Trains

This video shows a slide installed on a staircase leading down to a subway station in Berlin, making it quick an easy to catch the train on time.

July 2, 2010 - Chicago Now

Amtrak Chief Joseph Boardman says now is a good time for the much-troubled national rail system. Support from the federal government is helping the system grow and improve, according to this interview.

June 30, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

Timed to open near the start of the country's World Cup, the new Gautrain high speed rail system has launched in Johannesburg.

June 8, 2010 - BBC

More than a third of the rolling stock in South Africa's urban rail network will go out of service within the next three years, creating a looming rail catastrophe across the country.

May 4, 2010 - Daily News

Trains across the former Soviet Union have peculiar staff: kids. Wired's Autopia blog explains.

May 1, 2010 - Wired

Spain has rapidly developed high speed rail system, leaving many U.S. politicians -- including President Obama -- wondering how the U.S. can catch up. This article and video from PBS looks at the Spanish model.

January 18, 2010 - PBS

In a world increasing concerned with reducing global warming, people and nations are embracing trains as an alternative to cars and planes because of their reduced carbon footprint. However, cost and time remain critical factors for travelers.

January 15, 2010 - CNN - Eco Solutions

A passenger train line across the Balkans had been closed for 18 years. As it reopens and reconnects the region to the rest of Europe, there are signs of improved relations in the war-torn region.

January 12, 2010 - The New York Times

The new Canada Line rail service that links downtown Vancouver to the airport has seen steadily increasing ridership since its opening in August.

December 29, 2009 - The Globe and Mail

BOSTON -- If you've ever studied the bar menu at Trader Vic's then you know about such wonders as Tropical Passion, Moku Nani, and the Potted Parrot. Each is made of a unique but secret blend of dark rum, light rum, spiced rum, tropical juices, and of course "subtle flavorings."  But by the time you'd realize that the only real difference is the glass they come in, you're too probably drunk to notice--or care. Minus the palm fronds, the RailVolution conference is much the same.  

October 31, 2009 - Josh Stephens

Head-on train collisions can be avoided by simply keeping one train per track. There's a plan to make that happen, but it's years from implementation.

October 9, 2009 - Miller-McCune

Siemens has retrofitted trains for cold Russian winters; they are being rolled out now between Moscow and St. Petersburg and could be a model for American HSR.

September 26, 2009 - New York Times

Federal authorities recently announced $45 million in support of plans to construct a magnetic levitation train line between Las Vegas and Southern California, re-igniting a debate over two proposed rail connections.

September 18, 2009 - The Las Vegas Sun

As the race for high speed rail stimulus dollars gets underway, international firms stand to gain the most benefit as few if any U.S. firms are capable of building the rolling stock the new systems will need.

September 10, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Economist Edward L. Glaeser crunches the numbers on a hypothetical high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston and finds the costs prohibitive.

August 6, 2009 - The New York Times

I’d been obsessed with it ever since I saw The Princess and the Warrior. (Between that and the funicular in Flashdance, there is just something about bad-ass chicks that commute via unique transit.) So, when I found myself with an unexpected free morning in Essen, Germany, after especially cooperative weather for photographing the day before, I hopped on the S-Bahn towards Wuppertal to see the famed train. 

May 26, 2009 - Jess Zimbabwe

In an age of rapid technological improvements in almost every aspect of life, it's difficult to understand how a technology like trains could actually be less advanced now than it was in the 1940s, writes Tom Vanderbilt.

May 16, 2009 - Slate

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said recently that California and Florida are likely to be the first recipients of stimulus funding for high speed rail projects.

May 12, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

WebUrbanist gathers an extensive assortment of fantastic, futuristic, pseudo-scientific train designs, including a steamship that rolls out of the ocean on tracks.

May 8, 2009 - WebUrbanist

A magnetic levitation train link between Anaheim and Las Vegas has been on the table for 30 years. Now could be the time the project finally gets enough traction to go from idea to reality.

March 24, 2009 - Las Vegas Sun