Friday’s Headlines Fear for Amtrak
Amtrak may not survive the second Trump administration, let alone the slow progress on expansion made under President Biden.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 21, 2025
- Bipartisan support in Congress saved Amtrak during the first Trump administration, but it may not this help. And the slow pace at which the Biden administration doled out grants for rail projects didn’t help. (Trains)
- While the federal government is pulling back support for electric vehicles, states don’t have to wait to make the transition. (State Smart Transportation Initiative)
- Cities need to look at charging infrastructure, grid capacity and route planning if they want to successfully electrify their bus fleets. (Transport Matters)
- At Slate, Henry Grabar demolishes the Trump administration’s flimsy legal justification for attempting to stop congestion pricing in Manhattan.
- A new poll found that 54 percent of California residents support high-speed rail. (KTLA)
- Dallas’ Regional Transportation Council voted narrowly to stay neutral on a Texas bill that would allow area cities to cut their payments to DART. (KERA)
- Developing more housing near transit in Philadelphia could be the answer to SEPTA’s funding woes. (Citizen)
- Instead of enforcing traffic laws among drivers, Miami police are busy ticketing pedestrians. (CBS News)
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s pro-bike and pro-transit record will be a campaign issue as eshe runs for re-election. (Globe)
- Austin installed protected bike lanes, new crosswalks and other safety improvements at one of its high-crash intersections. (Community Impact)
- An Atlanta Beltline connection to busy Ponce de Leon Avenue is set to open in April. (Urbanize Atlanta)
- Athens, Georgia is planning a potential bus link to nearby Atlanta. (Flagpole)
- Newport is creating a Vision Zero plan. (Daily News)
- Kalamazoo’s Streets for All program resulted in a 27 percent reduction in crashes. (WKZO)
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally announced a high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City. (CBC)
- Montreal is turning an abandoned railway into an urban park. (Globe and Mail)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
Trump’s ‘Freedom Means Affordable Cars’ Rings Hollow As Gas Prices Surge
Real freedom is the freedom to choose how you get around — including not driving at all.
March 30, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Pedal Backwards
The Trump administration really does not want to make it easy to ride a bike.
March 30, 2026
Friday Video: Five Bike Advocacy Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You’re Making
For one thing, make sure that political leaders who say "no" to livable streets experience consequences for their decisions.
March 27, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Take a Free Ride
Waymo has remote response teams, but when a robotaxi gets stuck, emergency responders have to get behind the wheel.
March 27, 2026
Despite Spin, Calif.’s Transportation Commission Funded a Lot of Highway Expansion Last Week
The gaslighting is almost as bad as the funding decisions.
March 26, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.