"Group
pursues Denver-to-Seattle passenger train" Casper Star-Tribune, 28
December 2000. The Montana/Wyoming Association of Railroad Passengers plans to
lobby the Legislature for support of a Denver-to-Seattle passenger train route.
ST GEORGE -- "Dixie transit looks for riders: Lack of signs, benches
deters passengers" Deseret News, 23 December 2000.
SALT LAKE CITY -- "TRAX to keep rollingon Sundays in 2001; As part of
the plan, UTA to start Sunday bus service in April" Deseret News 22
December 2000. QUOTE: "The Utah Transit Authority will continue to provide TRAX
light-rail service on Sundays, on a permanent basis, in the new year."
"Legacy Clears
First Big Hurdle" Salt Lake Tribune, 21 December 2000. QUOTES: "The
Army Corps of Engineers approved the Legacy Highway on Wednesday, leaving only
a possible veto by the Environmental Protection Agency to block the state from
building the 14-mile freeway from Salt Lake City to Farmington...
Environmentalists and mass-transit advocates immediately served notice that
they would sue to block destruction of 114 acres of wetlands along the Great
Salt Lake unless the EPA vetoes the initial $370 million segment. A key weapon
in that fight will be the fact that the federal Clean Water Act prohibits
destroying wetlands unless it is for the "least damaging practicable
alternative," which opponents argue would be a rail-transit system."
"Christmas crowds pack TRAX to the max" Deseret News, 20
December 2000. QUOTE: "Holiday shoppers, concert-goers and Christmas
light-seekers help make the holiday season -- well, crowded -- particularly on
TRAX light-rail trains. According to the Utah Transit Authority, ridership on
the system last Saturday was among the highest single-day totals since TRAX
opened on Dec. 6 of last year, possibly among the top five days in TRAX
history. TRAX use was particularly heavy during the evening Saturday because of
several events taking place downtown."
"Amtrak's
Vegas Delays Are as Slow as Desert Tortoise: Protected reptile is an obstacle,
but safety issues also are delaying the route's debut." Los Angeles
Times 17 December 2000. QUOTE: "Amtrak wants to resume service. It has
spent more than $15 million on train cars intended for use on that route, and
late last year publicly announced resumption of service for September 2000. But
it didn't happen, nor is it likely to happen in 2001. It's a many-sided
problem, involving desert tortoises, Spanish engineering, the Union Pacific
Railroad and various tentacles of the federal government. "
"Full-Steam Ahead!
Train Will Run for 2002 Events" Salt Lake Tribune, 14 December 2000.
QUOTE: "HEBER CITY -- Utah's only surviving historic passenger railroad is back
on track to shuttle people to and from Olympic events at Soldier Hollow during
2002."
"A successful year for TRAX" Deseret News, 10 December 2000.
QUOTE: "One year ago, the TRAX light-rail system began operating amid some
trepidation. A small but vocal opposition predicted accidents, fatalities,
traffic congestion and declining ridership. Some Utahns were uncertain. Today,
they know better."
"Bo-o-ard!
Counties approve UTA tax" Deseret News, 8 November 2000. QUOTE: "
West Jordan, West Valley City and Draper, prepare yourselves for light rail.
Ogden, the commuter train is on the way. Davis County, you might receive both.
Plus, an expanded bus system with more routes and more frequent service, Sunday
and holiday hours, extended weeknight service and -- according to proponents of
Measure One -- an enhanced quality of life for Salt Lake, Davis and Weber
counties are on the way. Voters in all three counties Tuesday approved a
quarter-cent-per-dollar sales tax increase to implement the public transit
component of a 20-year regional transportation improvement plan."
"Support is
building for light-rail tax, fluoridation" Deseret News, 1 October
2000. QUOTE: ""Eight years after voters rejected a tax hike to pay for a
light-rail mass transit system, the trains are up and running in Salt Lake
County. But will that make residents along the Wasatch Front any more receptive
to a sales tax increase for transit improvements?
"Poll backs
commuter rail -- if it's fast and cheap" Deseret News, 7 August
2000. QUOTE: "More than 85 percent of the people surveyed by Top of Utah
Research said commuter rail is a good or excellent idea. The approval jumped to
98 percent for people who work in Salt Lake County. Two-thirds of those
surveyed said they're willing to pay a quarter-cent sales tax increase to help
fund rail and other transit programs."
31 August 2000
REPORT: "A Plan To Reorganize Amtrak" from the United Rail Passenger
Alliance; by Andrew C. Selden. QUOTE: "On the assumption that Congress
wished to end its subsidization of NRPC by FY 2002 rather than merely relabel
it, this report proposes a reorganization of NRPC that will largely achieve the
Congressional goal of ending federal subsidization of intercity rail passenger
operations in most markets. A specific plan is proposed as well as a
transitional strategy to achieve it. The theoretical foundation for a genuinely
successful rail intercity service is outlined, and examples -- including a
specific precedent and model for the plan proposed -- are given. "The basic
concept of this plan is to reorganize the NRPC by dividing it into a half dozen
of its major component parts, and to spin off those major elements into
autonomous, competitive entities (leaving the Northeast Corridor in the hands
of the current NRPC entity and management), on the model of the highly
successful 1984 breakup of AT&T Corp. Significant, self-financed growth is
forecast for the spun-off entities, especially the component providing a
national system of long distance interregional services."
