Passenger rail service in the United States is woefully lacking compared to other countries, particularly long-distance service that connects far-reaching cities. Amtrak currently operates 15 long-distance routes, which range from 750 to 2,500 miles. But they stretch over just 39 states and the District of Columbia, and a map of those routes reveals that large swaths of the country dont have any rail options.A new map, as part of a recent Federal Railroad Administration study, shows what the country could look like if 15 additional long-distance routes were added. With those rail lines, previously stranded regions of the country are suddenly connected with bright lines representing passenger rail. They would make the countrys rail network considerably fuller and would bring rail service to all of the lower 48 states.The existing Amtrak Passenger rail network. [Image: FRA]These 15 potential new Amtrak routes would add more than 23,000 rail miles to the system, serve more than 60 new metropolitan areas, and provide rail access to 39 million people that currently dont have it. The revealed preferred route options. [Image: FRA]The FRA study on the potential expansion of long-distance rail was delivered to Congress this week. As part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress directed the FRA, which oversees Amtrak, to conduct a study that evaluated the potential of restoring routes, adding new ones, and increasing existing service.The FRA has been working on the report for the past two years, conducting meetings in 21 cities across the country, from Boston to Boise to Dallas. The agency received more than 50,000 comments, from stakeholders like state transportation departments and Indian Tribes, as well as members of the public. Thats a sign, the FRA says, of the overwhelming support for long-distance services or passenger rail in general. In their comments, people across the country shared how they would use the new route options to do everything from visit family to see national parks to connect to job opportunities. Less than 10% of riders on Amtraks current long-distance routes ride from end-to-end, the study notes, but what these routes do is connect people to all the urban and rural places in between. Amtraks current Crescent route, for example, connects New York to New Orleansbut includes stops at more than 30 stations in between, from Trenton, New Jersey, to Greensboro, North Carolina, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The studys findings underscore the growing interest in train travel thats been sweeping the U.S. in recent years. Amtrak itself saw record ridership in 2024, with new routes quickly surpassing expectations. Other rail companies have come into the fold, too, like Brightline, with its plans to develop high-speed rail options. [Images: FRA]But the potential new Amtrak routes are far from a sure thing. The options that the study outlines are conceptual, the FRA says, and more work is needed to refine the projects and determine their costs and funding sources, plus whatever else it would take to actually implement them. Some of the routes have existed previously, but were closed because of a lack of funding. Restoring them would surely be a funding challenge again. Currently, the study reads, there is no sustained financial support or program to construct or operate the selected preferred route options.Some of that funding could come from an FRA program, or from states and private stakeholders working with Amtrak. Its also not clear what this Congress, or the new administration, will think of the report. Though President Donald Trump, while on the campaign trail, lamented the fact that the U.S. didnt have bullet trains, experts say his presidency could reduce financial support for transit projects overall.
Retro tech is having an undeniable moment. Weve seen the revival of the Game Boy and chunky keyboards. Courtesy of Sega, even the pager was recently made cool again. Now we can add the iPod to the list of vintage gadgets that Americas youth yearn to experience firsthand.
The L.A.-based design collective Drought is tapping into that desire with the iMirror, a behemoth 5-foot-tall replica of the iconic iPod Nano with a mirror instead of a screen (as the name suggests). The iMirror comes in six colors, retails for $375, and will drop online today at 3 p.m. ET in a limited run of just 200. Anyone who actually wants to get their hands on the device-turned-design object will need to act fast: According to Drought founder Jake Olshan, the iMirrors first drop back in August instantly went viral, with all 200 mirrors selling out in the first minute.
[Photo: Drought]
Olshans fascination with all things retro is evident in Droughts previous drops, which have included a burning CD candle in collaboration with Napster, a giant paper clip inspired by Microsoft Offices mascot, Clippy, and a belt with a buckle fashioned to look like Internet Explorers early-aughts logo. It was only a matter of time before the iPod, which debuted in 2001, joined the ranks of aesthetic tech items from a bygone era. We shouldve known this was coming when Urban Outfitters started peddling the devices to Gen Alpha for $349 back in 2023.
[Image: Drought]
According to Olshan, who was born in 1997, the concept for the iMirror came from his own nostalgia for the tech (he owned the Classic, Shuffle, and Nano models back when iPods were hot). Picking a model for the mirror largely came down to the screen size, which was largest on the Nano.
Beyond that, there were so many iconic elements of this iPod Nano and its campaignthe colors, the ads, the song choices for the ads, Olshan says. Also, thinking a couple years to decades down the line, I felt these would look best surviving the test of time as actual home decor and art pieces as well. In 20 years, he adds, younger people will probably have no idea what the iPod was, but theyll be able to find out about them through these. I think its a cool way of paying homage to it.
[Photo: Drought]
The iMirror comes with a stainless steel power button and frosted-glass text accents on the mirror, including the phrase Find Yourself above a song progress bar and a small battery icon in the top right. The iPod buttons up arrow has been replaced with the word Drought.
I see this drop appealing to two main audiences: those who grew up with these items and feel a strong connection to them, as well as younger people who may not have experienced them firsthand but are drawn to their nostalgic appeal, Olshan says. On one hand, one group is holding on to whats familiar, while the other is eager to be a part of it and experience that nostalgia.
