Ask Strong Towns Anything – November 19, 2025

Featuring: Mike Christensen, Utah Passenger Rail Association

About Today’s Guest: Mike Christensen

Mike Christensen is a transportation planner and Executive Director of the Utah Passenger Rail Association, where he works to advance practical, incremental improvements to intercity passenger rail across the Mountain West. He collaborates with state agencies, MPOs, and grassroots advocates to champion feasible rail expansion strategies.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-christensen-1b892927/

He also appeared on The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast earlier this year:
Mike Christensen: Bottom-Up Rail Advocacy
https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2025/2/20/mike-christensen-bottom-up
Why it's worth reading: A great overview of Mike's bottom-up approach to advancing rail through practical, citizen-led action.

Session Summary

Today’s conversation with guest expert Mike Christensen explored the constraints and possibilities for growing passenger rail in North America. Members dug into incremental upgrades, strategic bottlenecks, ROW limitations, rail-trail conflicts, freight prioritization, electrification, and cultural barriers to rail adoption. Real-world examples—from Selma to San Antonio to Walla Walla—showed how everyday residents are elevating rail as a meaningful mobility option in their communities.

1. Why Incremental Rail Investments Matter

• Many members echoed the value of practical upgrades over megaprojects, including reliability, frequency, electrification, and choke-point fixes.

• “Electrification with high-performance EMUs like the Stadler KISS units offer such a great opportunity…without crazy high top speeds.” – Brian

2. Rail Culture Depends on Time, Cost, and Comfort

• “Creating a culture of rail travel happens when the time is comparable, the cost is manageable, and the dignity of the experience matches alternatives.” – Norm

• “Under a lot of circumstances I'd rather be on a train for 7 hours than a plane for 2.” – Jean

3. Last-Mile Gaps Limit Rail’s Potential

• “People are willing to consider it, but cities need to include last-mile considerations at both ends.” – Jaye

4. Rail-Trail Conversions and Lost ROW

• Several members noted that many rail-to-trail decisions permanently removed corridors now needed for intercity travel.

• “100%, especially when there's no space left for a reconversion of trails to rails.” – Norm

5. ROW Constraints: Highways, Electric Corridors, and Freight Tracks

• Members asked why more rail can’t be placed in interstate medians or utility corridors.

• Kerry (a civil engineer) noted design differences in curvature requirements between road and rail.

6. Freight Prioritization Confusion

• Multiple members discussed whether freight is legally required to yield to passenger rail.

• Francis linked the statute: 49 U.S. Code §24308(c).

• Kellie asked: “Is it enforced?”

7. NIMBY Dynamics

• “In my area, the concern is it will bring ‘those people’ into the area.” – Jaye

8. Local Examples & Community Stories

• Selma, NC is leveraging rail to attract day-trip visitors, including influencers. – Cindy

• RL from Walla Walla shared research showing the city’s stagnation correlated with losing passenger rail service in the 1950s.

• Jean shared a vivid story about an Amtrak “station” marked only by a sign reading “stand on this side of the tracks.”

Links Shared in the Session

UtahRPA Presentation

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xlzfgncfqsdmpilz4nzsa/UtahRPA-Strong-Towns.pptx
A visual overview of Utah Passenger Rail Association’s incremental strategy and corridor opportunities.

Strong Towns Podcast: Build the Damn Train (Eric Goldwyn)

https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/8/19/build-the-damn-train-how-to-bring-high-speed-rail-to-the-united-states
Eric Goldwyn breaks down why U.S. rail projects fail and what can actually work.

Envisioning a Rail Culture (Edward Erfurt)

https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/7/7/envisioning-a-rail-culture-for-the-us

Members highlighted Edward’s reflection:
A reminder that America once built inspiring rail systems—and can again.

Amtrak Suspends Horizon Cars (The Urbanist)

https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/03/26/amtrak-suspends-horizon-traincars-cascades/
Context on equipment shortages impacting regional service and reliability.

Flight vs. Rail: Miami to Orlando Comparison (YouTube)

https://youtu.be/3hMSe_t_XcI
A clear look at how Brightline now competes with short-haul flights.

Amtrak Legal Right to Preference (PDF)

https://www.amtrak.com/.../mythbusters-enforcing-amtraks-legal-right-to-preference.pdf
A concise explanation of the passenger-priority law and why enforcement is contentious.