all the details. Almost makes me wish I had kids; almost.

Today is a big day for Baltimore (and East Coast) geekdom. It's Geeks on a Train : a rolling tweetup that started in Washington DC this morning, with a denizen of DC techies and entrepreneurs boarding an Amtrak train. The itinerary: stop at Baltimore and other major stops along the East Coast Amtrak corridor and connect with geeks and techies in other cities, all the way up to Boston. But there was an early snafu. The #GeekTrain broke down somewhere around Odenton, Md.  "Train now stuck and without power," tweeted @BenSlavin from the train.  In Baltimore, this city's geek contingent waited at Penn Station -- maybe it should be called Geeks in a Station and not Geeks on a Train, tweeted Scott Paley . Baltimore entrepreneur Greg Cangialosi tweeted a picture of the board at Penn Station, with the Northeast Regional #172, from Washington to Boston, saying "DELAYED" . But alas, Amtrak sent a diesel engine to replace the electric one, some tweeters said.

For the first time ever, Amtrak is expected to hit the 30 million milestone on Sept. 30. That's how many passengers it will have served over the previous 12 months, an annual increase in train ridership of 6.4 percent — a remarkably robust result given the nation's high unemployment rate and challenging economic circumstances. That's something to be celebrated. The public's embrace of passenger rail recognizes both improvements in Amtrak and the diminishment of alternatives, as highways and air travel become increasingly congested.

An idea that mushroomed out of the Baltimore Tech Facebook group back in November , led by local tech guru Mike Subelsky , is coming to fruition this month. That's right: Geeks On A Train. The idea of better connecting the Northeast tech/geek/entrepreneur/investor community with a day-long train ride is heppening May 24, starting in Washington DC. The event is being spearheaded now by the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, which has details on how to participate on its site . Subelsky will be riding on the train, he tells me, but the GBTC has taken the initiative and pulled it all together.

Amtrak is turning out to be a good neighbor after all. The railroad announced plans Friday to install a good fence, not the shoddy chain-link joke in place now, along its Northeast Corridor tracks in Middle River. It was along that 2-mile stretch, where ultra-quiet trains race by at speeds up to 125 mph, that 14-year-old Anna Marie Stickel was killed in January 2010 as she walked along the tracks and was hit from behind. Certainly Anna didn't belong there. She was a trespasser.

Suddenly, America's only passenger rail service, Amtrak, finds itself in big trouble. Unless rail labor unions and Congress can agree, Amtrak could be forced to shut down Oct. 1."It's quite clear that the future of Amtrak is in jeopardy," said House Transportation Committee chairman Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania. A quarrel over severance provisions in an Amtrak reform bill that might impact on private freight railroads has brought work on remedial legislation, and budget funds, to a halt.Mr.

I n the wake of last month's death of 14-year-old Anna Marie Stickel on the Amtrak tracks near Middle River, quite a few people can't seem to wait to give the railroad a free pass. I can. I've seen the condition of the fences along the tracks - where they do exist - in Middle River. It's disgraceful. If you drive along Orems Road alongside the tracks, not far from the spot where Anna and a friend gained access, you don't have to get out of the car to find obvious gaps in the decrepit old fence.

Amtrak and MARC trains are scheduled to run as usual today, after a federal judge blocked a planned strike by the United Transportation Union.U.S. District Judge Stanley Harris signed a temporary restraining order in Washington yesterday at the urging of lawyers representing Amtrak who contended that a strike was illegal.The walkout, which was called by the union amid a dispute over who should operate trains at maintenance facilities, would have begun at 12:01 a.m. today and shut down all Amtrak passenger service as well as MARC lines.

Absolutely. Amtrak, the nation's passenger rail system, isn't about to expire. Efforts by congressional conservatives to kill its $1 billion federal subsidy have run into unexpected opposition from unexpected sources. Two rounds of steep cuts, including one last week, improve Amtrak's immediate outlook. Yet the long-term picture isn't rosy.The basic problem is that members of Congress want to have it both ways: They crave a first-rate rail system but they don't want to pay for it. Ever since Ronald Reagan targeted Amtrak for elimination, the railroad's fiscal situation has gotten progressively worse.

FINANCIALLY starved and neglected for most of its history, Amtrak is finally showing modest signs of bouncing back. After its most recent brush with bankruptcy in the summer of 2002, the rail system is getting its house in order thanks to a no-nonsense CEO and president, David L. Gunn. Ridership is up and maintenance of its aging tracks and equipment is much improved, particularly in the vital Northeast corridor. So why is the Bush administration so anxious to kill it? Mr. Gunn believes Amtrak needs about $1.8 billion in federal funds this year to stay on track.

When it comes to customer service, Amtrak is easily derailed.  My nephew gave me an Amtrak gift certificate for Christmas. I tried to use it on Sunday when making reservations for travel to New York.   First, I went online. Nothing relevant could I see on the computer screen.  I called the Amtrak 800 number. The friendly man said I had to go to the train station to use the gift certificate.   On Monday, I went to Penn Station. The man at the counter made the reservations, then said he thought he'd better check with his manager to be sure the certificate could be used at his terminal.

Amtrak will pay $466 million this year for 70 new locomotives to enhance the speed and reliability of rail service in the Northeast Corridor and invest $298 million on 130 new rail cars to serve the East Coast and Midwest. The new equipment will be a major upgrade for a system that now operates with locomotives that are 20 to 30 years old and some sleeper cars that are 60 years old, Amtrak President Joe Boardman said in announcing the federally subsidized passenger rail line's plans for 2012.

Around 10 a.m. Thursday an Amtrak contractor struck a 24-inch gas main on the property of Penn Station in Baltimore, a utility spokeswoman said. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. responded to the scene and were continuing work on shutting off the gas line at around 2 p.m., said Rachael Lighty. Only buildings on the Penn Station property are expected to lose gas service because of the leak, she said, but BGE is having employees canvass the area to ensure no residential gas users have lost service.

For the first time ever, Amtrak is expected to hit the 30 million milestone on Sept. 30. That's how many passengers it will have served over the previous 12 months, an annual increase in train ridership of 6.4 percent — a remarkably robust result given the nation's high unemployment rate and challenging economic circumstances. That's something to be celebrated. The public's embrace of passenger rail recognizes both improvements in Amtrak and the diminishment of alternatives, as highways and air travel become increasingly congested.

Three public groups are looking for a private-sector partner interested in building a transit-oriented development on a triangular parking lot just north of Penn Station. Amtrak, which owns the 1.5-acre development parcel, has set Aug. 5 as the deadline for groups to submit qualifications to serve as the master developer for the property, which is bounded by Lanvale, St. Paul and Charles streets and the Amtrak train lines. Amtrak issued the request along with the Maryland Department of Transportation and the City of Baltimore.

Amtrak passengers in Maryland and other Eastern states emerged as some of the biggest beneficiaries of Florida's decision to turn down more than $2 billion in federal high-speed rail funds, as the Obama administration redirected nearly $800 million of that money into Northeast Corridor infrastructure. The windfall includes $22 million sought by Maryland for planning and engineering of a replacement for the century-old bridge that carries Amtrak and MARC trains over the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville.

Around 10 a.m. Thursday an Amtrak contractor struck a 24-inch gas main on the property of Penn Station in Baltimore, a utility spokeswoman said. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. responded to the scene and were continuing work on shutting off the gas line at around 2 p.m., said Rachael Lighty. Only buildings on the Penn Station property are expected to lose gas service because of the leak, she said, but BGE is having employees canvass the area to ensure no residential gas users have lost service.

Amtrak passengers in Maryland and other Eastern states emerged as some of the biggest beneficiaries of Florida's decision to turn down more than $2 billion in federal high-speed rail funds, as the Obama administration redirected nearly $800 million of that money into Northeast Corridor infrastructure. The windfall includes $22 million sought by Maryland for planning and engineering of a replacement for the century-old bridge that carries Amtrak and MARC trains over the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville.

Saturday is National Train Day with celebrations at multiple locations, including Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. Amtrak, which celebrates its 40 th anniversary this year, will unveil a host of attractions and a major discount: free fare for kids. For every adult passenger in coach, one child can ride free when you make reservations by Friday – and at least three days in advance – for travel through June 9. Use promo code H859. Events at Washington’s Union Station include model trains, live performances, historic cars and a 40 th Anniversary exhibit train displaying historic advertising, uniforms, photos and other memorabilia.

To celebrate 40 years of service, Amtrak is letting kids ride free on trips booked before May 6th for travel through June 9th. Click here for all the details. Almost makes me wish I had kids; almost.