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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: transit

transit stories: 13 news summaries

Obama Gets Rail Rolling
With $8B Stimulus

Prez plots $8b high-speed train network

Feb 17, 09 11:31 AM CST
(Newser) - America's railways are about to get a huge handout: At today's signing of the stimulus package, $8 billion will be allocated to high-speed rail. Though the money will be divvied up according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's master plan, the expansion is truly President Obama's pet project, reports Politico. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • transit • Rahm Emanuel • Harry M. Reid • railroad • economic stimulus package • Department of Transportation • Obama administration • Ray LaHood

Is Metrolink Up to the Job?
Train Crash Raises Doubts

AWOL execs slammed in aftermath of worst crash in decades

Sep 20, 08 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - The country's deadliest train crash in decades has focused attention on mass transit carrier Metrolink, which operates on a shoestring budget and has many wondering whether it's up to the job, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five Southern California counties chip in to run the system, set up with relatively... More »

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transit • Los Angeles • train • train crash • public transit • Metrolink

States Consider Leasing Roads as Upkeep Takes Toll

$12.8B deal could make Penn. Turnpike largest such public-private partnership

Aug 26, 08 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - With Pennsylvania legislators set to vote next month on a $12.8 billion deal that would put the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike under private operation, such public-private partnerships are accelerating across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Often bankrolled by infrastructure funds—which have $160 billion under management—the projects... More »

MORE ABOUT:
transit • Pennsylvania • road budget • Gov. Ed Rendell • highways • Indiana Toll Road • Department of Transportation

 Desire Named
 Streetcar
 Grips Cities

40 cities considering resurrecting the humble streetcar

Aug 14, 08 3:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Most American cities dismantled their streetcar lines over 50 years ago but a major comeback is gathering speed, the New York Times reports. Cincinnati, Houston, Denver, Salt Lake City and Charlotte have streetcar systems in the works to revive sagging downtown areas. A dozen cities already have streetcars and at... More »

MORE ABOUT:
transit • Cincinnati • public transportation • streetcar system • tram system • New Orleans streetcar

Opinion

Washington Wants You to Guzzle Gas

Tax dollars should subsidize mass
transit, not cars

Aug 3, 08 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - As gas prices rise, Americans are driving less—and fewer dollars are flowing into the gas-tax-fueled Federal Highway Trust Fund. President Bush’s illogical response? To take money out of public transportation and put it in the highway fund—the latest bizarre example of officials intent on promoting and subsidizing... More »

MORE ABOUT:
transit • gas prices • subsidies • cars • Federal Highway Trust Fund

 High Gas Prices
 Fuel Transit Boom 

Mass transit winning converts across the country as gas price soars

May 10, 08 6:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - The soaring price of gas is driving people across America out of their cars and onto mass transit, the New York Times reports. Buses and trains are up 5% or more in cities like Boston and New York, where mass transit is already a popular alternative, but the biggest leap... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subway • transit • train • driving • transportation • public transportation • gas prices • buses

 $4 Gas Driving
 San Franciscans
 From Cars 

Sky-high milestone boosts mass transit numbers

Apr 18, 08 7:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Bay Area is used to being on the cutting edge, but becoming the first to pay $4 for a gallon of gas is a milestone San Francisco could do without, the Chronicle reports. Prices are expected to nudge past the mark next week—but many Bay Area residents have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • San Francisco • transit • gas prices • commuting

Bullet Train
to Take On the Plane in Spain

Reclining swivel seats, video players, and speeds up to 220mph

Feb 2, 08 11:34 AM CST
(Newser) - An ambitious plan to make Spain the leader in high-speed train travel could provide a model for the rest of Europe, offering a greener, more relaxing alternative to short-haul flights. A major link between Madrid and Barcelona is slated to open this month with trains described in the Guardian as... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Spain • transit • Europe • train • air travel • Barcelona • Madrid

NYC Cabbies Begin Strike

Level of participation unclear; new technology at issue in labor dispute

Sep 5, 07 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A 2-day strike by New York taxi drivers protesting an order to install new technology began today, with the union claiming up to 95% participation by the city's estimated 20,000 cabbies, to the mayor's prestrike estimate of 30%. The city instituted an emergency fare structure to encourage cab sharing... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • New York City • transit • taxi • strike • labor unions • cabdrivers

Gov. Blames Poor Drainage for NYC Mess

Torrential rains led to 'total outage' of transit system, Spitzer says

Aug 8, 07 8:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - An inadequate drainage system and little advance warning left New York City transit vulnerable to this morning's powerful storm, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said. The New York Times reports that today's transit meltdown, which disabled or delayed every city subway line and snarled the morning commute, was the third such debilitating... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weather • New York City • subway • transit • flood • Eliot Spitzer • Con Edison • power outage • drainage

Flooding Halts NYC Mass Transit

Aug 8, 07 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - New York City public transportation ground to a standstill early this morning after violent thunderstorms tore up trees, damaged cars, and flooded underground train tracks, halting or delaying every single subway line, reports the New York Times. Flights at all three major airports in the metropolitan area were pushed back... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weather • New York City • subway • transit • storm • flooding • public transportation

London Security Crackdown Targets Transit

Travelers in for increased delays

Jul 2, 07 4:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - British police are cracking down on security at rail services and airports to thwart terror attacks in the wake of a trio of car bomb attempts over the weekend. No specific intelligence warns of an attack on the subway system or the rail network, but the increased patrols and security... More »

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terrorism • security • transit • police • car bomb • airport • Glasgow • Britain • Heathrow Airport

Charges Filed in London Bombings

Three men charged with conspiracy
in 2005 tube and bus attacks

Apr 6, 07 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three men have been charged in the July 7, 2005 bombings of the London mass-transit system. The suspects, Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem, and Mohammed Shakil, are accused of conspiring with the terrorists who blew themselves up in the tube and on a bus, killing 52. Surveillance cameras recorded the men... More »

MORE ABOUT:
terrorism • London • subway • transit • london transit attacks • bombing • Peter Clarke • Britain

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