Charles A. Turek

Charles A. Turek is a writer and novelist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After four decades working in areas of the insurance industry related to transportation, he now writes on all aspects of American railroading. Charles can be contacted at mistertrains@gmail.com.

Articles by Charles A. Turek

• The cloudy outlook for passenger rail in 2017

  Wednesday, January 18, 2017

  As reported in The Hill, new legislation to push Donald Trump's aggressive infrastructure plans is not expected to appear until after the first 100 days. During that time, it is proposed, the Republican-controlled Congress will be thinking about how to fund most of that infrastructure spending.

• An open letter to Donald Trump from America’s railroad passengers

  Tuesday, November 15, 2016

  ​Dear President-elect Trump, congratulations on your win. I know you are pretty much your own man, and that you take advice reluctantly and with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, I would like to take this opportunity to give you some about rail transportation, and particularly passenger rail transportation. Please don't feel pressured. I'd be perfectly happy if you get all this done in your first term, but I think the first 100 days would be a good target.

• How long until we see self-driving trains?

  Tuesday, October 18, 2016

  There has been a lot of talk of late about self-driving (or autonomous) road vehicles, and about how current passenger train riders will desert trains for autonomous vehicles in 14-odd years. Much of the talk arises because high-profile, high-tech companies have gotten into the autonomous vehicle business. And carmakers, of course, take advantage of the hype by demonstrating how far along they are in development. The public then longs for the Mercedes or the Chevy that will get them to their jobs while they read the morning paper or finish up that report that's due at the morning meeting.

• Open access: What’s it all about?

  Tuesday, September 20, 2016

  First, let's make sure we are clear what open access means — what it is and what it is not in a railroad context in America. Generally speaking, an open-access railway is one that sells slots on its track for trains operated by other companies. In its purest form, these other companies are called train-operating companies (TOCs), and they own trains but no tracks. This is essentially the original U.K. model for open access.

• It’s safety first on America’s passenger railroads

  Tuesday, August 16, 2016

  The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently issued its final rule on the establishment of System Safety Programs (SSPs). According to FRA sources, this rule has been a long time in the making — the Federal Aviation Administration has had such rules for almost two decades.

• Saying nay to the railroad naysayers

  Wednesday, July 20, 2016

  We repeatedly hear and read comments that go something like this: "Trains are an antiquated form of transportation that use way too much in the way of public and private resources. They have limited societal benefits and are a drag on development of newer forms of transportation. The only good place for trains is in a museum — but not in my backyard or anywhere near it."

• Looking back at Amtrak’s ‘80s adolescence

  Tuesday, June 14, 2016

  "To the 1980s: You made me what I am today." — Amtrak. No, it's not a quote from an Amtrak press release, but Amtrak could be singing this old song in several ways just a month past its 45th anniversary. The 1970s was ​baby Amtrak's decade of transition, of getting a footing and keeping it in an environment — both physical and political — where everyone thought Amtrak would be gone in under 10 years. But the 1980s saw beginnings that have become part and parcel of our national passenger network.

• As Amtrak turns 45, let’s look back at its humble beginnings

  Wednesday, May 18, 2016

  Amtrak turned 45 on May 1. I wish it many happy returns. Today's American passenger railroad network is an exciting, vibrant mix of Amtrak, local commuter trains and light rail networks. While Amtrak is the designated "intercity" network, there are parts of the country where Amtrak is indistinguishable from local commuter transportation districts.

• Passenger rail safety and the speed of light

  Tuesday, April 19, 2016

  When we ride the train, we all want to feel safe — that's a given. Two accidents in the past month involving Amtrak trains have resulted in passenger injury, perhaps calling that feeling into question. Neither appears to have been caused by anything the onboard crew did or didn't do, and neither appears to have been technologically preventable using the standard definition of Positive Train Control now in varying stages of nationwide implementation. (Investigators may eventually disagree.)

• The Southwest Chief and the Colorado connection

  Tuesday, March 15, 2016

  America's intercity passenger rail system is building piecemeal, using individual, state-oriented passenger projects to eventually grow to create a more robust passenger system — the kind that America deserves. (Some would say we deserve Amtrak, but that's an opinion we can discuss another time.) The piecemeal projects range from those still in the thought experiment stage to those that would be deemed beyond shovel ready.