Top Stories
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Washington State bridge collapse highlights aging U.S. infrastructure
TransportSix years after a Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people called attention to the state of the nation’s bridges, there has been minimal improvement and insufficient funding to repair and replace aging spans. The collapse Thursday of the Interstate Highway 5 in Washington state shined the spotlight once again on troubled bridges. In 2012, [...]
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Amtrak truth and fiction: Northeast Corridor service still unprofitable
SkiftXAs passengers take to Amtrak trains this Memorial Day weekend, they may be comforted to know that the rail line’s financial picture is improving a bit, but some news media reporting about the service tend to be misleading. For example, a recent Associated Press story about Amtrak’s order of 70 new locomotives stated: “Amtrak said [...]
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Eight questions for Transportation Secretary nominee Anthony Foxx
TransportIf confirmed as the next Secretary of Transportation, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will have opportunities to break with the business-as-usual transportation policy that revolves around Washington and special-interest politics. It is important to the confirmation process to understand Foxx’s position on existing programs and to what extent he agrees with the Administration’s centrally run, command-and-control [...]
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Rail passengers in U.S. Northeast brace for hellish week
SkiftXTwo commuter trains collided just outside Bridgeport, Conn., on Friday evening, damaging the tracks and snarling travel in the Northeast. Here’s a look at what commuters can expect Monday, as the work week gets under way, and beyond: METRO-NORTH RAILROAD SERVICE PROBLEMS: Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says roads could be a mess for a [...]
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Pakistan’s ailing trains show a country a long way from getting on track
DestinationsFor all the wonders offered by a train journey across Pakistan — a country of jaw-dropping landscapes, steeped in a rich history and filled with unexpected pleasures — it also presents some deeply troubling images. At every major stop on the long line from Peshawar, in the northwest, to the turbulent port city of Karachi, [...]
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Amtrak NY-Boston service shut for the weekend after commuter rail crash
TransportA commuter train traveling eastbound from New York City derailed near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield during the evening rush hour on Friday and collided with a westbound commuter train, injuring up to 60 people, three critically, officials said. The collision of the two Metro North trains forced Amtrak to shut down service indefinitely between [...]
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Eurostar train direct from London to Provence — and into the life of Cezanne
DestinationsSoon after we emerge from Le Tunnel, we start the time-honoured litany of English folk on to the Continent. “The French are so much more stylish.” “Thinner too.” “Cultured.” We eat croissants and pains au chocolat and resolve to kick out the schoolboy Franglais once and for all. “I am, finally, going to learn French [...]
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Amtrak upgrades Wi-Fi giving business travelers another reason to choose rail
DigitalComing soon on Amtrak: fewer excuses to not work while commuting. The national railroad, which operates 21,000 route miles, is upgrading its Wi-Fi service to 4G on many routes across the country. Amtrak says the aim is to offer increased wireless speeds and greater reliability. Hopefully, this will enable a wider set of online features [...]
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New York’s Penn Station is still a mess, and it will likely stay that way
TransportThe busiest passenger train station in the United States is a 1960s-era, utilitarian labyrinth in the basement of a basketball arena. Pennsylvania Station, a gateway to the nation’s biggest city, was designed to accommodate about 200,000 riders a day. Now, it is packed with more than 600,000. At rush hours, it resembles a human demolition [...]
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New Jersey transit execs cite “security” to avoid explaining Hurricane Sandy failure
TransportAs superstorm Sandy barreled toward the tri-state area, two of the nation’s largest transportation agencies worked to safeguard their systems, moving buses and rail cars to areas they thought would be protected. But NJ Transit and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority had vastly different rates of success. Eleven MTA rail cars were damaged, compared with [...]
