September - 2018

Bullet Train Developer Locks In Up To $300M Investment From Japanese Backers

In the latest saga to introduce a high-speed, public transportation network in Texas, the developers of one proposal have secured backing from an overseas investor — which is causing a stir among other high-speed rail players. Last week, Texas Central Partners, the private company behind constructing the first bullet train line in the U.S. from Dallas to Houston, tapped Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. for Transport & Urban Development, or JOIN, and the Japan Ba

Chicago to Cleveland in 28 minutes? Supporters working to make hyperloop a reality

Chicago to Pittsburgh in 45 minutes? To Cleveland in 28? That might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but serious people, and serious money, are committed to the effort to make so-called "hyperloop" travel a reality. While skeptics question its technical, economic and practical feasibility, supporters envision a transformational technology. "A hyperloop connecting Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago would transform the movement of goods and people in the Midwest and creat

KCS, customs and border officials advance Secure Corridor strategy

KCS President and CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer (fourth from the right) helped open a secondary exam station in Laredo Aug. 10. In August, Kansas City Southern and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials officially opened a secondary examination station in Laredo, Texas, that’s part of a larger strategy to better secure crossborder cargo and boost rail traffic throughput in the area. Located at the Class I’s yard in Laredo, the station is a permanent and secure structure

Flying Trains and Flying Whales: Radical New Ideas for Freight Transportation

Courtesy of Dahir Semenov (Facebook) The future of rail transportation literally may be up in the air. Entrepreneurs and engineers from around the world have proposed radical concepts for hauling freight and passengers, including a multistory flying train that is pulled through the air by an electric-powered boom. Russian inventor Dahir Semenov says his flying train concept could carry up to 2,000 passengers (or cargo) and travel at nearly twice the speed of China’s Fuxing, t

Germany Just Rolled Out the World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Trains

ALL ABOARD Hydrogen fuel cells are a greener way to power vehicles. But they have also been cost-prohibitive. Today, though, that’s starting to change — on Monday, German passengers boarded the world’s first hydrogen-powered trains. “Sure, buying a hydrogen train is somewhat more expensive than a diesel train,” said Stefan Schrank, a project manager at locomotive company Alstom, which built the trains, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, “but it is cheaper to run.” ELE

NY: Goats on Subway Tracks Head to Upstate Sanctuary

Police arrived on the scene, tranquilized the male goats, and took them to an animal shelter. The shelter contacted Farm Sanctuary. Two goats on the lam -- Willy and Billy -- are bound for an animal sanctuary after spending a scary two hours on the tracks of the N line in Brooklyn on Monday. "Two very baaaaad boys," NYC Transit tweeted shortly before 11:30 a.m., along with photo of the two goats scrambling along the above-ground train line. "A new one for us (we think)," the

Collaborative approaches, technological advances top Batory’s agenda at the FRA

In late 2016, Ron Batory was planning his retirement from Conrail. Come some point in early 2017, he was ready to start the good life after more than 20 years of service at the short line — including 13 as president and chief operating officer — and more than 45 years in the rail industry. But something happened at 8:45 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2016, a chance encounter so life-changing Batory remembers the exact moment it occurred. He was surfing the internet and came across incomi

China, Japan set to sign up to 30 joint ventures in foreign infrastructure markets

Rail superpowers Japan and China are to go ahead with long-discussed moves to cooperate on overseas infrastructure projects, with Thailand’s $5.5bn East Coast scheme under discussion as their debut project. The two sides are to take up the matter when Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visits Beijing in October. The expectation is that memorandums of understanding for 20 to 30 projects will be signed, possibly including the Thai economic corridor. Before then, in September, a

High-Speed Rail CEO: People Will Ask How They Lived Without It

High-speed rail will reduce travel times between major California cities. That is the belief of the bullet-train authority’s CEO Brian P. Kelly, who spoke in Fresno on Friday (Sept. 7). He said when the rail is built, for example, it will cut the time from San Francisco to Los Angeles compared to a car by half. First, HSR needs to build its initial segment, from Bakersfield to Merced through Fresno. Kelly anticipates that to be completed by 2026. There is no estimate for the

High-speed rail officials update public on Burbank-to-L.A. section of project

The proposed Burbank to Los Angeles section of the state high-speed rail project is still projected to be built alongside the existing tracks used by Metro, Metrolink, Amtrak and freight operators. (Courtesy of the California High Speed Rail Authority) Officials with the California High-Speed Rail Authority met with Burbank and Glendale residents this week to update them on the progress of the project’s Burbank-to-Los Angeles section. During meetings at the Buena Vista Branch

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