We're excited to welcome back engineer, author, and railway champion @garethdennis.uk for another webinar on March 6 - this time to tackle the challenges of U.S. railroads.
Come prepared with your questions and be a part of the conversation with us!
The American Public Transportation Association calls on Congress to invest $268 billion in public transit and passenger rail over the next five years.
"A separate economic report ... shows that every $1 billion investment in transit generates $5 billion in gross domestic product for the economy."
Amtrak announced last week that it will switch to an entirely single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
We need to maintain pressure on Amtrak and the U.S. Department of Transportation to get this order placed immediately.
The MARK Rail Commission, which is making steps to re-establish regional rail service between the Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, has added Cudahy as its newest member community, a strategic move given its proximity to Milwaukee General Mitchell Airport.
North Carolina is eager to expand passenger rail service in the state, and a new economic study shows why.
The Chicago Bears are considering two non-Chicago sites for a new stadium: Arlington Heights, IL and Hammond, IN. Regional rail should be a deciding factor: Arlington Heights has a train station ... while the Hammond site doesn’t have passenger rail access.
Rebecca Higgins, vice president of policy at the Eno Center for Transportation, joins us for a webinar on Friday, March 13 to outline how adopting a long-term federal funding model is needed to make American passenger rail great again.
Our next webinar will empower advocates with a deeper understanding of the Passenger Rail Planning Act, which is being considered in Illinois. Join us to learn more about this standard-setting legislation - and what it could mean for American railroads.
Why is planning now for high-frequency passenger rail essential? Executive Director Rick Harnish explains to WCIA 3 News:
“The door doesn’t open if you’re not pushing on it. And if you’re not there when it opens, you can’t go through it."
Royalties from his patents made him the first Black millionaire in Jefferson County, Alabama. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria, VA in 2006.
Andrew Jackson Beard, who had lost a leg in an accident coupling rail cars, patented several automatic rail car coupler inventions from 1887 to1905, allowing rail cars to be connected and disconnected without an employee having to stand between them.
#BlackHistoryMonth2026
Australian Transport Minister Catherine King will pledge AU$230 million for planning work for the first phase of a bullet train on Australia’s east coast.
The High Speed Rail Alliance was at the Illinois Capital in Springfield today, promoting the Passenger Rail Planning Act, which would direct the state to plan for frequent trains. Here, Executive Director Rick Harnish listens while State Rep. Rita Mayfield speaks at a press conference.
The Passenger Rail Planning Act would raise expectations for American railway planning by directing the Illinois Department of Transportation to plan for high-frequency trains throughout the Midwest.
Tell your legislators to support HB4279 and SB3285 at www.hsrail.org/blog/tell-sp...
Jocelyn Benson wants to be the governor that puts Michigan back on rails.
“A statewide transit and high-speed rail system” is a central part of her plan to modernize Michigan’s infrastructure.
TV news coverage of the Passenger Rail Planning Act from WGEM-TV in Quincy, IL. Quincy and Macomb should be served by five or six round trips a day, not just two.
Join us on Friday, Feb. 27 to learn more about the Passenger Rail Planning Act—and what you can do to get it passed.
This legislation would direct the Department of Transportation to aim for hourly service, at minimum, in several strategic corridors.
Few places in the United States are readily amenable to car-free living, but we need to change that, starting now.
Join us on Friday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. CST as we dive into the impact of great railway systems on our built environment - and daily lives - with Berlin-based architect Fredrik Skåtar.
You can help get Amtrak to replace and expand its aging fleet of long-distance rolling stock.
Visit highspeedrail.us/long-distanc... to urge Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to buy more trains.
Car dominance has separated us. It’s led to sprawling communities and a worsening loneliness epidemic.
Trains are the answer to our problems.
Let’s get a railway revolution moving at top speed and make this country a better place to live—for all.
Rodney E. Slater served as U.S. secretary of transportation from 1997-2001, overseeing the designation of 11 proposed high-speed passenger rail corridors throughout the country, and the institution of Amtrak Acela service on the Northeast Corridor.
#BlackHistoryMonth2026
In July 2025, London St. Pancras High Speed and Eurostar signed a joint letter of intent, declaring ambitious plans to expand one of Europe’s busiest international rail hubs to support growing post-pandemic demand for sustainable cross-channel travel.
Award-winning engineer and author of How the Railways Will Fix the Future @garethdennis.uk returns to the High Speed Rail Alliance to throw down ways to improve U.S. freight and passenger rail—and hear from you! Join us on Friday, March 6 via Zoom.
We’d like to identify America’s prototypical train stations, in terms of how the stations promote economic development in the area surrounding the station.
Once we’ve determined the top stations, we’ll use them as examples to show mayors around the country.
Let us know in the comments!
Happy Valentine's Day. We ❤️ trains!
The most important railway projects of this century are on the chopping block. The chair of the House committee that oversees transportation spending wants to gut funding for everything but highways.
Bullies back down when you stand up to them. Join us.
The new Airo trainsets are set to begin service on Amtrak's Cascades route later this year and throughout the Northeast in 2027.
We urge Amtrak, with the support of the Federal Railroad Administration, to work towards updating the rest of its fleet, too, and quickly.
Six years on from the start of the COVID pandemic, we have good data on how it affected transit systems globally, how some systems are successfully responding, and how high the stakes are.
It's not what you think.
www.hsrail.org/blog/why-us-...
Elijah McCoy – born in Canada in 1844 to American parents, educated in Scotland – invented an automatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships, patented in 1872. By 1899, McCoy lubricator was in use on almost all North American #railroads.
#BlackHistoryMonth2026
