As you know, Englishman Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a naturalist who popularized the idea of survival of the fittest. Those species who could evolve and deal with change survive, he said, while those that cannot perish. These two awards honor his memory...

The U.S. is the world’s biggest producer of corn. To put this in its most basic perspective, corn is a major foundation of our economy. We export oceans of the stuff. The portion we feed to livestock keeps meat affordable. So I was struck by a press...

We’re learning more about the Miami-Orlando passenger service that Florida East Coast is ramping up, thanks most recently to release of an environmental impact statement covering the 66 miles between downtown Miami and West Palm Beach. Forgive me...

Within eight years, the biggest producer of oil in the world will be … yes, the United States of America. Bigger than Saudi Arabia and any of the other sheikdoms. So says the International Energy Agency , a Paris-based organization that The Wall...

As VIA Rail Canada begins scaled-back winter service on its flagship train, the Toronto-to-Vancouver Canadian , I read a lot of angst online about its future. Starting this month until next April, the train will depart just two days a week rather than...

How long has it been since you’ve been drawn in and captivated by a railroad’s television commercial, one that makes a strong point and yet is entertaining and, yes, enjoyable? I went so far in one of my first columns for Trains to write that...

I got to know Doug Riddell just like many of you did, through his monthly column in the pages of Pacific Rail News and subsequently Rail News. A locomotive engineer most of his adult life (and before that a radio disc jockey), Doug’s true calling...