Hayden Clarkin
@thetransitguy.com
I like trains and walkable neighborhoods. https://linktr.ee/thetransitguy
What if the USA connected with Mexico via rail at Nogales, AZ and Laredo, TX? Let’s talk about it! thetransitguy.substack.com/p/the-insane...
The Insane but Fun Way to Take a Train from Mexico City to Reno
Mexico is building 700 miles of trains. We only need 63.
thetransitguy.substack.com
The local grocery chain here in RI/MA had a local artist paint its Fourth of July flyer, and I think in a world of AI slop, stuff like this is awesome. Happy fourth!
Can someone who works in rolling stock explain to me why European subway systems don’t have AC? Is there a hidden cost to converting a line to AC that I’m unfamiliar with?
Did you know that we subsidize roads even more than we subsidize rail in Wisconsin? H/T @thetransitguy.com
How much of Boston can fit within the parking lot of the Gillette Stadium complex:
ON YOUR BEST DAY YOUR CITY IS NOT AS INCREDIBLE AS NYC IS AT ITS WORST
My train from Providence to New York took 6.5 hours due to a downed power line. At Chinese HSR speeds, I would've been in Miami in the same amount of time. This country desperately needs to invest in its infrastructure.
Two Washington bound Amtrak trains are sitting at Kingston and passengers are walking up and down the platform as we wait for overhead wires to be fixed in New Haven. Current estimate is 90 minutes until the catenaries are fixed.
Imagine hating me while I’m sat here trying to figure out if Jurassic Park could conform to any zoning laws in Collin County, TX
The MBTA Providence Line frustrates me the most, as we are running push pull diesel trains on tracks that are rated for high speed rail with wires above. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/thetrans...
49 Miles of the Fastest Track in America, and We're Running Diesel on It
On the Providence Line, the smallest improvements make the biggest difference.
open.substack.com
If you overlaid the freeways of Dallas's urban core onto Paris:
“No one takes transit in Rhode Island!” Transit in Rhode Island:
In Rochester, the sunken Inner Loop freeway is slowly being removed, allowing homes and cafes to reclaim its place.
An abandoned factory in Williamsburg becomes a public park. (2012 -> Today)
When you travel on the 0.028% of tracks in the USA capable of supporting 160 mph, it feels good to see what train travel was like in Japan in 1964.
What city or metropolitan area in the world is most hampered by its weather and climate? In other words, what city would be exponentially better if it had the weather of Southern California?
I am trying to find freight rail train movements for certain rail lines in Canada. Does anyone know where I can find that info? Thanks!
Lancaster, PA has the fifth most Amtrak riders per capita, and I believe its success is a model for what rail should look like in mid-sized cities everywhere. I talk about it in my latest piece, "What Amish Country Can Teach Us About the Future of Rail." thetransitguy.substack.com/p/what-amish...
What Amish Country Can Teach us About The Future of Rail
The Lancaster Model: Why a Small PA Town is Beating Your City at Rail
thetransitguy.substack.com
Maybe I haven’t been paying attention but when did NEC trains starting terminating in Philly from Boston? Is this new?
So what are your predictions for what happens to slots/terminals that are Spirit’s?
HARD MODE: What transit station am I at? (If you get this wow)
Will be spending most of my summer in Providence while traveling to/from NYC intermittently. Hoping to see a lot of you beautiful people ❤️
That’s 82 years of Amtrak funding, but we don’t have money for trains!
The island of Lindau, Germany (pop. 3,000), sees 115 train departures per day. The entire state of Texas and all of its cities combined, by comparison, sees 56 daily Amtrak departures.
Objectively, the highest-impact use case for AI is automating code compliance and permitting. You should be able to propose a townhome development and find out if it’s code and zoning compliant within 60 seconds, with a human giving final approval.
A casual reminder that the federal government in 1974 killed a plan to build a 75-mile, BART-like rapid transit rail system in Detroit, which called for 3–12 minute headways and a 150-mile BRT system feeder system, for being “too ambitious.”
A sentence I'd never think I'd read from a fellow American in 2026. Long live the people.
