rail - Skift

Federal Officials Weigh True Cost of High-Speed Rail in Northeastern U.S.

Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press

The population density of the Northeast begs for better high-speed rail. Updating the infrastructure may disturb some areas, but as with New York's Penn Station, the status quo is unsustainable.

1 week ago

Acquisition of Rail-Booking Site Loco2 Shows Sector’s Potential

Patrick Whyte, Skift

Europe may be criss-crossed by thousands of miles of rail track, but it has taken a long time to link each of the different countries. Train travelers who want to go between countries have not benefited from the single market approach that liberalized the aviation industry, and it has been left to startups like Loco2 to connect the different players.

2 weeks ago

Governors to Amtrak: Busiest Rail Station in the U.S. Needs a Private Operator

Tom McElroy, Associated Press

You wouldn't know by looking at the basket case that is Penn Station, but rail is actually market-driven in some countries.

2 months ago

Amtrak CEO Says New York Rail Troubles Will Worsen Without More Funding

Elise Young and Mark Niquette, Bloomberg

Travelers to New York depend on trains -- safety issues and chronic delays must be addressed before tackling the aesthetic horror that is Penn Station. Hopefully Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan will come through and finally make New York's rail system world-class.

3 months ago

Outgoing Transportation Secretary Says Private Funding Isn’t the Answer

Joan Lowy and Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press

Privatization, the next illogical step after public-private partnerships, will become a mantra of the Trump Administration, but from prisons to toll roads, we've seen that privatization can be a mess. Lord help us all if efforts to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system, and others around the world, take hold.

6 months ago

Upgrade for America’s Busiest Rail Lines Depends on Trump Administration

David Shepardson, Reuters

The Northeast Corridor rail lines serve a staggering number of travelers, and are long overdue for upgrades that would allow the high-speed Acela train to live up to its name. Improved train service would also relieve some of the mounting pressure on roads. Trump has pledged to spend billions on infrastructure projects like this, but will it really happen?

7 months ago

Skift Global Forum Preview: SilverRail Founder on the Future of Smarter Transportation

Patrick Whyte, Skift

At the moment, travelling anywhere mostly requires the use of multiple companies on multiple apps, but what if there was another way? Every part of a potential journey is now connected up to the Web so the next logical step is to bring all these steps together in one place.

10 months ago

Japan is Readying For World’s Biggest Railway IPO in More Than Two Decades

Taku Kato and Chris Cooper, Bloomberg

Tourism demand in Japan is on the rise in recent years and visitors will be looking for a high-end customer experience that matches or exceeds what they'd receive in the air.

10 months ago

Cairo Subway Thrives Although Unrest Has Touched It As Well

Heba Elkholy, Associated Press

The Cairo Metro is a city below the city and mostly it really works.

2 years ago

Rail Retailer Thetrainline.com Changes Hands Between Private Equity Firms

Kiel Porter, Bloomberg

KKR sees an opportunity here for either a bigger IPO down the road or building something bigger.

2 years ago

Investor Interest Grows for Startups Looking to Simplify Rail Booking

Samantha Shankman, Skift

Up until recently, the ease and sophistication of bookings for hotels and flights far surpassed that of ground transportation, creating a small but growing market of entrepreneurs looking to solve the unsexy problem of back-end complexity and one-step transactions.

3 years ago

Amtrak Reports Record Revenue Amid Fight for Federal Funding