I am a geography and planning grad student looking to get into
rail transit and passenger rail development in the Southeast or anywhere in US really. I just finished an internship with European Railway Agency in France.
I am mainly
interested in hearing from folks about their experience working with
rail transit/commuter rail and prospects for new growth in the sector.
I
personally am a big time dreamer about what we can do in the states
with commuter/rail transit connecting it into HSR corridors. There is no reason (apart from
the difficulties of getting state and fed funding) that we should not develop a web of
connectivity based on passenger rail systems--from HSR to intercity/town routes to commuter rail to slow moving
trams--and public buses.
All the advances in alternative/green
technologies coupled with the scale benefits of moving more people in
fewer vehicles seems to be a no-brainer step toward environmental
responsible behavior. Even using conventional overhead catenary
systems puts the pollution in a centralized location (at the electric
plant) for hopefully a responsible disposal or filtration of waste.
I
could go on and on about the environmental (and the social) benefits of
rail and transit vs. private vehicle, but this is enough for now; and I
have gone off my original topic of simply wanting to introduce myself
and hear from people working in transit.
Kyle