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Announcements, FYI

MARP is now on Facebook and Twitter

April 7, 2010 admin

The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers (MARP) has joined the social network websites Facebook and Twitter. Social network websites have been helpful to organizations in getting their messages out, strengthening networks and building memberships to their cause.

A major benefit for MARP members and the public who become “a fan” of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers Fan Page or decide to follow”tweets” on Twitter is that they will be automatically notified of updates such as breaking news on the MARP website at www.marp.org.

To access the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers’ Fan Page on Facebook, click on Facebook or the Facebook icon at the upper right corner of any web page on www.marp.org. The direct link is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-Association-of-Railroad-Passengers/106717032702437?ref=nf. You may have to join Facebook to use all of the functions such as posting to the web page wall and sharing pictures. You may recognize some names and make new friends while on the web page or find links to other Fan Pages or websites of interest. Updates to the MARP Fan Page and www.marp.org will show up anytime you log onto Facebook, depending how you have your settings.

To acces the MARP Twitter page, click on Twitter or the Twitter icon on the upper right corner of any web page on www.marp.org. The direct link is: http://twitter.com/michrailpass. (Tweets on Twitter are limited to 140 characters. Twitter is an excellent way to keep up with the latest news and can even be accessed on many cell phones depending on the type of cell phone account you have.

Since January, there has been a third way to follow updates on www.marp.org called a RSS news feed. RSS stands for Rich Site Summary and is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. To access the MARP’s RSS feed, click on RSS Feed or the RSS feed icon on the upper right corner of any web page on www.marp.org. The direct link is: http://www.marp.org/?feed=rss. At the top of the RSS Feed page, there are instructions on how to use the feed and how to configure it. Many browsers, such as Internet Explorer, allow you to automatically configure the RSS feed function of the browser by clicking the Subscribe to this feed link at the top of the page.

By the way, the “Comments” link at the upper right corner of any page at www.marp.org functions much the same way an RSS feed. Instead of providing a feed of updates to the website, it provides a feed of recent comments to content on the website.

News

Amtrak plans to implement PTC by 2012

April 6, 2010 admin

From Trains Magazine

Published: Monday, April 05, 2010

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is planning to implement positive train control technology on the lines it owns by the end of 2012, three years ahead of a federally mandated deadline. The railroad owns the Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor, the Philadelphia-Harrisburg Keystone Corridor, plus the portion of the Wolverine Service route between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Porter, Ind.

In late 2008, Congress ordered railroads to implement PTC on most rail lines by the end of 2015. All lines that host passenger trains are included. The technology is designed to detect conditions that could lead to a collision between two trains, and stop trains before an accident can occur.

Amtrak will submit its PTC implementation plan to the Federal Railroad Administration by April 16, as Congress required. It’s planning for interoperability with other railroads, key on most Amtrak routes, where freight and passenger trains share the same routes.

http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=6614

News

SEMCOG delays start of Detroit-to-Ann Arbor commuter rail line

April 2, 2010 admin

From Crain’s Detroit Business

Metro Detroit’s regional planning agency has pushed back its goal of having a demonstration commuter train line running daily between Ann Arbor and Detroit operating by October.

Instead, the line will operate for special events, such as University of Michigan football games and Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day parade, said Carmine Palombo, transportation project director for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

No new target date for the daily service has been set.

“The lack of existing funds to construct the needed projects to allow freight and passenger trains to travel safely in the corridor has altered our timeframe for providing the initial service,” he wrote in an e-mail to Crain’s on Friday.

The plan was to have four daily round-trips and three on the weekends, he said. Now, a list of events, times and costs is being worked out.

News

Commuter train project delay causes Washtenaw officials to question worth of investment in SEMCOG

April 1, 2010 admin

From AnnArbor.com

Washtenaw County commissioners are questioning the worth of the county’s $125,000 annual investment in SEMCOG after running into delays with the Ann Arbor-to-Detroit commuter train project.

At an administrative briefing Wednesday, commissioners questioned whether the county should continue paying the annual membership fee to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

“Their failure to bring the demonstration project to fruition is sort of a punctuation mark on a number of frustrations that people have had locally about SEMCOG,” said Jeff Irwin, D-11th District, calling the organization’s failure to deliver the project on time a “colossal failure.”

“Their failure to follow through on those promises certainly leave me scratching my head again,” he said. “What is it that we gain from being part of this regional conversation and sending our dollars to promote that organization and their regional planning efforts if the planning that they’re doing doesn’t serve the interests of our citizens or the broader region in general?”

News

Sun or snow, expect an experience on Amtrak

March 29, 2010 admin

From The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Ablustery wind tugged at us as we caught the Amtrak in Winona for a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., in early December. Weather wasn’t a concern, though. Soon we’d be in a cozy passenger car. Albert and I arrived in Chicago one hour late but had another hour before departing for Kalamazoo.

Approaching the gate, we discovered that adults who were older than 65 and young families can board ahead of the crowd.

We arrived in Kalamazoo ahead of a blizzard, which continued through our three-day stay and until the day we were set to head back home.

On the day we left, the train arrived in Kalamazoo only one minute late, in spite of the storm. The cars contained passengers heading to Chicago for Christmas shopping — one filled with high school students traveling to perform a concert.