U.S., When it comes to Amtrak competition, we know for sure we don’t know what we don’t know

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; July 13, 2023 The idea of Amtrak having competition on long distance/inter-regional…

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U.S., Amtrak and before: Serving the Pacific Northwest with the Empire Builder and multiple transcontinental trains

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; April 19, 2023 If you wanted to get from here to there…

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U.S., Amtrak and others: For 2023, bring back parlor cars, reinvent sleeping car lounges, remember that train cars have couplers, plus Brightline ridership skyrockets

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; January 13, 2023 Woulda Coulda Shoulda Those three well-established definitions of what…

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U.S.: Is Amtrak advertising too warm and fuzzy or even necessary?

By Russ Jackson, Guest Commentator; December 30, 2022 Editor’s Note: Russ Jackson taught broadcast advertising at a California college and…

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U.S.; before Amtrak, Broadway Limited and 20th Century Limited’s great rivalry: Speed, luxury and superb Pullman service

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on May 24, 2021. It has been updated and photos and…

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U.S., Amtrak: A dismal summer of train and sleeping car cancellations; Stephen Gardner and his executives received more than $2 million in ‘performance bonuses’

By Andrew Selden, Guest Commentator; August 16, 2022 Editor’s Note: Mr. Selden acknowledges the original contribution to part of this…

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U.S.: Stephen Gardner’s Amtrak Empire Builder in past better days competed spiritedly with the North Coast Limited, Mainstreeter, Olympian Hiawatha and Western Star

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on March 15, 2021. It has been updated and photographs and…

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U.S., Amtrak: Sabotage!? Why are Southwest Chief and other train consists designed for failure? Revisiting, a year later

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform a year ago on September 7, 2021. Andrew Selden has updated…

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U.S., Amtrak and others: A primer of best practices for how to plan passenger train expansions

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on March 29, 2021. It has been updated with photographs and…

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U.S. and Canada; Amtrak, Brightline, VIA Rail Canada, and Rocky Mountaineer: Passenger trains come in all shapes, sizes and colors

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on August 21, 2021. It has been updated and photographs added.…

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U.S.: Stephen Gardner’s Amtrak isn’t growing and may be shrinking with no way out as it seems to follow a false interpretation of federal law Stephen Gardner himself wrote

By Andrew Selden, Guest Commentator; May 23, 2022 It is widely acknowledged that if a business is not growing, it…

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U.S., Amtrak: There is a better way to run dining and lounge cars on Stephen Gardner’s Amtrak; look at Brightline’s example

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; May 16, 2022 We keep hearing whispers that full dining car service…

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U.S., Amtrak: Seeing America First; the travel adventures of Andrew Selden’s invisible 3,593 mile trip

By Andrew Selden, Guest Commentator; March 18, 2002 Can there be too much of a good thing? Based on my…

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U.S., What If – Another View: Thinking about the future of the Midwest through Chicago and Louisville

(Editor’s Note ― In another What If look at the future, William Lindley of Shelbyville, Kentucky shares his thoughts about…

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U.S., Amtrak: Mr. And Mrs. Selden Take A Train Trip; The Harsh Reality Of Differences Between The Lake Shore Limited And Empire Builder

Editor’s Note: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Selden took a train trip home to Minnesota from Springfield, Massachusetts earlier this month.…

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U.S., Amtrak: Veteran Passengers Comment On Superliner Linens, Doors Popping Open, Faucets, Sudden Flushing Unavailability And Possible Replacement Equipment

Editor’s Note: Frequent guest commentator Russ Jackson, the venerable retired editor of the Western Rail Passenger Review, is joined by…

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U.S., Montana, Amtrak: Beyond The Surface Facts Of The Empire Builder Derailment

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; September 26, 2021 Another grim reminder of how dangerous the railroad business…

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U.S., Amtrak: Sabotage!? Why Are Southwest Chief And Other Train Consists Designed For Failure?

By Andrew Selden, Guest Commentator; September 7, 2021 Under federal (and many states’) law it is a crime, often a…

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U.S., Creating A New, Better Superliner Sleeping Car Fleet

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; September 3, 2021 It’s past time to reimagine sleeping cars in North…

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U.S., The Excitement Of The Boring Topic Of Yield Management; Amtrak Pricing Schemes

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; April 13, 2021 Yield management is not a subject which generates great…

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U.S., Amtrak: Congress gave them the money, the national network will soon be daily, again

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; March 10, 2021 It’s here – Amtrak announced today, thanks to the…

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U.S., Amtrak’s Empire Builder: A Multi-Tasking Mobility Machine That Baffles The Experts (Including Amtrak)

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this website in 2018. By F.K. Plous, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; February 26,…

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U.S.: Someone Died and Made You King of the Passenger Trains, Part Two

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; February 10, 2021 Someone died and made you the king of passenger…

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U.S., Amtrak Empire Builder History: Welsh Rabbit Was on the Great Northern Menu

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; January 8, 2021 James J. Hill was the Empire Builder by reputation…

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U.S., Great Northern Empire Builder Route History: The Western Star offered superb passenger amenities and food service

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; December 3, 2020 The Western Star, a secondary train of the Great…

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