December 20, 2009
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Auctions Closing Today at Liquidation.com 
San Diego Holiday Sale: Save up to 45% on hotels Ends -
12/28/09
Eurostar service cancelled indefinitely
After weather-related power problems continued on the Eurostar service,
the operator announced that service would be cancelled indefinitely
until
the problem was resolved. Read original
report here, which includes a trip
report by a NY Times
reporter.
See Eurostar announcement update
Amtrak Crescent stuck in snowstorm
The northbound Crescent, train 20, on Dec 19 became immobilized just
outside
Alexandria VA. Passengers said they had been stuck on the
train for a long time
and complained of lack of information about their
situation. The power in the
train had gone out after a time and the
onboard temperature was falling. They
said the Amtrak crew had fed them
a meager dinner of rice.
Much of the East Coast had been hit by a very heavy snowstorm that
day,
which paralyzed airports and highways as well. See a video report
on the
Crescent situation at
this link.
Eurostar suffers major breakdowns due to weather
Five Eurostar trains broke down Friday evening, Dec 18, stranding about
2000 passengers in the Channel Tunnel. The highly disruptive and
embarassing
to Eurostar breakdown was blamed on the contrast in
temperature between
the Continental side of the line, where extreme low
temperatures were recorded,
and the higher temperatures in the tunnel.
Read full
story here.
Eurostar trains image is being upgraded
Eurostar announced in August that Italian designer Pininfarina will be
re-designing
the interiors of its trains. Now on Dec 17 came the
announcement that SomeOne,
a London-based creative design agency, has
been tapped to provide a "new visual
identity across all its
traveller touch-points". Eurostar said the visual identity
being
developed by SomeOne will tie in with PininFarina's new interior
designs.
Italy now tops all Eurail Pass single-country sales
More Eurail single-country Passes are being sold for Italian travel
than for any other
European nation. In addition, Italy has
become the number-two country for overall
Eurail Pass travel,
according to a Dec 17 announcement from Eurail Group.
Canadian Pacific Holiday Train hitting the Midwest 
The Holiday Train is
a freight train covered in more than 200,000 bright lights. At
140 stops across Canada and United States, Canadian Pacific provides a
box car
stage, a line up of great musical talent and a corporate
contribution to the local
food pantries and food shelves. Food
pantries and food shelves provide collection
bins for
non-perishable food. Communities, in turn, donate food and funds, all
of
which stays in the community. The Holiday Train has raised $4
million and 2 million
pounds of food. Full schedules and
background information are available at
www.cpr.ca by clicking
on the Holiday Train. For the train schedule for upcoming
days
in the Midwest, see this
link.
Russian passenger train hit by terrorist bomb
See this story at CNN here:
California high-speed train project is set back by need for new
environmental
report
See this story at SFGate
here.
Eurostar begins trip to Climate Change Conference
Eurostar, the high-speed provider of carbon neutral journeys between
the UK and
the continent, will on Friday 4 December take
environmental campaigners, delegates
and environmental
journalists to Brussels to meet the UIC ‘Climate Express’ train to
the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (COP
15).
The journey will begin at London St Pancras International, where
there will be an
official send off with dancers from India and a
brass quintet from the Royal College
of Music.
The group will then travel on to Brussels where they will meet up with
around 400
fellow travellers from across Europe, to continue
their journey on the Climate
Express the morning of Saturday 5
December...
* * *
Since Eurostar returned to full service in February 2009,
punctuality levels have
remained high with 95% of trains
arriving on time.
Eurostar provides high-speed rail journeys between St Pancras
International,
Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International,
Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais,
Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon
and the French Alps.
Eurostar connects with domestic services in the UK and provides
onward
connections to destinations across mainland Europe.
Travellers can buy connecting
fares to the Continent from more
than 200 stations with return fares from £63,
including Brighton
from £71 and Edinburgh from £92.
Under its Tread Lightly environmental plan, Eurostar has set a
target of reducing
its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 35% per
traveller journey by 2012. Because
emissions cannot yet be
eliminated, Eurostar is also the world’s first train operator
to
make all journeys carbon neutral, at no extra cost to travellers.
Eurostar and Friends of the Earth are working together in the UK
on Eurostar’s
Tread Lightly initiative and Friends of the
Earth’s climate campaign. To find out more
about Friends of the
Earth visit www.friendsoftheearth.co.uk.
Eurostar is a founder member of Railteam, a partnership between
Europe’s leading
high-speed train operators that is developing
simpler ways to book and travel on the
fast-expanding, European
high-speed rail network.
Eurostar is an entirely separate business from Eurotunnel.
Eurostar operates
high-speed passenger trains, whilst Eurotunnel
operates vehicle shuttle services and
the Channel Tunnel itself.
Eurostar is Eurotunnel’s biggest customer.
(Source: Eurostar)
Will a federal jobs bill include funds for rail infrastructure?
House Democrats are working quickly on a jobs creation bill, hoping to have it ready for President Obama's signature in January, reports the L.A. Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-jobs27-2009nov27,0,3049289.story There is disappointment that the earlier stimulus package did not result in the creation of enough jobs, and the nation's unemployment rate has risen to 10.2%.
There is talk of focussing heavily on "shovel-ready" projects to fund, including much infrastructure work. Rail advocates are asking whether badly-needed rail projects will be included in the legislation. An example of that sentiment comes from a Web diary commenter: "Government-created jobs to build rail lines might increase demand for concrete-and-steel ties made in the Midwest, steel rails made in America, earth-moving equipment to grade and clear new road beds, domestically produced signal devices, and... and... real jobs? By golly, somebody might even set up a factory to reclaim, rebuild and refurbish passenger cars that have been rusting on sidings or resting in switchyards for 60 years so that... wait for it... Amtrak might have more than 632 cars (Truth!) to use. Good heavens! If that happens, Amtrak might be able to increase its carrying contribution of passengers, move them more efficiently than by single-passenger autos, move America toward a more efficient mix of transport that reduces our dependence on foreign oil." http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/27/808513/-Democrats-Working-on-a-Multibillion-dollar-Jobs-Package!
Senator Dianne Feinstein on Meet the Press Nov 22 said: "An interest that I have had for a long time is in high-speed rail, and there are three regional high-speed rail systems being planned in the United States.I'd like to see an infrastructure bank developed with some of the remaining TARP money that could lend to communities to move those plans forward quicker so that -- because transportation has a billion -- it has 40,000 jobs for a billion dollars spent, and so it's a good investment of funds right now. We have to be concerned with jobs."
According to The Hill, "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said that passage of a $500 billion, six-year transportation reauthorization bill, funding highway and transit construction projects, could serve as a jobs bill, but the White House and Senate Democrats have only supported extensions of the current transportation bill."
Rail advocates will continue to push for funding for high-speed rail and Amtrak upgrading and expansion.