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Down in San Antonio, Texas, mention the word "VIA" in conjunction with passenger transportation and only a few railfans and dedicated passenger train riders will think first of VIA Rail Canada. That's because the Alamo City's public bus agency is also named VIA - and it credibly serves...

Two of the vital parts of my Grid and Gateway idea involve the individual routes which criss-cross the continent (the grid) and the points at which those lines intersect (the gateways). [Makes sense, doesn't it?!] Together, they create a matrix where, ideally, between the various through services...

Mention the Cotton Belt Route in north central Texas and it brings to mind the St. Louis Southwestern Railway's former main traveling northeast out of Fort Worth's famed Stockyards, past the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, across Dallas' northern suburbs and into the "ArkLaTex"...

I really hate this. I can count on one hand with fingers left over the number of times this has ever happened to me: a passenger service initiative which I'm not only unable to support, but find myself actively opposing. Worse yet, it's a proposal that honestly looks good - at least as a line...

I don't set out to be negative (honestly!) and I've never wished to concentrate upon what I conclude may be wrong in the world of railroading while ignoring possible solutions . No matter how badly things may be going, it's not right or fair to continually pick on others if I'm unwilling...

During the late 1980s, as Union Pacific began to merge former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad operations into its growing system, I became concerned about the future of a little used ex-Katy main line in north central Texas. The route in question stretched from B-RI Jct. in the city of Waxahachie to Dana...

I must admit, it's hard to be in two places at once. When a business (such as mine) essentially exists as a one man band, how can the opening of a satellite office be justified? Yet, here I am in San Antonio, rationalising my decision to do just that. I have a wonderful sister who's willing...

Jacquielynn Floyd, a columnist for The Dallas Morning News , wrote an essay printed in the June 28th edition of the paper which outlined her top ten suggestions for the city's new mayor. Item number three (impressively high on the list) concerned Dallas' downtown. A "bonus hint"...

Growing up, I really don't remember much positive talk regarding passenger service, whether general system or transit. Certainly, the idea of inaugurals was practically unheard of. When passenger trains made the news, it was almost always due to the "disappearing railroad blues," untempered...

About two weeks ago, Rodger Jones, an editorial writer for the Dallas Morning News and one of three staff members who ride herd on that paper's wonderful on-line Transportation Blog, posted an essay entitled "DART ridership dwindling despite rising gas prices." In it, he wondered aloud...

Recently, a pro-H.S.R. piece appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Long-time columnist Bob Ray Sanders indicated his strong support for a "bullet train" project, linking various metropolitan regions along the "Texas Triangle," including Houston, San Antonio, Austin and "Dallas...

I'm really not much on doomsday scenarios. Having been born and reared in Dallas, Texas - and living through the death of John F. Kennedy - I've heard enough conspiracy theories to last a lifetime. I'm also not a prophet "nor the son of a prophet" (ref.: Amos 7:14), so I claim...

Yep, that was the front page headline of today's Dallas Morning News : "No turning back." So sorry; we've already gone too far, spent too much money, made too many plans. We can't stop now. The subject in question is the rebuilding of Lyndon Baines Johnson Freeway (Interstate...

Well, the anti-tax zealots are at it again, with their weapons focused (as is so often the case) upon railway technology. [You know, I've often wondered where all our Libertarian friends were hiding when the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (a.k.a. the National Interstate and Defense Highways...

It may simply be a sign of getting old, I suppose. One believes he knows and understands certain concepts, only to discover that some of the rules have changed whilst he slept (metaphorically, of course). In the 45 years that the F.R.A. has been in existence (yes...that's forty five years !),...

As we begin the 21st century's second decade and enter destinations unknown (tempus fugit, man!), I though it might be sobering to create a wish list of sorts: a compilation of, say, the top ten things I'd enjoy adding to our society's growing catalogue of concerns. It's a depressing...

From birth, Amtrak has had more than its share of problems. I've always believed its biggest was a route network whose size falls far short of critical mass. "You can't get there from here" - even in the northeastern U.S. (outside of the much vaunted N.E.C.) - remains a true, if shopworn...

I suppose the danger always exists. A simple advocate develops into a "true believer," then, taking the plunge, finally becomes an ideologue. By remaining aware of that possibility, perhaps I'll escape such a fate. Besides, I enjoy my cognitive, volitional, creative abilities! These...

Although the Obama administration has recently shown alarming interest in the idea of expanded F.R.A. oversight, today's rail transit systems remain little more than "kissin' cousins" to our railroad industry. Steel rails, flanged wheels, standard gauge...apart from a handful of basics...