Between all seven Class I freight railroad companies, the U.S. saw over 1,000 derailments in 2022. Norfolk Southern (the company responsible for the derailment in East Palestine) had 119 by itself. Other railways had even more, like BNSF which derailed 279 times in 2022. Derailments are harmful to the supply chain at best and record-setting environmental disasters at worst. The systemic problems within the freight industry that have led to derailments also have the side-effect of delaying pas...| Transportation For America
The Gulf Coast inspection train toured a potential route and examined the CSX tracks last week from February 18-19th. It was the product of years of work by local residents and elected leaders at almost all levels to restore the passenger rail service wiped out by Katrina over ten years ago.| Transportation For America
Not only is the Trump administration’s USDOT potentially trying to run out the clock for FY22 grants it does not like, but it’s also in parallel cancelling competitive grants awarded to localities and communities across the country. These communities worked tirelessly to secure funding for projects focused on things like the safety of people walking […]| Transportation For America
The $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is an important investment in the build-out of the nation’s EV charging infrastructure, but decision makers are moving forward with the same old approach. The program’s strict one-mile rule and a preference for gas stations and truck stops are a missed opportunity for investments that should […]| Transportation For America
Passenger rail is back on the Gulf Coast! Amtrak Mardi Gras Service launched bright and early on Monday, August 18, connecting the people of the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coast by rail for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast in 2005. On the Saturday before service opened to the public, Transportation for America staff, including Senior Policy Advisor John Robert Smith, joined elected officials and leaders of this years-long effort to celebrate the return of s...| Transportation For America
The Trump administration’s delay of the nation’s largest public transit and intercity passenger rail project underscores what Congress should already know: the Trump administration is a bad-faith partner and a clear threat to the legislative process.| Transportation For America
Federal advocacy and allies were essential to turning local momentum for passenger rail from New Orleans to Mobile—set to reopen this very year—into a regional, and national, success story.| Transportation For America
After the setbacks of the late 90s and early 2000s, passenger rail advocates along the Gulf Coast were not discouraged. Through the work of a Regional Rail Commission and the cultivation of relationships with local, regional, and federal leaders, these advocates were able to build a foundation for the implementation of passenger rail restoration in the region.| Transportation For America
Almost a century ago, the railroads were the economic engine of the country, spurring the transportation of both goods and people over long distances. Now, the American railroad system is merely a specter of its former self. How did the United States devolve from an expanded passenger rail network to the system we have today?| Transportation For America
