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U.S. DOT Clocks High-Speed Rail at 110 MPH, Give or Take
The federal DOT has just released its guidance for states seeking a share of its $8 billion in high-speed rail funding -- and tucked in the rules are standards that could prove crucial to the project's success.
June 17, 2009
LaHood, Biden Meet With Governors on High-Speed Rail
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Vice President Biden met at the White House this afternoon with officials from 20 states in contention for funding as part of the Obama administration's high-speed rail program.
June 3, 2009
Rail Across America
You've probably seen this already. It's the latest graphic representation of the nation's proposed high-speed rail corridors, and it's been all over the transportation blogosphere since President Obama stood beside it at a press conference yesterday.
April 17, 2009
BRT, Rail, and New York City: A Conversation With Walter Hook
Perhaps no one knows the ins and outs of BRT better than Walter Hook. As director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Hook has advised cities on four continents about BRT implementation, including Jakarta's seven-corridor network, the first full-fledged BRT system in Asia. Streetsblog caught up with Hook -- in between trips to Cape Town and Mexico City -- for an email Q&A about why New York City needs Bus Rapid Transit, common misconceptions of BRT in America, and what will make BRT succeed here.
February 24, 2009
Obama and Biden Plan Whistle-Stop Inauguration Tour
Looks like the new administration is sending better signals with its inauguration plans than with its most recent White House appointment. TPM has more on the rail-friendly gesture and its traffic-mitigating impact:
December 15, 2008
San Francisco Mayor to NYC: “Eat Your Heart Out.”
At a groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom asserted the project will be "so much more extraordinary than Grand Central Station."
December 11, 2008
High-Speed Rail Looks Golden in a Good Night for Transit
Last night The Overhead Wire's Jeff Wood gave a heroic play-by-play of several transit ballot initiatives, live-blogging results into the wee hours. The big-ticket item -- California's bond issue for a high-speed rail line spanning most of the state -- passed with about 52 percent of the vote. Plenty of other measures passed too, with notable exceptions in Missouri, where Kansas City voters rejected a light rail line, and St. Louis opted not to increase funding for transit operations and expansion.
November 5, 2008
From Denver: Dems Discuss Funding Woes; Biden Says “Amtrak”
Last night saw what might one day qualify as an historic moment in transportation circles, as vice presidential candidate Joe Biden used the "A"-word during his speech to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. From a transcript of Biden's address, via CNN:
August 28, 2008
Obama Builds Rail Cred With Biden Pick
Barack Obama's standing as an advocate for investment in US commuter rail looks to have gotten a boost with his selection of Joe Biden as his running mate. Whereas John McCain is the Senate's sworn enemy of Amtrak, his colleague from Delaware is known as a "Champion of the Rails." Notes Daily Kos diarist MissLaura (via George Washington University):
August 26, 2008