Why is Amtrak spending $500 million on new locomotives for the Northeast Corridor that are "fat, expensive and slow"? Americans have the the Federal Railroad Administration's "globally-unique crash safety standards" to thank.

"Northeast Corridor, meet your new locomotives: Amtrak’s Cities Sprinter, a new electric locomotive built by Siemens and commissioned in 2010 for half a billion dollars, has arrived on the East Coast for testing," writes Stephen Jacob Smith. "Like all of Amtrak’s trains, the Amtrak Cities Sprinter will be fatter, slower, more expensive and more difficult to maintain than the models that Siemens sells to other countries."
"The ACS-64, as the new model is known, is based on Siemens’ EuroSprinter, but has been modified to meet American regulators’ globally-unique crash safety standards," he adds. "Many railroads across the world order changes to their trains, but the special requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration go far beyond what others ask."
FULL STORY: Amtrak’s Fat, Expensive and Slow New Northeast Corridor Locomotives Arrive for Testing

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

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