Solutionary Rail

From Restoring Rural Short Lines to Nationalizing Main Lines - the Quest for Rail in the Public Interest | Join SR to share updates and welcome back our allies with Railroad Workers United. RWU's steering committee unanimously passed a Resolution in Suppo

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Solutionary Rail welcomed back our allies with Railroad Workers United to talk about their recently passed Resolution in Support of Public Ownership of US Railroads. We also got a short update on the LSR Barge to Rail work Solutionary Rail is doing in the Pacific Northwest and heard reports from the SR Hive. 

Solutionary Rail presented an update of our research on how mode shift from barge to rail can happen quickly and a more resilient system built before, during and after the Lower Snake River dams are breached. 

This presentation, June 30, 2022, discussed the capacity of the Snake River system to mode shift grain off of barges and onto trains.

Check out our UPDATED LSR Barge2Rail slidedeck HERE. It provides a lot of useful information and maps to support our policy recommendations/action steps. 

Watch our newest presentation on Solutionary Rail's work on barge to rail mode shift at:

Don't miss our Action Steps document. View or download the PDF of Planning for Resilience - Action Steps HERE.

Snake River dam removal/breaching is being discussed by policymakers, with a plan for restoring the salmon expected to come out in July.  Robert's presentation will discuss the pros and cons of the dams, dam removals on other rivers, transportation alternatives to barging, and the impact of the dams on both salmon and the seven campsites of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of October, 1805. On March 24, 2022 Robert shared a unique perspective on the past, present and potential future of the Snake River.  Watch the video HERE.

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US Rail History Part 2:
Amtrak - its Formation, Present and Future

Presentation by Steve Chrismer, P.E. PhD (Amtrak - retired)

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Check out our conversation with Dave Strohmaier, Chair of the Missoula Board of County Commissioners and Chairman of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA)

Solutionary Rail's approach to decarbonization: opportunities, obstacles, and pathways forward

Electric Vehicles are touted as a key component to solving our climate crisis. Many consumers are jumping on the EV bandwagon, and companies like Amazon are building a fleet to ship goods by electric truck. Likewise, national environmental organizations are pushing EVs as key to lowering GHG emissions and transitioning to a green economy. So are we and many of our allies.

This is all understandable, but are EVs a real climate solution in and of themselves?

Solutionary Rail is thrilled to present this conversation on the recently completed Nevada State Rail Plan, featuring with Michael Sussman of Strategic Rail Finance & OnTrackNorthAmerica. 

State Rail Plans must be reworked every 4 years. The 2021 Nevada State Rail Plan raises the bar for state rail plans across the country. Utilize this conversation as a guide in your advocacy for meaningful rail plans that set the stage for concrete actions that leverage rail transport for the public interest. 

Listen and learn from Michael and the great questions from many Solutionary Rail advocates across the country. 

Available on Facebook HERE. 

Solutionary Rail hosts a presentation by Robert Colón, a landscape architect, titled: "Ranches to Railways: An Adaptive Framework for Protecting Florida’s Heritage Landscapes in the Anthropocene."

Watch and listen to our conversation with Carlo Borghini, (bio) Executive Director of the European Union's Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking

Shift2Rail is the first European rail initiative to seek focused research and innovation (R&I) and market-driven solutions by accelerating the integration of new and advanced technologies into innovative rail product solutions. Shift2Rail promotes the competitiveness of the European rail industry and meets changing EU transport needs. R&I carried out under this Horizon 2020 initiative develops the necessary technology to complete the Single European Railway Area (SERA). 

Moreover, Shift2Rail has ambitious targets and a robust framework in which to meet them. Specifically, the initiative aims to double the capacity of the European rail system and increase its reliability and service quality by 50%, all while halving life-cycle costs.

Seth Watkins (bio) is a a fourth generation farmer. He stewards the Pinhook Farms cow-calf and crop operation in Clarinda, Iowa. I first heard Seth Watkins speak while lurking on an Iowa Farmers Union Facebook livestream. I was so deeply impressed that I immediately reached out to see if he'd be willing to have a conversation with the Solutionary Rail team and engage in a conversation about rural resilience, regenerative agriculture and the potential for rail infrastructure to bolster and revive rural communities.

Localization of economies, democracy and resilience requires that we be/get "Grounded" -  reconnected to place, planet and each other. In the old "normal" it was difficult to imagine stopping air travel. Today, it is much easier to imagine. The climate, planet and creatures need the new normal to look dramatically different from the old normal. NOW is our moment of opportunity.

The Backbone Campaign Team and allies held a 1 hour conversation with Winona LaDuke and Bill McKibben on this CoViD-19 moment and its relevance for decarbonization, localization, and system transformation. Check it out! Then take action to #ReMakeTheWorld and let's get #Grounded.

Judy Wicks is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, speaker and mentor working to build a more compassionate, environmentally sustainable, and locally-based economy.

A recent interview with Judy on resilient regional economies during these time of pandemic is HERE.

Founder of Philadelphia’s landmark White Dog Cafe, Ms. Wicks is author of Good Morning Beautiful Business and her current projects include: All Together Now PA  Circle of Aunts and Uncles and Proud Pennsylvania.

Check out this two part interview with Fritz Edler, retired locomotive engineer and champion for railroad workers.  Fritz serves as a special representative for Railroad Workers United, aka RWU.