Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Rail

Department of Energy Gets Basic Math Wrong in its Rail Analysis

By Elana Schor | Sep 11, 2009 | No Comments

When it comes to the carbon consumption of cars, trains, and buses, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Transportation Energy Data Book [PDF] is an indispensable resource. But this year’s Data Book contains an eyebrow-raising error in its analysis of rail’s energy use. (Image: DoE) Page 66 of the Data Book, reprinted on the DoE’s […]

Would Personal Rapid Transit Benefit Anyone but Its Manufacturer?

By Matthew Roth | Aug 11, 2009 | 110 Comments

Image: SkyTran Some of you saw the Examiner piece yesterday about SkyTran’s personal rapid transit (PRT) project and were probably looking for a response from us (one of you even asked in comments why we didn’t touch it), but I’ve been very leery of the topic since I saw the "Pod People" post over on […]

Following ‘Cash for Clunkers’ with ‘Riches for Rail’

By Elana Schor | Aug 4, 2009 | 1 Comment

(Photo: Washington Post) Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, began his hearing on transit today by displaying the above cartoon by Pulitzer prize-winner Tom Toles. The senator’s message parallels Toles’: In a world where the auto industry can get $2 billion more in one week, what’s to be done about […]

The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency

By Elana Schor | Jun 26, 2009 | No Comments

The scene of Monday’s Metro crash in D.C., where the local transit agency still has 15 outstanding "SILO" tax deals. (Photo: AP) The D.C. Metro accident that killed nine riders this week has renewed calls for rail safety upgrades and reminders that car travel remains far riskier than transit. But the crash is also shedding […]

The High-Speed Rail Numbers Game: Is $13 Billion and 110 MPH Enough?

By Elana Schor | Jun 24, 2009 | 7 Comments

High-speed rail is one of the Obama administration’s most prized policy goals, with $13 billion getting earmarked in the coming year alone to help break ground on up to 11 proposed regional corridors. But what will the U.S. get for its money? A lively Senate hearing yesterday attempted to answer that question. Will all 11 […]

Sen Boxer Seeks Rail Safety Funds after DC Crash

By Elana Schor | Jun 23, 2009 | No Comments

Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology. The scene of yesterday’s D.C. Metro crash. (Photo: NYT) The letter was sent by two chairmen with a central role in transportation policy — […]

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