Tag: From the Railgram

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On Friday November 14th, 2025 the Rail Users’ Network held its Fall Conference, An Update – keeping you informed in the world of Passenger Rail & Rail Transit. RUN Chair Richard Rudolph gave the opening statement. He spoke on RUN’s history. It started with an 8-page newsletter in 2000. He said that we must maintain…

Report from the Chair – March/April 2026

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Sally Jane Gellert

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This past month has been one of the coldest in New Jersey in quite some time, with lots of snow—February’s storm was the largest in 5 years. Both the January and February meetings of the Lackawanna Coalition, scheduled to be held in person at the Summit Free Public Library, were cancelled when the library was…

PennDOT Talks about Passenger Trains to Scranton again

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David Peter Alan

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The Lackawanna Coalition considers its geographic purview to include lines that were once part of the Lackawanna Railroad, even if they are located beyond NJ Transit’s reach. That includes the line to Scranton over the Cutoff, an engineering marvel that crossed the Pocono Mountains and began service in 1911. The last scheduled passenger trains ran…

Amtrak Strands Sight-Impaired Campers in Michigan; Advocates Fume in Response

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David Peter Alan

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Amtrak’s Wolverine service in Michigan, which runs between Chicago and Pontiac through Detroit, has not been doing very well lately. There have been reports of breakdowns, cancellations, and other problems on the line, including with new engines that recently entered service. For a group of about 30 blind and otherwise sight-impaired campers, the train trip…

NJ Transit and its Riders Endure Brief Work Stoppage by Engineers

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David Peter Alan

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New Jersey Transit’s rail riders got through four days without their trains, due to a work stoppage called by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the union representing the engineers who drive the trains. Despite strong rhetoric by both sides leading up to the work stoppage (including from NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri…

Remembering Kingsland Station (1870-2025)

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David Peter Alan

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Saturday, June 7 was a cloudy day with rain showers; appropriate weather for the last day of service at a station that had served its community for 154½ years. Trains on NJ Transit’s “Main Line” stopped at Kingsland for the last time, as service ended early Sunday morning; the end of Saturday’s service day. …

Report from the Chair (Sept/Oct)

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Sally Jane Gellert

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This fall has been relatively quiet transitwise in New Jersey so far; we made comments to the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) on their 2050 plan; we were pleased to see a response not only from the NJTPA but also from NJ Transit itself. We had called for passing sidings on all single-track lines,…

Two Unrelated Events at Penn Station on the Same Day

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David Peter Alan

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Two unrelated events occurred almost simultaneously at New York’s Penn Station on Wednesday, August 27, although both were rail-related. One was the inaugural of the new Next Gen Acela equipment that Amtrak is now running between Boston and Washington, D.C., and the other was a news conference that featured Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Andy…

Coming November 14: RUN’s 25th Anniversary Conference

Railgram, Rails Users Network (RUN)

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David Peter Alan

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The Rail Users’ Network (RUN) is observing its 25th anniversary this year. RUN was founded in 2000 as a spinoff from the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee (ACAC), to which several of the original RUN members belonged at the time. Since its founding, RUN has been concerned with improving Amtrak, advocating for better rail transit in…

RUN Conference Spring 2025: New Starts and Service Cuts

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