President Trump’s legislative affairs team met with a small group of House lawmakers at the White House on Thursday morning to discuss the administration’s plan for rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. Two Democrats and three Republicans attended the meeting, including two members who sit on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The panel is expected to be a key player in Trump’s $1 trillion rebuilding proposal, which has yet to be released. The administration is also h

Legislative sessions are almost always about the money — how much is available, and who is going to get it. The next session of the Texas Legislature will have the usual suspects in line —school finance, border security, pensions, etc. — but a new entry will be at the front of the line. His name is Harvey. This year’s regular and special legislative sessions were marked by financial wrangling, and by some analysts’ reckoning, lawmakers dug their successors a deep hole. The Te

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials yesterday held a hearing to gather stakeholders' perspectives on what's needed to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. Several representatives of railroad and transportation labor organizations testified before the subcommittee members. The hearing was held as the subcommittee and committee prepare for the Trump administration's infrastructure package prop

USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority announced on October 6 that the DB Engineering & Consulting USA consortium has submitted the highest-scoring proposal for the Early Train Operator services contract. The winner of the ETO contract would provide CHSRA with an operating perspective during the planning and procurement of civil works, rolling stock and facilities, with the aim of ensuring that the high speed line will be attractive to passengers while minimising operating

Some Oklahoma passenger rail opponents believe it's time to consider high-speed rail between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. A concept presented at an interim study calls for trains on elevated tracks, which would be similar to this Shinkansen train in Taiwan. How would you like to get to Oklahoma City in 25 minutes? Some passenger rail supporters think it’s possible with high-speed rail. At state Sen. Kevin Matthews' interim study on passenger rail Tuesday, McGrath Construction Pre

Dive Brief: Costs for the 119-mile stretch of a high-speed rail line planned through California's Central Valley are $1.7 billion higher than expected, so far, at $8 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing a June report that was recently made public. The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) said the overruns are due to the increasing cost of land acquisition, the need to move underground utilities and discussions with freight rail companies around logistic