Commuter Rail

Despite cancelling the ARC Tunnel project last year, New Jersey may build an alternative tunnel using U.S. Senate funding.

Recent crashes involving the subway in Shanghai has caused speculation that the rails are unsafe and poorly built.

While most of the city's 22 subway lines resumed service on a limited schedule on Monday, the region's commuter rail lines didn't fare as well due to fallen trees and flooded tracks affecting some branches of MetroNorth and LIRR.

He's the most powerful congressman on transportation issues: none other than Florida's John Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Mica is backing the 61-mile, $1.2 billion Orlando Sunrail Line.

Mission Accomplished! Bike advocates had been lobbying Caltrain for a guaranteed two-bike car capacity ever since the first 'bike bump' occurred. The train San Francisco-San Jose has had a bike-friendly reputation since a 1992 pilot program.

Service will be cut 44%, half the stations to close, elimination of mid-day and weekend service - that is the scenario laid for Caltrain, the West's oldest commuter rail, unless $30 million can be found - unlikely.

Former Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto has formed "Friends of Caltrain" to help prevent the train from spiraling downhill due to lack of funds. The tri-county train faces a $30 million deficit, with a total budget of just under $100 million.

Can you talk to a fellow passenger, quietly, in the New Jersey Transit quiet car? On Jan. 3, NJ Transit designated the first and last cars on many peak hour trains 'quiet' - no cell phones and other restrictions, but arguments have erupted.

Jonna McKone of TheCityFix looks at Copenhagen's recently added rail cars that are specifically for bicyclists and other passengers with special needs.

Yonah Freemark looks at how to increase rail ridership without adding trains.

New Jersey wants billions in federal money for its ARC project, but NJ Transit's commuter rail service is too often just a subsidy to the rich and an excuse not to develop North Jersey, says Stephen Smith.

Paul Krugman bemoans the death of the Access to the Region's Core project. He says it is symptomatic of a national resistance to address critical infrastructure and economic challenges.

The Times chose to investigate claims by transit agencies of high, on-time performance of LIRR, Metro-North, and NJ Transit by doing their own analysis and found major discrepancies. The article also indicates the infrastructure problems responsible.

The Federal Railroad Administration does not allow for the mixing of train types for safety reasons, which proved a key obstacle for Caltrain's plan for electrification. As a pilot project,they are allowing the line to utilize electric multiple units

The Metro North rail line out of Grand Central Terminal has one of the last bar cars in the U.S., but railroad officials are replacing the aging cars and the bar car may be a victim of the budget.

A half-cent sales tax increase to fund transit passed handily yesterday in St. Louis County, Missouri.

This article takes a look at the past and future of rail in America, with an emphasis on one surprise success story.

As traffic congestion has worsened, so has the philosophical divide between LA and Orange counties in terms of how to address it.

As Transport Secretary Lord Adonis tours railway stations most in need of help, the BBC News Magazine asks, "what makes a bad railway station?"

$320 million dollars and 13 years after construction began, the Northstar commuter rail began running today between Big Lake and Minneapolis.