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Marcus Nelson

@marcuscnelson.bsky.social
601 followers 21 following 156 posts

🇭🇹🇺🇸 | Building cities, transit, and change | Find me anywhere @marcuscnelson (he/him)

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Reposted by Marcus Nelson
RAIL Magazine @railmag.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Why are the Amtrak Airos a net good for passenger rail in the U.S.? 1) Amtrak desperately needs more trains. These are more trains. 2) Time savings on engine swaps @ WAS, PHL & NHV 3) Cab cars for push-pull corridors save terminal recovery time, non-revenue movements & crew time 🚆
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Angie Nixon @angieforfl.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Now Ashley Moody. Why would I want to abolish the police when I want you arrested and in jail for stealing $10 million from sick kids? BFFR
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is an excellent post. These new systems in Asia are impressive. And, importantly, it's applying a lot of things that we figured out here in the 1960s and tried to build ourselves. This isn't foreign.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 18/09/2026
Jacksonville’s transit ridership is already 3rd worst in the country among large metro areas. www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-... Will anyone ride transit in Jacksonville now?
Transit ridership per capita for metro areas with at least 1 million residents
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Climate and Transit @climateandtransit.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Good god it was already bad enough
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Marcus Nelson @marcuscnelson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is tragic. It's even more tragic knowing JTA has spent the last decade lavishly spending on a dysfunctional autonomous vehicle program of questionable value, that the public has shown little interest in using. For its troubles, Jacksonville gets to watch CEO Nat Ford pack his bags for Dallas.
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Californians for Electric Rail @calelectricrail.org · 04/09/2026
You often hear that if only CAHSR had let the French take over, it would be built by now. They're on the team now, but what did SNCF actually say back in 2010? We did a deep dive into the French HSR operator's original proposal to set the record straight. 🧵 calelectricrail.org/the-true-sto...
Selected Co-development team
from June 1 CAHSR CEO report. Teams include SNCF Voyageurs, Jacobs, CDPQ Infra, Systra...
Team capabilities: Global infrastructure investment, high-speed rail development, rail systems integration, passenger rail operations, ridership and revenue strategy, commercial management, public-private partnership strategy
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dereksagehorn.bsky.social @dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Policymakers need to be internalizing the costs of inaction/delay via escalation much earlier in the life cycle of infrastructure development, imo.
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august 🍂 @auguststreet.ca · 02/08/2026
a lot of US/canadian "better bus" redesigns involve more significant cuts in bus network coverage where ridership isn't offset by frequency boosts elsewhere service hours per capita for most bus systems are just too low to begin with, it's hard to see huge gains without properly funding the bus
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Metro tried to make bus service better. Somehow, ridership and speeds are both down
A year after Better Bus, reviews are mixed.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
If you actually look into these local funding crises, a common theme is that previously-sustainable local funding measures fall short of rising structural costs in labor, maintenance, capital renewal, fare evasion etc. Abundance writers could use more industry experience but the direction is correct
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Zipper’s not wrong but that US transit has functionally been in existential crisis for 50 years is why we struggle to get a handle on the structural issues.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
​I'll get some flak for this, but IMO the Abundance transit stuff is a dangerous distraction. Portland, the Bay Area, Miami etc face draconian service cuts that would drive away riders— for good. If that happens "I don't really care how much a [new] bus costs because you'll have nobody riding it."
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RAIL Magazine @railmag.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
From everything I'm hearing, this is being labelled "commuter rail" in connection to the FRA/FTA modal category, but it will be designed as regional rail more similar to UTA FrontRunner with all-day, 2-way service with decent population centers at both ends & the metro hub in the center of the line.
trains.com
Oklahoma City mayor calls for major transit investment including commuter rail - Trains
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Saying his city is facing a transportation crisis, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt this week called for an extensive new transit system that would include commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit. The “One Transit” plan calls for a 39-mile commuter rail line between Edmond and Norman via downtown Oklahoma [...]Read More...
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Infrastory @infrastory.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
While France was building high-speed rail, America was learning dysfunction. Read the latest Infrastory now. open.substack.com/pub/infrasto...
open.substack.com
The Northeast Corridor's Three-Headed Monster
How to Spend Two Billion Dollars Without a Plan
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Alex Wolford @thetexanrhino.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
After more than two hours of closed-session debate, the DART board voted to recommend "Candidate A" (Nathaniel P. Ford) for the position of CEO. While they declined to name him directly, Ford is the only plausible option given the details discussed.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 13/07/2026
The US House is considering a transportation bill that would cut transit funding massively. We estimate that it would cut transit funds by 23% compared to the current infrastructure law. Every state would lose millions of dollars in transit formula funding. Details: www.urban.org/urban-wire/h...
Every State Stands to Lose Millions of Dollars in Transit Formula Funds Under the BUILD America 250 Act Compared with IIJA
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Alex Wolford @thetexanrhino.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
DART has released finalists for its new president and CEO: - Nathaniel P. Ford Sr, Chief Executive Officer, Jacksonville Transportation Authority - Dee Leggett, Director of Business Operations, Herzog Transit Services - Monica Tellez, President/CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority
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Marcus Nelson @marcuscnelson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
The New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study is a perfect opportunity to make the case for these priorities. How well that'll go over with the people in this region after earlier efforts, now there's a question. newhavenprovidencestudy.com
newhavenprovidencestudy.com
New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/07/2026
to mark the 250th i wrote about the ways that black americans did vital work to invest the declaration of independence with the universalism and egalitarianism that we now see as its core promise. (gift link)
nytimes.com
Opinion | Five Words That Changed America
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Komodo Dad @komododad.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Wait, the Euros are actually mad about air conditioning? I thought this was just a bit.
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Aaron @aaronznj.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
wow turns out that pissing off MTA wasn't a great strategy when they have a bunch of very binding written agreements that allow them to kinda just say "no" to any sort of Penn construction they don't really like. Oops.
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Laurie! Live! @laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
interesting new browser-based tool to build GTFS (schedule/flex) feeds, particularly aimed at smaller & DRT agencies www.gtfsx.com
gtfsx.com
GTFS·X — GTFS Editor & Transit Service Planner
The fast, easy GTFS editor and service planner. Build, validate, and publish GTFS & GTFS-Flex feeds in your browser — no account required.
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Nilo @nilo.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Important things to remember about rail in the USA: 1. In almost all suburbs your destinations and origins are too diffuse to win suburb to suburb circumferential trips 2. you're probably providing bad radial service 3. You're probably providing bad urban service (both circumferential and radial)
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Nilo @nilo.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Anyways no region in the USA is willing to make the jump on what this all really would mean, so we meander about and end up with 10s of billions of dollars programmed to be spent on toll bridges that can't make their money back.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 11/06/2026
If it gets its way, the US House would drastically reduce funding for transit & rail systems. The House's proposed legislation—supported by GOP & Dems—would cut overall authorized transit funding by 15% compared to the current law, and reduce potential funding for projects like new lines by 45%.
urban.org
Congress’s Transportation Reauthorization Bill Would Drastically Underfund Transit and Rail Projects
As currently drafted, BUILD America 250 would likely reinforce the United States’ car dependence, depriving Americans of affordable travel options and degrad…
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Gothamist @gothamist.com · 08/06/2026
Next big hurdle in Trump's Penn Station rebuild: Figuring out how to pay for project gothamist.com/news/next-bi...
gothamist.com
Next big hurdle in Trump's Penn Station rebuild: Figuring out how to pay for project
Andy Byford, Amtrak's special advisor leading the reconstruction of the nation's busiest train hub, said he hopes the federal government will foot the majority of the bill.
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Bring me your favorite transit project that could get built with $800m in fed money on a 50/50 split
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Liam O’Connell @liamoc.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
PRIIA reform/replacement has to be top of the agenda for passenger rail advocates post-current administration. It’s straightforwardly incompatible with building a pax rail system that gets meaningful ridership in our lifetimes.
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Doug @doug.city · 01/06/2026
Hard to overstate what a big problem this is, and it rears its head in basically *any* kind of transportation research you might try to do, at least in the US. Data on non-commute trips is, more often than not, just nonexistent. Unless you have the resources to collect your own data, good luck.
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Nathan @kalinsky.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Also of note, the bill will reduce the federal cost share of transit bus replacements from 80% oft the total cost of a bus to a maximum of 70% of the *average cost* of a new bus, based on a 5 year average of transit bus purchases to be calculated by the FTA, phasing in between FY2029 and 31.
(iii) FISCAL YEAR 2031.—For fiscal year 2031 and in each fiscal year thereafter, the maximum Federal payment amount shall equal the average of all of the products of 70 percent multiplied by the price of each procurement for a bus rolling stock combination of similar propulsion type and vehicle length procured within the most recent 5 years.
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august 🍂 @auguststreet.ca · 10/05/2026
rare in north america do you get a rapid transit project does all of this: -replaces one of the busiest existing bus routes in a city (wilshire is the 2nd busiest) -is 2-3x faster than the bus (7 min vs 22-30 min) -and way faster than driving (18 min+) los angeles did it. grade-separated rail wins
google map showing travel options between la cienega and western on wilshire. car is 18 min, subway os 10 min, bus is 29 min
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Washington DC’s transit system plans to automate its trains, removing the need for human operators. As I explained in @bloomberg.com, this could be a watershed moment for US public transportation. Gift link & 🧵
bloomberg.com
Why DC’s Metro Wants to Automate its Trains
Driverless transit is increasingly common globally, but the plan to remove human operators from Washington, DC’s Red Line trains would be a US first.
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RAIL Magazine @railmag.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Things that are simultaneously correct: •There are more passenger rail services connecting more communities in the U.S. now than the last 75 years, and in some places, ever. •Given our resources and by international comparison, we’re still way behind many other countries. 🛤️🚉🚆
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Kamala Harris @kamalaharris.com · 07/04/2026
The President of the United States is threatening to commit war crimes and wipe out a "whole civilization" — all because he started a disastrous war of his own making and had no plan and no strategy for how to end it. This is abhorrent, and the American people do not support this.
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Will Chisholm @skibumwill.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
People talk about “public transit” like it’s some abstract policy debate, but it’s literally the difference between someone getting to work or losing their job. A bus that runs on time isn’t a luxury. It’s dignity, mobility, and a shot at stability. #transit
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 03/04/2026
The Federal Transit Administration released its annual report on new transit projects to fund. The report recommends a total of just $1.2 b for existing & new projects, a massive reduction from previous years. The federal role in funding new transit projects is being decimated.
transit.dot.gov
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CAHSR's Strongest Soldier @emoscientist.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
At a high level, anywhere in the US can't build HSR the way Europe or Asia do because: 1) Most of our rail infrastructure is owned by Class 1s 2) There's no consistent source of federal funding 3) Our political system is skewed towards Republicans who are ideologically opposed to transit
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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Whoever works in good faith and with genuine enthusiasm on a major rail or transit project in the US, especially in California, is either a fool, a hero or a martyr, or all three at the same time. Dealing with the US political class must be just an absolute nightmare.
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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
You know folks, CAHSR is a mess of a project but I'm growingly sympathetic with the folks coming out with new proposals to try to deliver even a pale shade of service in a foreseeable future considering the political headwinds this project is facing.
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Doug @doug.city · 27/03/2026
It’s true this development would have never happened if the transit hadn’t come first, but it does present a bit of a dilemma: if you build the transit but don’t change the land use, you’re underutilizing the transit, but if you change the land use first, you’re likely underutilizing the land.
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Marcus Nelson @marcuscnelson.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
As much as I'm sure the ST board and staff would like to have thirty four and a half billion dollars appear out of thin air, they don't seem to have the power to just make money exist.
A chart for the Sound Transit Enterprise Initiative, discussing the $34.5B funding gap in the ST3 program.
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Jeremy "Looking for Arrows" Zorek @jeremyzorek.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Cascades Airo visiting Newark Penn today - probably the only time you'll see this signed for New York!
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Nathan @kalinsky.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The MTA's own modeling shows bus rapid transit both attracts significantly fewer riders and requires 3-4 minute headways to meet capacity needs. "Red Line" BRT is not the Red Line at all. This corridor both justifies and deserves the rail it has long been promised.
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𝘽𝙧𝙮𝙣𝙣 🏳‍⚧ @dyslexicwolfgirl.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Hard to find a better example for why bus electrification, especially via trolley buses on heavily used corridors can pay dividends.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 02/03/2026
Let's do this here in WA/OR/CA! Permanent DST is the right answer, and it will have more dramatic impacts in BC (as it's further north) than any of the US West Coast states. Yet they're willing to do it, and we should follow suit.
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Gabriel Urbina @gabrielurbina.com · 02/03/2026
Genuinely puzzled by the negative critical response to How to Make a Killing. It’s the best time I had in a movie theater since Send Help/No Other Choice, and feels like it’s directly in stylish conversation with both of those. Plus it’s hysterically funny. Don’t believe the anti-hype. Go see it.
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Holly Arnold @hollytarnold.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Hi! We looked pretty extensively at EMUs & it wasn't the best fit for our service. We are partnering with MBTA on a procurement for dual mode locos. It was advertised today.
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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Haiti’s TPS continues for now!!!!! And zowie: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov…
VII. CONCLUSION
 There is an old adage among lawyers. If you have the facts on your side, pound the
 facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table.
 Secretary Noem, the record to-date shows, does not have the facts on her side or at least has
 ignored them. Does not have the law on her side or at least has ignored it. Having neither and
 bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter).
 Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement
 junkies, and any other inapt name she wants. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both
 our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS
 program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that.
 By accompanying Order, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for a Stay
 Under 5 U.S.C. § 705.
 Ara C. Regr
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