Amtrak is presented with the potential for two futures: In one is a $25 billion expansion to update national intercity rail with contemporary patterns of settlement. In the other is fiscal crisis and continued service cuts.

Madalyn Mendoza reports on the diverging potential paths for Amtrak, as exemplified by the example of Texas, where the agency recently reduced Texas Eagle daily service from San Antonio to Chicago to three times a week.
That service reduction was made as Amtrak also makes news for a $25 billion plan to expand service around the country. "Amtrak is also hoping to tap into funds from potential national infrastructure bills such as the INVEST Act, which would provide $28.55 billion for Amtrack over five years," reports Mendoza.
Mendoza relays information presented by Ray Lang, Amtrak’s senior director for national state relations, on Amtrak's expansion plans in September, just a few weeks before the cuts to Texas Eagle service were implemented.
A series of Tweets by Politico reporter Sam Mintz shows the maps of Amtrak's planned expansion maps. Both Mintz and Mendoza suggests that Amtrak would fare well under a Biden presidency, in addition to an expected boon to the Gateway Project connecting New Jersey to New York via the Hudson River.
The Texas Eagle service might not be the last service to get cut as Amtrak deals with the fiscal consequences of the pandemic. As reported in a separate article by Pranshu Verma, Amtrak President and CEO William J. Flynn has been lobbying Congress for $4.9 billion in funding to stave off more cuts (that's $2 billion the rail agency's standard appropriation and $2.8 billion in emergency funding). According to Verma, projected revenue for Amtrak has declined by 53 percent in 2020.
FULL STORY: Amtrak has expansion within the San Antonio-Dallas-Houston triangle 'under review'

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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