PODCAST · society
Train Time: The Podcast
by Karen Christensen
Trains are our tomorrow. At Train Time, experts of all stripes, from the US, UK, and other countries, join host Karen Christensen to talk about all aspects of modern passenger rail development. Train Time is not about heritage or tourist scenic railroads, but instead about rail as a sustainable way to get around locally, nationally, and internationally - good for people, communities, economies, and the natural world. traintime.substack.com
Episodes
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CT-01 Luke Bronin talks about the rail ahead
Luke Bronin is the 2026 Democratic Party candidate for Connecticut's 1st Congressional District, having secured the party's endorsement over 14-term incumbent Rep. John Larson in a historic upset. He was mayor of Hartford and co-chair of the North Atlantic Rail initiative, and joins us again to...
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Talking with Ian Hodkinson of Alstom, a global rail company
Ian Hodkinson of Alstom joins Karen Christensen to discuss exactly what’s involved in making train lines more resilient in terms of extreme heat or cold as well as sea-level rise and flooding. He details the ways in which trains provide flexible and resilient transportation, and points out that...
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Train Talk with Karen and Matt
Matt Silber and Karen Christensen catch up on this Train Time talk, ranging around the region, in the way they’d be doing if there was a pub by the station. The “happy hour” kicks off with an article in the New York Times about a slowdown in the release of federal grants for public transit (gift...
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Is Connecticut’s Rail Future Worth 30 Seconds of YOUR Time?
Transit authorities like CTDOT often justify service cuts because they think nobody is paying attention. Let’s prove them wrong. On April 22nd, we’re heading to the public meeting to share our thoughts on CTDOT’s draft Connecticut 2055 plan. We want to show them thousands of signatures that say...
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Talking to Josh Elliott about CT rail
Josh Elliott is running for governor of Connecticut in the Democratic primary in August and joins us to talk about public transportation and the role trains play (and could play) in Connecticut, as well as to ask about the transit policies he would prioritize as governor. Elliott has a lot to say...
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Good news bad news about Housatonic/Maybrook petition
Matt and Karen explain the bad news about the Change.org petition, but there's good news, too, and a new plan for action! Get full access to Train Time at traintime.substack.com/subscribe
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Canaan to Danbury, CT!
North Canaan officials have long been strong supporters of the Housatonic Line revival. Going back some years, former Rep Roberta Willis (D) filed a bill regarding the line. Later, Brian Ohler (R) expressed support. The Train Campaign met with Maria Horn (D), the current state rep, and held joint...
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Big Sky Rail has news for the rest of us
In this show, Dave Strohmaier and Karen Christensen pick up a conversation after nearly 5 years—years during which Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) has really been making tracks. In 2023, the BSPRA was selected by the Federal Railroad Administration for further development and study, with…
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Red rail, Blue rail?
While you might think passenger rail, as public transportation, would be the province of Democrats, there are many Republican backers of rail projects. There are also rail initiatives that depend on people from both parties to work together. Today’s tri-state conversation brings together...
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Lessons from trains in Europe and Asia
Karen Christensen shares stories about her train travel in Europe and Asia to explain how the Train Campaign and Train Time came to be—and survive, even into these tough times for public transportation. Train compartments in France, the cleanliness of Japanese high-speed trains, and the ease of...
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Matt on the rails: a train travel journal
History teacher Matt Silber took advantage of summer vacation to find out whether it’s possible to have an enjoyable, affordable trip around New England just for fun—not commuting to work but to visit friends and explore new places. As he says in this detailed post, he set out to visit multiple...
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Transit & housing: looking for the right equation
Matt Silber takes center stage in this podcast, explaining the strange trajectory of a piece of Connecticut legislation, HB5002. Karen Christense jumps in with criticism of the messaging, and they discuss details of the CT bill, factions and debates around it, and make comparisons to other...
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The social life of public (transit) spaces
As Karen Christensen prepares to head to China - first speaking about how civilizations learn from one another, and then exploring third places in Shanghai - she and Matt Silber discuss the social life of public transit. They draw from experiences in different countries and times, and explore how...
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Building in the US: abundance or bust
Karen and Matt talk about the new book Abundance and what it says about high-speed trains. The focus at Train Time is, naturally, how the book covers US passenger rail expansion in general and relates to our region in particular. Karen compares the US to China, where she will be traveling by…
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Listen or watch: Talking CT-MA trains
Matt Silber is a history teacher who’s been writing for Train Time recently. In this podcast, he and Karen Christensen talk about past and current efforts to restore passenger train service to our region, the benefits of train travel, and some of the misconceptions and worries they’ve heard…
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How the Railways Will Fix the Future
Today we’re talking with Gareth Dennis, author of How the Railways Will Fix the Future: Rediscovering the Essential Brilliance of the Iron Road in which he builds a case not simply for railways as a common good, but argues that railways are a critical tool for humanity to survive and thrive. We...
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Audio: Canaan, CT to Pittsfield, MA train service
This show explains that the potential for a battery-powered electric train service from Canaan, CT to Pittsfield, MA via Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lee, and Lenox (stops to be determined) and running every day of the year. This service would give people a chance to experience…
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Taking aim at a 20th-century rail bureaucracy
Karen Christensen loves trains but is no fan of the transportation bureaucracy, in Massachusetts or in the US as a whole. In this show, she runs through a list of examples of waste and bloat, and highlights a sensible, economical proposal that never saw the light of day. How many proposals of…
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Author Simon Winchester talks trains
This talk by world-renowned author Simon Winchester was part of an event in Canaan, Connecticut a couple years ago. Simon’s recounting of his travels by train, which include a trip from London to Hong Kong via Moscow, enchanted the audience that summer’s day. When we found we could create a…
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Trains are our tomorrow
Get a look at our conversations with Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts 2007-2015, Eric Lesser, Massachusetts State Senator, and Richard Neal, US Congressman, Massachusetts 1st District in this short preview from our work in progress. Donate at https://donorbox.org/train-campaign-film to…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Trains are our tomorrow. At Train Time, experts of all stripes, from the US, UK, and other countries, join host Karen Christensen to talk about all aspects of modern passenger rail development. Train Time is not about heritage or tourist scenic railroads, but instead about rail as a sustainable way to get around locally, nationally, and internationally - good for people, communities, economies, and the natural world.
traintime.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Karen Christensen
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Train Time: The Podcast have?
Train Time: The Podcast currently has 20 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Train Time: The Podcast about?
Trains are our tomorrow. At Train Time, experts of all stripes, from the US, UK, and other countries, join host Karen Christensen to talk about all aspects of modern passenger rail development. Train Time is not about heritage or tourist scenic railroads, but instead about rail as a sustainable way...
How often does Train Time: The Podcast release new episodes?
Train Time: The Podcast has 20 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Train Time: The Podcast?
You can listen to Train Time: The Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Train Time: The Podcast?
Train Time: The Podcast is created and hosted by Karen Christensen.
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