Rail Cars
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.
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.
San Francisco Examiner
The temporary ban applies to bus and rail projects seeking funding from a number of FTA programs.
Eno Transportation Weekly
Fewer seats and more room for standing commuters are among the updates to the rail cars coming to BART.
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.
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.
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.
Billy Penn
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will replace half its rail cars by the year 2020.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Boston Globe
