Rails inc is an all-volunteer non-profit based in Albuquerque, NM, whose purpose is to assist in the resurgence of modern passenger Rail in America, particularly in New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain West.
Our Bedrock Transportation Vision (Our Platform, as it were)
NATIONAL
An all-purpose Rail (track and infrastructure) network as fast and extensive as it was before our post-World War Two years, when a massive federal subsidy program gave birth to our pervasive highway system, and its millions of moving parts; cars, buses, and trucks.
Although the skimpy and Balkanized passenger Rail network we have now can be improved in many ways, all being promoted and sporadically achieved by dedicated advocates, the network we envision, we believe, can only be realized as a fully restored and connected single system, under public ownership, with room for both public and private moving parts.
This is not a foreign-inspired ownership model, but one as American as infrastructure subsidies. Consider our streets, highways, airports, waterways, and the personnel who run them, in uniform and out. This is why we like to call our dream network the “Rail Interstate”. Click here for our dream national network map.
Major features of our “Rail Interstate”
- Connectivity reminiscent of that of the 1950’s
- A state of good repair, funded by the people as a whole
- Eventual electrification of all major segments, renewably powered by facilities installed along the rail rights of way (ROW). We’re of course thinking of solar and wind generation, but are also open to tidal energy production, and ——dare we say it——small-scale nuclear fusion, if this ever puts out more energy than is put in .
- Ordinary trackage, rated at speeds up to Class 6 (110 mph for passenger trains)
- Up to date train control and monitoring systems, as they become proven additions to our safety and efficiency arsenals.
- Some reasonable regulation of the Freight side of the system, for the purpose of trimming the excesses of Big Freight. Some of these excesses are:
REGIONAL AND LOCAL
It should be noted here that there are significant differences in the status(es) of national, regional, and local passenger Rail networks in America (see Definitions). While the national situation is as half-starved and broken up as we indicate above (click here for our Map 2), our regional commuter lines and local / metro transit networks tend to be entrenched (East of the Mississippi) or in renaissance (West of the Mississippi), depending on the region in question. Albuquerque is an exception, being stuck in the dead-end Bus Only swamp.
Getting there (See our Modest Proposals)
As a step toward public ownership of our Rail infrastructure for New Mexico, we want to revive a now-dead deal struck between the BNSF Railway and then -Governor Bill Richardson in 2005 to buy the tracks between Lamy and Raton Pass for the state of New Mexico. Click “Getting the Most out of Our Tracks” for the reasons we think this is a very worthwhile long-term investment.
