Tag Archives: high speed rail

WiFi in the sky

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Since I’ve asserted that being able to use one’s laptop to surf the web while traveling is an advantage of taking the train as opposed to driving, I should note that soon one will be able to surf while flying … Continue reading →

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More on Glaeser and high speed rail

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned before some analysis done by the New York Times’ Ed Glaeser on the economics of high speed rail between Houston and Dallas. His series has come under a lot of criticism – see that post, along with these … Continue reading →

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Comparing trains to planes

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it earlier, economist Edward Glaeser did an analysis of a theoretical high-speed rail link between Dallas and Houston to see if HSR made economic sense in general. His conclusion that they didn’t has been sharply criticized, … Continue reading →

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Commuter rail update

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Christof has some surprisingly good news for those who want to see commuter rail in the Houston area. There hasn’t been much public movement on commuter rail since the HGAC’s study was released a year ago. But quietly, gears are … Continue reading →

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More money for SUPERTRAINS

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. [Thursday], the U.S. House passed its housing and transportation bill, which will provide funds for fiscal year 2010. Approved mostly by members of the majority Democratic party, the bill would allocate $4 billion to high-speed rail programs — if … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Long train running

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In honor of all the train–related news from the week, here are ten train-related songs. 1. Death’s Black Train Is Coming – Gob Iron 2. Hold That Train – Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials 3. Midnight Train – Guy … Continue reading →

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Texas applies for SUPERTRAIN funds

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing my series of SUPERTRAIN-funding-request posts, here’s the DMN transportation blog on the status of Texas’ request. It took longer than I expected, but the Texas Department of Transportation has shared its preliminary application for its share of the $8 … Continue reading →

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Oklahoma gets on the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome aboard! The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said Friday it has taken an initial step to apply for high-speed rail funding that, if successful, could return passenger service to Tulsa. ODOT spokeswoman Terri Angier said top speeds between Tulsa and … Continue reading →

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The western SUPERTRAIN

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve heard of the Texas T-Bone SUPERTRAIN proposal that would link up Houston. San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. That’s already been designated as one of the high-speed rail corridors that are in line for federal funding. There’s another such corridor … Continue reading →

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We may miss the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. As we have reported here often, the federal government is about to dump a lot of money on states to develop a handful of high-speed passenger rail corridors, and the good news for us is that Texas is home … Continue reading →

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A high-speed rail to-do list for Texas

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Catching up on some stuff now that the Lege is (I hope) gone from Austin till 2011, Christof noted a meeting in town of the Federal Railroad Administration last week, and put together a list of things that will need … Continue reading →

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Senate approves SUPERTRAIN study

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Texas should create a long-term plan for developing a statewide passenger rail system, the state Senate decided today in the first such step in years. The approval of Senate Bill 1382 comes at a time when the … Continue reading →

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More on the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Are the stars really aligning to bring a SUPERTRAIN to Texas? Maybe so! Current plans for a Texas system envision a “T-bone” track shape connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and other towns. But much remains vague: where exactly the … Continue reading →

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Here comes the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. President Barack Obama on Thursday highlighted his ambition for the development of high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions, expressing confidence in the future of train travel even as he acknowledged that the American rail network, compared … Continue reading →

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A SUPERTRAIN for Texas?

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. The idea of high-speed rail is being pushed again in a big way in Texas, and backers hope to have $12 billion to $18 billion high-speed trains running by 2020. This time, they say they have taken … Continue reading →

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The case for freight rail

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve seen this linked several places, and finally got around to reading Phillip Longman’s article on freight rail and the very strong case for investing in it as part of an economic stimulus package. It’s got something for everyone, including … Continue reading →

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