Tackling the Headlines 54

NYC City Council tells MSG to get out--in 2023

Late last month, Big Apple lawmakers finally weighed in on the touchy topic of separating Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.

Take: By nearly unanimously voting to give MSG the door, the city is telling the world that it is committed to building a world-class train station. The vote also means that we will never hear about using an abandoned post office again.

Private carriers interested in passenger service in Maine

Even though things are pretty static in the Pine Tree State now, it may not remain that way for long.

Take: These private carriers just may be the boost that's needed to get frequent train service going in the state.

Out west, they are also looking forward

Meanwhile on the other end of the country, Montanans are not giving up their efforts to have the North Coast Hiawatha restored. Nearly four years ago, a group was formed in response to Amtrak's study and like the groups who responded to the Pioneer study, they vehemently disagreed with the results.

Take: Rail activists and Montana politicians should not only continue to push for restoring the route, but they should also be talking to members of the AIPRO to see how much less it would cost to run the service and to see if their members could use the old CNW route between Chicago and Milwaukee.