Rail Cars

Atlanta's new fleet of rail cars, expected for delivery in 2023, will include open gangways. Other design features of the new cars are still to be determined.

May 7, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

The U.S. is an expensive place to build transit resources. A move from Congress to ban Chinese rail cars over espionage fears may exacerbate that problem.

March 25, 2019 - Governing

Hundreds of cars in the system will be going offline in coming years, and the agency is looking at a variety of ideas for what to do with them.

January 14, 2019 - San Francisco Examiner

The temporary ban applies to bus and rail projects seeking funding from a number of FTA programs.

August 14, 2018 - Eno Transportation Weekly

Fewer seats and more room for standing commuters are among the updates to the rail cars coming to BART.

January 25, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Proposition 2, the Safer Spokane Initiative, would require railroads to reduce health and safety risks posed by certain types of oil and coal trains traveling through specified parts of the city or risk being fined.

October 21, 2017 - The Spokesman-Review

A fractured rail is suspected as the cause of the worst train crash in India since 2010. The Indore-Patna Express train derailed near Kanpur in northern India. At least 200 are injured.

November 21, 2016 - The Guardian

Denver's transit agency is running very similar Hyundai Rotem EMUs on their new A Line to the airport. The car shells are imported from South Korea and assembled in the same Philadelphia plant as SEPTA's problem-plagued Silverliner V cars.

July 11, 2016 - Billy Penn

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will replace half its rail cars by the year 2020.

March 10, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

The first "open gangway" subway cars are due to arrive in New York in 2020. These cars enable passengers to freely walk between cars without having to struggle to open doors to access an adjacent car.

February 9, 2016 - The New York Times

After a February Metrolink commuter train crash in Oxnard, Calif., train officials hailed the new Korean rail cars as having performed well. Now they have expressed second thoughts, and are replacing the front cab cars with BNSF locomotives.

September 8, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Yonah Freemark examines U.S. subway systems and notes the lack of "open gangways" (i.e., the space between the cars). Only in the U.S. do doors separate cars. What gives?

April 8, 2015 - the transport politic

While all four passenger cars derailed in Tuesday morning's crash with a pickup truck, three on their sides, experts indicate that the new cars likely prevented far greater damage. Also covered is the locomotive push-pull issue and grade separations.

February 26, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Call it the Lac-Mégantic effect - the July 6 conflagration that leveled the downtown, killing 47 people, has implications for all jurisdictions where oil and freight trains run. Cities must recognize that rail insurance policies are woefully lacking.

January 14, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Crude oil may be flammable, but until recently was not thought to be explosive. However, three recent oil train explosions all involving crude oil from the Bakken formation have prodded investigators to determine why Bakken crude is more explosive.

January 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

More capacity for the same cost is the case with double-decker commuter cars -- if they can fit into tunnels, that is. Bi-level train were once more common in the commuter trains serving NYC. However, these cars can have their own disadvantages.

August 20, 2010 - The New York Times - N.Y/Region

MBTA is spending almost $200 million for 75 new rail cars from a South Korean company that has yet to sell its cars in the U.S., so rail experts have expressed doubts about the wisdom of this purchase for the troubled Boston T.

October 16, 2008 - The Boston Globe