Tag Archives: US Department of Transportation

Federal grant to Amtrak for Texas high speed rail planning rescinded

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

My reaction to this was “bad”, but I might be wrong. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday terminated a federal grant to help fund a long-sought high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston — saying that if the embattled project … Continue reading →

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Amtrak seeks additional partner for high speed rail line

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Amtrak is seeking an additional business partner as it moves ahead with a proposed high-speed rail route between Dallas and Houston. The passenger railroad company — which took over as the project’s lead agency in 2023 and secured a … Continue reading →

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Look for driverless cars to get fast-tracked

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Something to keep an eye on. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to create a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported citing sources. Should new regulations permit vehicles without human controls, it could provide a significant benefit to … Continue reading →

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Amtrak gets federal grant for more high speed rail planning

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Amtrak has received a nearly $64 million grant to continue planning the Texas High-Speed Rail project after several years of stagnation due to the COVID pandemic. The project — which proposes a less than 90-minute high-speed rail route between … Continue reading →

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Amtrak gets some federal high speed rail funds

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Amtrak has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to further study and develop a proposed high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas, a long-envisioned plan that until earlier this year had appeared to have fizzled out. Amtrak, the national … Continue reading →

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Vote No and take the credit anyway

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a tale as old as time. Republicans in Texas are proud to stand and announce local grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The problem is they all voted against it. All of them. For the second time in two … Continue reading →

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Our electric car charging stations future

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more are coming. Texas is planning to add enough electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state to support 1 million electric vehicles with dozens of new stations to allow for easier long-distance travel. In a draft plan released this … Continue reading →

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On speed limits

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Food for thought. Speeding is a national health problem and a big reason why this country is increasingly an outlier on traffic safety in the developed world. More than 1 in 4 fatal crashes in the United States involve at … Continue reading →

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Why do driverless trucks love I-45?

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For a combination of reasons. Texas, particularly the stretch of highway between Houston and Dallas, has emerged as one of the nation’s main proving grounds for autonomous trucking, with freight trucks driving themselves from pickup destinations to shipping warehouses hundreds … Continue reading →

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Metro approves electric bus purchase

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We should have them in a few months. Metro is charging ahead with its plan to add electric buses to the local transit fleet. Board members Thursday approved a $22 million contract for 20 new buses and chargers that will … Continue reading →

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Here come those electric buses

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes the commitment to buy them, anyway. Local transit officials no longer are blowing hot air about the emissions coming out of Metro buses. Board members Thursday approved a plan for all new Metropolitan Transit Authority buses to produce … Continue reading →

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Metro seeks electric buses

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Proof of concept for now and contingent on a competitive federal grant, but hopefully the start of something bigger. Transit officials in the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world are recharging their attempts to wean Metro off fossil fuels. Metropolitan … Continue reading →

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The I-45 survey

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who thought this was a good idea? The fate of the massive $9 billion project may depend on how many people who agree with Smith or agree with Davies fill out an online poll — after 15 years of planning, … Continue reading →

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Back to the public input phase for I-45

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They hear, but will they listen? Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public … Continue reading →

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Let’s try and get those federal transit funds now

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Works for me. Transit officials, sensing the timing may be right to tap federal funds for major projects, are moving quickly on portions of a planned bus rapid transit line viewed by some as the backbone of Houston’s future movement. … Continue reading →

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Is there an infrastructure boost in the works for Texas Central?

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe! The federal government is serious about spending money on high-speed rail, and Texas could be among the first beneficiaries. The recent interest in investing in bullet trains capable of going 200 mph or faster comes at a time when … Continue reading →

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Texas Central opponents see an opportunity

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Never waste an opportunity. Examination of a planned high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas should be halted as the country addresses the new coronavirus pandemic and the company rethinks its financial shape, 30 elected officials in Texas told federal … Continue reading →

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Metro will get some stimulus money

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Transit agencies in southeastern Texas are set to receive more than $300 million to stem revenue losses linked to COVID-19, federal officials announced Thursday, most of it coming to Houston. As part of the first round of Congress-approved stimulus … Continue reading →

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A really dumb “Trump and the train” article

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Texas is closer than ever to building the first high-speed train in the United States, thanks to President Donald Trump’s fascination with these transportation projects and a well-timed pitch to his administration. Now developers nationwide are looking to the … Continue reading →

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Ready for driverless cars, Houston?

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, they’re coming, ready or not. Researchers, business leaders and elected officials are about to turn Texas into the biggest laboratory for connected cars in the nation, with the likeliest place to spot a self-driving car in Houston along the … Continue reading →

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Still more hyperloops

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

They had a hyperloop design contest at Texas A&M: In the end, Elon Musk couldn’t resist showing up to the competition he helped inspire. The billionaire SpaceX CEO made a surprise appearance at the end of the Hyperloop pod design … Continue reading →

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Three views of traffic in Texas

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting worse. Houston-area leaders love to trumpet the region’s affordable cost of living and low taxes, but the costs of sitting in traffic are taking a record share of workers’ incomes, according to a comprehensive annual study. The average … Continue reading →

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Flying to Cuba

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You can get there from Houston, or at least you will be able to soon. United Airlines made it clear Thursday it intends to offer regular commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba, saying it would look to offer service … Continue reading →

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US-Mexico high speed rail?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What goes north can also go south. A high-speed rail line connecting San Antonio and Monterrey, Mexico, could be less than a decade away from welcoming its first passengers, according to federal and Texas officials who met with Mexican officials … Continue reading →

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Railroad crossings

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of freight rail lines in the East End. Some big changes will be coming to them. A series of underpasses and street closings east of downtown represents the latest effort to seal off railroad corridors and … Continue reading →

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If only it were that easy to get our act together

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has some blunt words for Houston about light rail. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood likes Houston’s light rail that’s up and running but warns that regional transit officials have squandered opportunities the past decade by … Continue reading →

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Bike sharing to come to Fort Worth

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Fort Worth Transportation Authority said Monday it’s raised more than $1 million, and plans to launch a central city bike-sharing program by next Spring that will include 30 stations and 300 bikes. The program will start … Continue reading →

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Culberson up to his old tricks

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the single minded focus on doing something only he and a few other people really want to do. For the first time in his long-running dispute with Houston Metro, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, has managed … Continue reading →

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There is nothing but highways

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More bad policy coming from the Republicans in Congress. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday the House GOP’s highway spending plan is “the worst transportation bill” he’s seen in decades. “This is the most partisan transportation bill that I have … Continue reading →

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Metro gets more light rail funds

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the US Department of Transit: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $1.58 billion for 27 transit projects nationwide that will improve public transportation access for millions of Americans while reducing our dependence on foreign oil and curbing air … Continue reading →

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It’s our own fault we missed out on SUPERTRAIN funds

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “If Texas had had its act together, it would have gotten some high-speed rail money,” the Obama administration Cabinet official told reporters. Thirty-one states shared $8 billion in rail grants from the 2009 economic … Continue reading →

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Department of Transportation makes it easier to do transit projects

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. In a dramatic change from existing policy, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today proposed that new funding guidelines for major transit projects be based on livability issues such as economic development opportunities and environmental benefits, in addition to … Continue reading →

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