Rail
Basics
Transport Fix to Jobs Bill Would Take $192M From CA, Send $76M to TX
Fixing a disputed provision in the jobs bill that President Obama signed into law yesterday -- as Senate Democratic leaders promised House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) following complaints by several members of his panel -- would involve the redistribution of $932 million in funding for two major federal road and rail programs.
March 19, 2010
Environmental Group Offers Congress a Map to Cleaner Freight
The federal government can reap significant pollution-reduction benefits by focusing on a national freight plan that replaces older diesel equipment with newer, cleaner-burning train cars while building out regional networks more efficiently, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said yesterday in a new report [PDF].
March 16, 2010
House and Senate Split on Approach to Obama’s Transit Safety Plan
After a year marked by discord between the House and Senate over the timing of the next federal transportation bill, another split emerged yesterday over the timetable for taking up the Obama administration's plan for federal involvement in transit safety oversight.
March 16, 2010
A Day After Their TIGER Win, Freight Railroads Carve Out More Turf
The freight rail industry yesterday claimed the top three awards in the Obama administration's competition for $1.5 billion in TIGER stimulus grants, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood singling out train shippers for an online shout-out:
February 18, 2010
The White House Transportation Budget: What’s In Line for the Axe?
In a fiscal year 2011 budget that proposes to increase spending on several core transportation
priorities, the White House also aims to eliminate a few
infrastructure programs that may prove popular with lawmakers.
February 1, 2010
Freight Rail Traffic Hit 20-Year Lows in 2009
From Warren Buffett's acquisition of BNSF to the Obama administration's high-speed rail initiative, the nation is abuzz with talk about a revival of freight trains as an energy-efficient alternative to trucks.
January 13, 2010
Could Rail be the Sleeper Issue in the Connecticut Senate Race?
After Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) retirement propelled popular Attorney General Richard Blumenthal into Connecticut's 2010 Senate race, ex-Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) now faces a more difficult bid -- one described by his own pollster as a "war of attrition." So it's worth asking what role the state's lengthy transportation to-do list will play in the campaign.
January 8, 2010
House Jobs Bill Could Make General Electric’s Amtrak Wish Come True
The House is poised to take up a jobs bill later today that provides $37.3 billion in new transportation spending, including $27.5 billion for roads, $8.4 billion for transit ... and a holiday gift for General Electric?
December 16, 2009
Bus vs. Rail: Transit’s Quiet Culture Clash?
The question of running buses or building rail has preoccupied transit planners in many an American town, with Maryland's Montgomery County being the latest locality to choose between trains and bus rapid transit (BRT), which tends to be the less expensive option.
December 14, 2009
Conservative Tea Party Movement Targets Florida Rail Plan
The conservative "tea party" movement, last seen complaining about the government-funded local transit system that they took during an anti-government march in Washington D.C, is veering back to form in Florida with an organized protest against the state's proposal for broad new investments in rail transit.
December 4, 2009