amtrak

In 1970, Congress organized Amtrak "to take over passenger rail services previously required to be operated by private freight railroad companies in the United States." The company's name, Amtrak, "is the blending of the words 'America' and 'track.' It is properly used in documents with only the first letter capitalized. The railroad is also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation."

Since their inception, Amtrak has operated dozens of routes, including both regional rail services, such as California's "Capitol Corridor" line, and transcontinental routes, such as the "Texas Eagle," which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, via a southern route with several stops in the Lone Star State.

In 2007, Amtrak carried approximately 26 million passengers, earning approximately $2 billion dollars in revenue. Amtrak's top five stations in 2007, in terms of total ridership were New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “amtrak”

• Will we Ever See Rentable Netbooks on Trains?

  
  Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com — Authority: 520
    An interesting idea - netbooks which you can rent for a train ride. Whether this makes for Amtrak or not remains to be seen but I agree that netbooks are great for someone who thinks a smartphone is too small and a laptop - too big. You can take a ride down to TMCnets newest blog, Gadget Inspector for ...
  1 day ago

• Waiting on A Train

  
  A Traveler's Library — Authority: 126
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10135007@N08/ / CC BY 2.0 "> Waiting for a Train Destination: Anywhere the train goes Book: Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service by James McCommons (released Nov.5)   My brother-in-law, Wayne Price  is a  foamer.  My sister doesn’t ...
  1 day ago

• Papergirl Flow

  
  Blogs — Authority: 162
  I fold newspapers in the still dark morning. I fold them in three and snap a rubber band around the middle. I am the first in our neighborhood to know that Mount St. Helens has erupted, that Ronald Reagan has won the presidency by a landslide, that John Lennon has been murdered. My fingers black with ink, I pack the ...
  2 days ago

• Making Amtraks

  
  Cila Warncke — Authority: 104
  Posted by Cila Warncke Union Station, LA Union Station in downtown LA feels deliberately anachronistic, an amalgam of art deco and country-house library. It is cool, dim, discreetly curved; big tan leather chairs march squarely along the polished floor. All it needs is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s chattering ...
  2 days ago

• PNW Amtrak Thanksgiving trains update

  
  Seattle Transit Blog — Authority: 562
  Cascades and Amfleets by K_Gradinger Those of you traveling via Amtrak this Thanksgiving weekend, be glad you purchased your tickets early! If you want to take the train to see your friends and family, Wednesday will be your best bet, however, Seattle – Portland trains are starting to sell out very fast. Those ...
  4 days ago

• A few words about Amtrak

  
  Letters to the Editor — Authority: 143
  Recently, my wife and I took the train to Kansas City. It was only the second time on a train for both of us. A couple years ago I went to Springfield, IL on a day trip with my grandson.…
  4 days ago

• Robinson goes for the T, Amtrak vote

  
  Universal Hub - All Boston, all the time — Authority: 622
  The Herald reports Republican Jack E. Robinson was outside Park Street last night, calling for the feds to pour enough money into the MBTA to eliminate fares and to spend $3 billion on a bullet train to Springfield. Read more
  5 days ago

• If You Can’t Build Rail, Build the Station

  
  Decatur Metro — Authority: 483
  The AJC reports this morning that GDOT is considering trying to spend the $87 million “use-it-or-lose-it” federal funding for the Lovejoy rail line to help construct the much talked-about Grand Central Terminal in downtown Atlanta’s under-utilized “Gulch”.The proposed terminal hub would be located just ...
  5 days ago

• Best Way To Get To San Diego Padres Stadium From Hollywood, Via Amtrak?

  
  Gossip in the City — Authority: 144
  Hello, I am going to see the Boston Red Sox in San Diego this June, and I was going to take the amtrax train from Burbank. What station is the closest to Petco Park?
  5 days ago

• Spotted: Fringe Observers in Chicago

  
  RedEye — Authority: 646
  Its official: The "Fringe" Observers have arrived. Brian Pitts wrote to "Going Public" this morning to say he spotted "some of these guys near the Adams entrance from Union Station." "There were a number of Amtrak police officers outside too. I wonder if they were there in case people got nervous about who these ...
  6 days ago

• Amtrak Train Slams Into Car In Lincoln NE- One Killed

  
  Capt. Spaulding's World — Authority: 145
  A s you can see by the enclosed image- there was only pieces left of a car that went around other vehicles and a lowered crossing-arm and was struck by an AMTRAK train going about 50 mph in Lincoln this morning. The LINCOLN (NE) JOURNAL-STAR reports the driver of the car was killed instantly- and the ...
  6 days ago

• Four Die After Driver Attempts To Beat Amtrak Train

  
  The Dreamin Demon — Authority: 513
  Hardeeville, SC – A car attempted to get around the gate arms of a S.C. railroad track. Making a fatal miscalculation, the driver was plowed by an Amtrak train en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah. The car became wedged on to the front of the train and dragged the car for about a mile before ...
  1 week ago

• Amtrak train collision killed 4 in South Carolina

  
  JusticeNewsFlash.com | Legal News | Lawyer Press Release — Authority: 438
  Legal news for South Carolina train accident attorneys. A train hit a car near the South Carolina-Georgia state line. South Carolina train accident lawyers alert-An Amtrak train and a car crashed in South Carolina. Beaufort, SC—An Amtrak train slammed into a vehicle and killed the four occupants in Hardeeville, ...
  1 week ago

• GE wins with new China railway deals

  
  Gadget Reviews — Authority: 153
  General Electric’s latest in a string of joint ventures with China is a plan to transition its manufacturing of train-based engine components to Beijing.By the end of 2011, testing and re-building of components like turbochargers and power assemblies will take place in China. Starting in 2013, engines will be ...
  1 week ago

• Amtrak Scholarships -- Deadline: 11/20/2009

  
  BDPA Foundation — Authority: 132
  Amtrak Scholarships -- Deadline: 11/20/2009 Please circulate IMMEDIATELY Amtrak Travel Scholarships for College Students. Amtrak has partnered with the United Negro College Fund to provide travel scholarships, valued at $750 per student; to students attending targeted HBCUs across the country. [ Read ...
  1 week ago

• National Treasure

  
  Big Hollywood — Authority: 803
  [IMG: http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/111509.jpg]
  1 week ago

• ‘Drexel Shaft’ to be imploded

  
  Sreelancer — Authority: 458
  The chimney Penn Coach Yard, or the term more familiar to students of the structure, the axis of Drexel imploded on a date to be determined, according to Karina Romero, a spokesman for Amtrak. Amtrak plans to operate the property open to improve safety and emergency access to the existing tunnel of the function and ...
  1 week ago

• Get America back on track with Amtrak

  
  Letters to the Editor — Authority: 143
  It is high time that America’s policy makers thought big about how to get the country through the current economic downturn. Last month, Amtrak posted the second highest ridership in its history with 27.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2009…
  1 week ago

• Rural Senators hone in on heartland transit

  
  Transportation For America — Authority: 553
  How could a new transportation bill revitalize rural and small-town America? That was the focus of a Senate Democratic Steering Committee briefing on “Issues and Innovations for Small Towns and Rural Communities” in the Capitol Visitors Center last Friday. Transportation for America co-chair and former Meridian, ...
  1 week ago

• Stanwood Amtrak Station Opens Saturday, Nov. 21

  
  Seattle Transit Blog — Authority: 562
  Business Class onboard the Cascades by chuck.taylor Stanwood Station opens November 21.  Full press release after the jump. OLYMPIA — Long-awaited passenger rail service will return to Stanwood and Camano Island when the Washington State Department of Transportation unveils the new Amtrak Cascades train ...
  1 week ago

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