Southwest Airlines Is Failing California

Its Flights Are More Expensive and Less Reliable. Is Travel Across This Big State Destined to Be Miserable?

I may have to take back everything bad I ever said about California’s high-speed rail project.

This thought ran through my head as I stood one morning last week at Gate A3 of Burbank airport, enraged and fully engaged in another of my now-frequent battles with Southwest Airlines.

My morning flight to Oakland, where I was giving an afternoon talk, had been canceled without explanation. But Southwest wouldn’t let me on an earlier flight that had room and was still sitting at the gate. The Southwest agent said he couldn’t get …

by Joe Mathews | November 26, 2014

L.A.’s Past and Future Railroad Heydays

Trains Built Southern California, Then Angelenos Rejected Rail. But According to Tom Zoellner and Ethan Elkind, a Comeback Is Afoot.

by Sarah Rothbard | November 4, 2014

“Can you think of a city in the United States that was more determined by the railroad” than Los Angeles? Chapman University English scholar Tom Zoellner, author of Train, opened …

When L.A. Is the End of the Line

Train

by Tom Zoellner | November 1, 2014

Trains changed the world, but then cars and planes came along, and they became a tertiary form of transportation, particularly in the U.S. But journalist and Chapman University English scholar …

Diplomat

by Justin Jannise | September 19, 2014

Landlocked since June, housebound for a week,
a train of dominoes derailed across the floor,
some ambassador I am.
And yet there arrives word from the coast:

Freezing rain and windshield …

Show Your Airline Some Love

Recent Megamergers and International Alliances Have Made Flying Cheaper, More Efficient, and Better Than Ever Before

by Andrés Martinez | July 14, 2014

Flying to Arizona on the eve of the recent holiday was a delight: crammed terminals, crammed security lines, crammed overheads, crammed runways, and harried airline employees imploring passengers to consider …

I’ll Tell You Why They Won’t Find Malaysia Air Flight 370

I’ve Sailed Halfway Around the World—and Few Places Are As Dangerous As the Indian Ocean

by Andrew Heger | March 31, 2014

Cape Leeuwin represents the southwestern-most point of Australia. Five years ago last month I stood atop its lighthouse, looked at the hostile sea state at the confluence of the Southern …

How Taiwan’s High-Speed Trains Expose California’s Lack of Nerve

While the Golden State Made Excuses, the Poorer, Smaller Island Country Transformed Its National Transit System

California’s High Speed Rail Should Look Like Germany’s

Stations Can Be Vital Public Spaces That Provide Space for People to Gather, Shop, and Be Entertained

Dear Mr. President, Please Save California’s High-Speed Rail

‘Amtrak Joe’ Is the Golden State’s Last, Best Hope for Making a Rail From the Bay Area to L.A. a Reality

Golden Gate Bridge Train Service? It’s Time to Get on Board

California’s Iconic Span Needs Rail Transit, Both for Symbolism and for Sonoma’s Sake

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