Paul Weyrich - Rail Transit Activism

Rail Transit Activism

In contrast with many conservatives, Weyrich had a long history of ardent support for rail mass transit. He opposed "Bus rapid transit", (a particular type of bus transit with higher capacity but also higher costs than ordinary bus transit), and instead supported rail transit as a more effective alternative. In 1988 he co-founded a quarterly magazine on the subject of urban rail transit, called The New Electric Railway Journal, which until 1996 was published by FCF, and he was its Publisher. He wrote an opinion column for most issues and contributed a few feature articles. FCF discontinued its affiliation with TNERJ in 1996, but the magazine continued being produced, under a different publishing company, until the end of 1998, with Weyrich listed as "Publisher Emeritus". In early 2000, about a year after the last magazine was published, Weyrich and William S. Lind (who had been the magazine's Associate Publisher until 1996) launched a website where they could continue to post their views and news about rail transit. They called the webpage "The New New Electric Railway Journal", and Weyrich wrote numerous op-ed columns in favor of proposed light rail and metro systems. He also supported bringing back streetcars to U.S. cities.

Weyrich also served on the national board of Amtrak (1987–1993) and the Amtrak Reform Council, as well as on local and regional rail transit advocacy organizations.