Everybody Jump Aboard the Fear Train

Beast Train by Hawanja

Yes, yes, yes . . . more jobs, faster transit, cleaner air, it's OBVIOUSLY evil.  


Bored to sobs with making up scary lies about ObamaCare, conservatives with nothing better to do than sit in swivel chairs tapping their fingertips together have stepped up their attacks on "ObamaRail".  From a depressing article on The Hill:

"In the past, it was possible to build a consensus between Washington and state governments on infrastructure spending, Cardenas said. “It was a matter of dollar separation, not where you [are] doing something or not.”

I saw this movie once, where the train was ACTUALLY POSSESSED by the DEVIL, and ran people over and then fell in a canyon and convinced everyone there to get abortions and get gay married.  It. Was. Scary.  I think there was a terrorist on it too.  And a stem-cell researcher.  And an elitist academic.  Not that I hate trains.  I totally think they're fine for SOME people.  I mean, some of my best friends take them to work, I hear.  Gotta go, gas doesn't guzzle itself!!

Mad Fast Trains - VIDEO

Check out this great video from the Iowa PIRG, in collaboration with U.S. PIRG, teamed up with two actors from the hit show Mad Men.

The video is set in the offices of Sterling Cooper, the fictitious 60's era advertising agency, as Pete Campbell and Harry Crane muse over the best pitch for fast trains.

Take the Z,E,N Trains to Tunestown.

Here's a little rainy-day brilliance plucked (literally) from the geometry of the NYC subway system. The artist/musician Alexander Chen has made an "interactive string instrument" out of the MTA's actual schedule, operating in "realtime by spawning trains which departed in the last minute."

For those of you who are sticklers, or can't quite follow your line, the visuals are based on Massimo Vignelli's 1972 diagram (as above) which is fun and arty and easy to read, but does not represent the geography of the actual city as faithfully.


Conductor: www.mta.me from Alexander Chen on Vimeo.

I likey.

NYC MTA gets new train set.

The last of the new R160 subway cars is unloaded and ready to be put into service in the NYC subways.

"Transit officials have spoken glowingly of the new cars as they now average approximately 370,000 miles between mechanical failures. “A lot of work went into the development of the R160 fleet and these cars have allowed us to retire hundreds of subway cars that first entered service in the mid to late 1960s, Carmen Bianco, senior vice president of the Department of Subways, said. “These cars are state-of-the-art, and designed to provide customers with far more information and comfort than older models and they are designed to last at least through mid century.”  Full story HERE

Cool progress on the LIRR extension to Grand Central

Stunning footage of the 7 train extension!

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and now . . . Road Rage with Andy Battaglia -- Episode 1 [ding]

From time to time I'll bring you a totally justified rant from the brilliant cramped mind of Andy Battaglia. Here we go!

"To Whom It May Concern: China is currently building 12 high-speed rail lines that will go upwards of 250 miles per hour across thousands of miles and will open by 2012 effectively making air-travel across short distances a thing of the past. In America we're building a two-mile long subway extension in New York that was first proposed in 1920 and will open in 2017 (maybe), and even that is only partly funded and could be halted (for the fourth time).
If you want crumbling highways and bridges packed with traffic and slow Amtrak trains that take two full days to get from New York to Florida, America is the country for you. For the love of all things, can we invest in rail infrastructure! And by invest, I don't mean talk about it for years and spend millions on "studies" only to delay actual construction for it to eventually be derailed by the automobile industry lobby. France, Germany and Sweden have managed to create the most comprehensive rail systems in the world, and I don't think our being a huge country is a good enough reason for us to not be investing in this stuff. We USED to have fancy things and amazing pieces of engineering and infrastructure in the early parts of the last century. Then we stopped investing and sold off thousands of miles of railroad rights-of-way so that "developers" could replace them with strip malls, and McMansion gated communities with no sidewalks and only cars to get to and from anywhere. Ohh and before that GM bought all of our clean electrified light rail and trolley lines across the country, decreased service to make them unattractive, and then ripped them up so they could be replaced with slow smog-producing GM-made buses. But I digress...Thanks. -Andy"

Thank YOU, Andy.

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Buffett buys BNSF, passenger trains soon?

Very rich man Warren Buffett has bought the second largest North American trans-continental railroad, and admits that it's a gamble on the future success of American business. Is it possible he plans to use some tracks for passenger trains? That would be awesome. Trains are very green. And fun. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad went for 44 BILLION.

"The deal, which including Berkshire's previous investment and the assumption of $10 billion in Burlington Northern debt brings the total value to $44 billion, represents what Mr. Buffett said was a big bet on the United States."

HERE is the story in the NY Times.

Sweet Sunny Italian Train

Very cool people-mover/ped. walkway/solar field in Bologna.

" . . .designed to speedily move people from the main train station in Bologna out to the airport with only one intermediate stop at Lazzaretto. It crosses over one major highway, spanning the stretch of road in a graceful arc. At each station a metal screen covered in vegetation protects passengers from the elements, and also helps filter the air, provide natural insulation and shade the platform."

Or they could all just drive separately and park in huge asphalt lots.

There's no service on the downtown side.

Okay, okay, so this isn't new news, but I just can't get her out of my head, and I love her so much, so here she is Ladies and Gentlemen . . . and she's from Queens!

"You have to either come over here . . . there's no service over there."

It just cracks me up. Full stop.