U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced that Mathew Sturges has been appointed deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration(FRA). Sturges previously served as majority staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), where he directed legislative oversight and authorization efforts related to all modes of transportation. He also worked as deputy director of government affairs f

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees transportation programs, warned that the Trump administration's approach to project investment "fails to address the greatest threat to our nation's infrastructure, which is the ever-growing insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund." The senior appropriator continued with several criticisms of the administration's approach on various programs in her opening statement at an April 11 hearing on th

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

DJ Gribbin, President Trump's infrastructure policy adviser, is departing the White House as the administration's rebuilding plan appears to have hit a wall in Congress. Gribbin, who led the Trump administration's push for an infrastructure proposal that was released in February, is "moving on to new opportunities," according to a White House official. “Since he joined the team early last year, DJ has played an important part in coordinating the Administration-wide process be

On March 29, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a new $1.3 trillion spending package, of which $21.2 billion will be allocated for infrastructure spending. The new injection will fund the government through September 2018. The House passed the bill with a vote of 256-167 and the Senate followed suit with a vote of 65-32. Such voting trends suggest bipartisan approval of the new injection, which will be put towards a variety of projects across transportation, energ

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) today announced the list of 41 recipients of nearly $500 million in discretionary grant funding for road, transit, maritime and rail projects through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. “TIGER grants are targeted investments for our local communities that will increase safety, create jobs and modernize our country’s infrastructure,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. More than 64%

Ronald L. Batory was sworn in by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao as the 14th Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. A railroad industry professional with more than 45 years of experience, Batory is widely respected, having worked successfully for small and large rail carriers across the U.S. Prior to his nomination to serve as Administrator, Batory was president & chief operating officer of Conrail, the eighth largest freight railroad in America fr

The Trump administration's plan to pay for rebuilding America's aging infrastructure comes up short by more than $1 trillion, according to a new analysis. The administration proposes having the federal government put up about $200 billion over the next 10 years in grants and other incentives to attract at total of some $1.5 trillion. Each new dollar of federal spending could actually reduce spending by state and local governments, according to analysts at the University of Pe

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Jan. 29 will begin a series of 10 public hearings on its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed bullet train project in Texas. The first public hearing will be held in Dallas County. Others will be held in locations along the proposed route, which would extend from North Texas to Houston. The FRA is accepting comments on the DEIS until Feb. 20. The report analyzed six end-to-end build alternatives as well

It launched to a fanfare two weeks ago: the first privately funded US express passenger railway in decades, a new start for long delayed plans, and a “green” alternative to Florida’s increasingly congested highways. Yet for executives of Brightline, an ambitious $3bn venture that will eventually ferry travellers from the theme parks of Orlando to the beaches of Miami in just three hours, the champagne moment soon lost its fizz. Even before passengers left the station at Fort