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Topic: Passenger Railroads

  

High-Speed Rail Coming to Florida

Last Spring, President Obama announced an ultra-ambitious plan to bring an $8 billion high speed rail project to the U.S. At the time, Obama said that there were ten potential high-speed rail corridors in the works: ...READ MORE

Amtrak's $117 Billion Plan For High Speed Travel

It's a dream to make Joe Biden weep: trains that connect East Coast cities at 220 miles per hour. But it won't be finished until 2040. Hear that sound? That's Europe and Asia laughing. READ MORE

Can High-Speed Rail Reduce Our Reliance on Air Travel?

The Obama Administration's $8 billion plan to bring high-speed rail to the U.S. is ambitious, to say the least. And with so much cash riding on its success, it better have some redeeming merits. One possible benefit: a reduced ...READ MORE

Will the U.S. Use Japanese Bullet Trains for High Speed Rail?

Bullet train companies have probably been salivating ever since Obama allocated $8 billion for high speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. So it comes as no surprise to learn that Central Japan Railway Co. ...READ MORE

Public or Private?

The past few weeks, Amtrak and the Public Broadcasting Service, two government-funded organizations, have had to do a bit of soul-searching. The nature of these public-private institutions is a curious one. While both Amtrak and PBS ...READ MORE

Will the U.S. Ever Get Serious About Train Travel?

With energy costs, pollution concerns, and traffic woes mounting, you better hope so. Hence the 400 new public transit projects that have been proposed in large and small regions from Massachusetts to Hawaii.READ MORE

Coming Soon: America's High-Speed Rail Network

Efficient high-speed rail networks are already staple of many European and Asian countries. President Obama outlined an ambitious plan today to bring the United States up to speed--literally. It won't be cheap.READ MORE

IBM Jumps on the High-Speed Rail to China

Oil prices may not be rising quite as dramatically as they were a year ago, but mass transportation--and more specifically, high-speed rail--is still growing in scope and importance. According to the International Monetary Fund ...READ MORE

Will the French Run the US High Speed Rail System?

Instead of attempting to install a country-wide high-speed rail network from scratch, perhaps we should rely on the expertise of countries that already have comprehensive rail systems. That's the thinking behind French national ...READ MORE

So That's Julie - Got It!

Today, on one what is traditionally the busiest day of the year for Amtrak, thousands of passengers will call to make sure their train's on time and hear, "Hi, this is Amtrak. I'm Julie." The automated system at Amtrak has a name as ...READ MORE

Sliver Steak: Amtrak's Beef-Powered Passenger Train Debuts

Taking Amtrak's Heartland Flyer train between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City sometime in the next year? You will be hitching a ride on the first beef byproducts-powered biodiesel train. The train, which runs on 80% regular diesel and ...READ MORE

Airport to Downtown Transportation Trials

Around the United States, trains and subways are pulling into stations at the airport. And it may be better option for the airport-to-city leg of your journey.READ MORE

Russia Places Order For 200 High-Speed Electric Locomotives

While the U.S. continues to rely on polluting diesel locomotives, Russia is quietly putting the finishing touches on its electric railroad network. This past week, Alstom and Transmashholding announced a $1 billion-plus plan to ...READ MORE

Next Contender for High-Speed Rail -- Los Angeles or Fresno?

New transit plans focus on the exciting, vibrant farmlands of Central California.READ MORE

Work/Life: The Bus Also Rises

Anne Marie Chaker of The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent review recently of the new bus services that have come onto the scene to cater to business travelers. Her story includes a charming video of her trip to Baltimore on ...READ MORE

China's New Train Is Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

China's new train is the fastest in the world, traveling at an average speed of 217 miles per hour. Passengers making the 663 mile trek from central China to south China will see their trip time cut from six hours to just two hours ...READ MORE

IBM's Global Rail Innovation Center Brings Next-Gen Train Systems to China

Any doubts about whether China will be the world's next high-speed rail hub can be put to rest now that IBM has firmly planted itself in the country with its first Global Rail Innovation Center. The center, according to IBM, will ...READ MORE

California and China to Collaborate on Railroads...Again.

China has blatantly expressed interest, Governor Schwarzenegger has visited the country, and now the bidding process has opened.READ MORE

Business Bus?

In an effort to lure customers away from the expensive air shuttle and to out-cheap Amtrak's erratic Acela high-speed train, Fergus McCann wants travelers to take... the bus? Dubbed the LimoLiner, the 28-seat luxury bus service ...READ MORE

High-Speed Rail World

The mood at this Washington conference should fall between giddy and ecstatic. That's because, in January, President Obama announced an unprecedented $8 billion in federal grants for high-speed rail. But what passes for high speed? In ...READ MORE

Abu Dhabi and Dubai Ports to be Connected Via Rail

Dubai's bankruptcy hasn't stopped the United Arab Emirates from making multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investments.READ MORE

Work/Life: The Summer of Ugh

Forty-odd years ago people were writing about something called The Summer of Love. I predict this is the year anyone who has to travel aloft on business will be writing instead about The Summer of Ugh. Meaning be prepared for ...READ MORE

Is Train Travel Greener Than Flying? Maybe Not

Taking a train ride must be more environmentally sound than getting flung into the sky on a plane, right? Maybe not, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Arpad Horpath and ...READ MORE

77-Year Backlog of Mass Transit Projects

Transit ridership is soaring amid concerns about gas prices, an aging population, and greater preference for city living. But public investments just haven't kept pace, and with state and local budgets hurting from the recession, ...READ MORE

Moving Designs for San Francisco Transit Terminal Put the Light Back in Rail

On top, there will be a 1000-foot long fountain shaped like a bus. Yes, a bus. Since this is a bus station, get it!READ MORE