We are a member-supported nonprofit advocating for fast, frequent, and affordable trains throughout North America. https://xitter.cf/t.co/4yiPRku1w8
Chicago, IL
Joined July 2009
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High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Wait what?? I just ordered food online from a train seat with my phone while blasting at 305 km/h speed & on the next station the delivery guy brought it to my seat. What?!
Obviously while having full 5G coverage alongside the whole route.
China 🇨🇳, you are blowing my mind. 🤯
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
It is really hard to imagine how the French built their high speed lines so cheaply across such challenging terrain… All that ancient woodland, all those old churches, stately homes and pretty villages. All those roads to cross. (Not to mention they were doing it 50 years ago…)
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
It's the end of an era! History was made Friday night when the last ever train traveled over the Portal Bridge in New Jersey, officially ending decades of delays for Amtrak and @NJTRANSIT customers with the retirement of the 116-year-old bridge forever. And it’s fitting it was a NextGen Acela train, as it’s truly out with the old and in with the new.
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Everybody loves a good redemption story. For Amtrak, redemption comes in the form of its brand new Airo fleet.
Amtrak placed a massive order with Siemens in 2022 to replace the bulk of its short- and medium-distance rolling stock, representing a complete reset of Amtrak’s passenger experience.
The Pacific Northwest Cascades route was first to place the new Amtrak Airo trainset into service, and your author just happened to be in Seattle for a test ride a few days after the launch.
Amtrak has tinkered with and upgraded its legacy equipment over the years, sprinkling refreshed seats here and upgraded Wi-Fi there, but there’s a practical limit to what Amtrak could accomplish with half-century old equipment.
The few chances Amtrak had to start from scratch in recent years with the Venture coaches in the Midwest and NextGen Acela, have largely been #PaxEx misses. Airo represents a total rethink, not just a touch up.
The exterior of the trainset is sleek, bringing forward the paint scheme and integrated cab car of the odd looking but iconic Talgo trainsets from the 1990s.
Before even boarding, new exterior digital signage confirms the direction and ultimate destination of the train, helping to inform infrequent riders.
Unlike Amtrak trainsets of the past, stepping on board Airo is a pleasant experience.
The national passenger railroad company has eschewed the use of bare stainless steel and opted for thoughtful finishes with integrated lighting.
There are 'easter egg' surprises throughout, including a water bottle refilling station, digital seat assignment indicators in Business (with assigned seating coming to Coach) and a new seat recline mechanism.
An unannounced feature that is undergoing testing on the new Cascades Airo sets is the addition of Starlink connectivity to the Wi-Fi mix, as confirmed by an Amtrak employee on board my train who was testing the connection.
Full #nosetotail trip report: runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/1…
By Jason Rabinowitz for RGN
ALT Amtrak Airo pulls into the station. The trainset is resplendent in its livery of hunter green, white and dark beige. Image: Jason Rabinowitz
ALT Coach Class seats aboard the Airo trainset. Image: Jason Rabinowitz
ALT Triple-screening aboard the Airo trainset, with a device holder in Coach Class supporting two devices, and the author holding a third. Image: Jason Rabinowitz
ALT The Cafe Car aboard the Airo on the Cascades route. Image: Jason Rabinowitz
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Tunnel boring has started! After years of preparation, our first tunnel boring machine is getting to work, carving through the Palisades to build the first mile of the new rail tunnel’s northern tube. A second machine will start building the southern tunnel tube soon.
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Turns out the Shenzhen North Station's new PSDs are dual layer movable modules that adapt to different train door spacings, not unlike the one prototype installed at Kita-Umeda in Osaka. You see see what the Japanese full height one looks like in...
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
CDOT and RTD seem to have buried the lede in Friday’s announcement of $44 million in state funding to enhance transit services across the region:
🚨 The A Line will soon run every 15 minutes all day, every day, from 6am-12:30am 🚨
Hard to overstate how transformative this is.
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Some Chinese high-speed train drivers still salute when receiving a train. It comes from the railway system’s long history of semi-military management.
That era is history now, but many still keep the ritual alive. So don’t be surprised on your next HSR ride in China.
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Color = Electrified railroad
Black = Unelectrified railroad
Gee I wonder which countries' rail system will better survive an oil crisis
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
I took the @Amtrak Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Los Angeles.
I booked a roomette for the 12 hour journey which included all 3 meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner.
The initial 8 hours took me through farmland at the edge of Central Valley, bread basket of the nation.
High Speed Rail Alliance retweeted
Eine Legende auf Schienen. Liebevoll auch der "ICE des Ostens" genannt. Die "SVT 18.16 Projekt Görlitz", hier zu sehen bei der Ausfahrt aus dem Dresdner Hauptbahnhof. Nostalgie pur! Ich denke, nicht nur für Eisenbahnromantiker ein Hingucker....
📹 @ Fazer Tom Youtube
