First summer results for Borealis – and what it means for Australia

September results for Amtrak’s new Borealis service between Chicago and Minneapolis/St Paul are out, representing its first full summer holiday season. Monthly patronage has taken a sharp downward drop for the first time, from 22,300 the previous month to 18,800 – almost back to the same rate from its initial…

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The longest rail platforms in Australia

Through a mixture of necessity, hope for the future, and in some cases pure accident, Australia has ended up with more than its share of long railway platforms. The story of these platforms – when, how, and most importantly why they came to be as long as they are – is the story of rail in Australia.

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Rail’s market share against air: A global review

Hot Rails presents the largest and most comprehensive survey ever made of rail’s market share against air travel, with 219 datapoints covering 133 unique city pairs across five continents. It shows rail can be a significant player even at longer travel times, becoming dominant for trips four hours or less.

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