DOGE Sets Its Sights on High-Speed Rail
After nearly two decades and billions in federal funding, California’s high-speed rail project still isn’t up and running.
Rail
How California's Ban on Diesel Locomotives Could Have Major National Repercussions
No technology exists today to enable railroads to comply with the state's diktat, which villainizes a mode of transportation that is actually quite energy efficient.
No, Biden's New Rail Crew Mandate Doesn't Make 'Common Sense'
Requiring two-person crews on freight trains wouldn't have prevented the East Palestine disaster. It's simply a giveaway to Biden's labor union allies.
The CCP Sucks. So Does Banning TikTok.
Plus: A listener asks about Republicans and Democrats monopolizing political power in the United States.
California's High-Speed Rail Needs Another $100 Billion. That's a Great Reason Not To Build It.
The whole project was supposed to cost $33 billion when it was initially proposed.
Elizabeth Warren's Terrible Model for Tech Regulation
Bad ideas never seem to truly die in Washington.
Biden Threatens To Veto GOP Spending Bill That Would 'Cut' Amtrak Funding to Double Pre-Pandemic Levels
Amtrak has historically received $2 billion in federal subsidies each year. Under Republicans' "draconian" cuts, they'd receive over $5 billion next year.
Both Biden and Trump Are Bad Candidates
The next presidential election may be between the two men. Can't we do better?
Atlanta Plans To Blow $230 Million on 2-Mile Extension of Useless Streetcar
That's more than $21,000 per foot. And the tab doesn't include operating costs, which taxpayers will also heavily subsidize.
The Rail Safety Act Is About Union Handouts, Not Safety
The legislation—which was introduced in response to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio—pushes pet projects and would worsen the status quo.
In Debate Over Railway Safety Bill, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Are Leaning to the Left
In 2019, the Trump administration blocked a costly and ineffective mandate for two-man railroad crews long sought by unions. Now, the former president wholeheartedly supports it.
France's Ban on Short-Haul Flights Will Kill People
You're 2,200 times more likely to die when traveling by car as opposed to by airplane.
As Rail Riders Disappear, the Feds Want To Spend $8.8 Billion Expanding a Rail Station
The rail lines servicing Washington, D.C.'s Union Station are carrying as little as a quarter of their pre-pandemic ridership. Officials still want to triple the station's capacity.
Vernon Smith: Adam Smith's Relevance, Jimmy Carter's Deregulation, and the Fed's Biggest Mistake
"The greatest thing that ever happened to me was to be born in a free country of modest means and to have opportunities," says the Nobel Prize–winning economist.
After the East Palestine Derailment, Congress Is Trying To Force Unrelated, Costly Regulations on Railroads
A bipartisan bill backed by J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown would include a two-member crew mandate that unions have long sought—and that wouldn't have prevented the Ohio disaster.
Colorado Is the Latest State To Consider Rent Control
Plus: The U.S. Supreme Court considers another internet free speech case, the Department of Transportation pushes expensive new rail regs, and more...
After 12 Years of False Starts, D.C. Metro Once Again Plots Return of Automated Trains
WMATA suspended automated train operations after the deadly 2009 Fort Totten crash. Perennial efforts to bring them back over the past decade have repeatedly fallen through.
A Possible Railroad Strike During the Holiday Season Would Risk $2 Billion Per Day
Four of the 12 unions representing workers on America's freight rail lines have voted to reject a new contract.
We Told You Why and How California's High-Speed Rail Wouldn't Work. You Chose Not To Listen.
The New York Times newsroom illustrates what happens when you listen to the New York Times editorial board.
How Railroad Unions Almost Broke the Economy
The narrowly averted strike would have been an economic catastrophe. The story of how we reached the brink of that disaster is an illustrative one.
Biden Is Poised To Make Freight Trains Less Safe. You Can Thank Special Interests.
Once again, Washington is giving us every reason to believe it's selling favors to cronies even if it means everyone else loses.
The D.C. Metro Is Still a Mess, But a 'Carpocalypse' Has Yet To Materialize
Why hasn't a collapse in rail transit service produced nightmarish levels of traffic congestion? Thank working from home and flexible work schedules.
How Many Union Members Does It Take To Operate a Train?
Labor unions have been lobbying federal regulators to mandate that all freight trains operate with two-person crews in the cab. But automation renders this largely pointless.
Senate Republicans and Democrats Agree To Double Amtrak's Funding
A bill approved by the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation would give the money-losing rail company $19 billion over 5 years.
Feds Restore $929 Million in Funds for California's Billion-Dollar Bullet Train Boondoggle
A grant revoked under President Donald Trump will be returned.
Joe Biden Says Trains Will Soon Be Almost as Fast as Planes. That's Ridiculous.
Advocates of high-speed rail have been overpromising and underdelivering for decades, but Biden just raised the bar.
Voting Laws, High-Speed Rails, and Vaccine Passports
It's a regulation-heavy Monday.
High-Speed Rail Advocates Should Pay Attention to California's Costly Disaster
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says we should be "dreaming big." But the Golden State's vaunted high-speed rail project is turning out to be a train to nowhere.
Will President-Elect Joe Biden Make All of America Pay for California's Bullet Train?
A struggling, costly boondoggle sees a much friendlier administration taking charge.
Even the Coronavirus Might Not Be Able to Kill California's Bullet Train Boondoggle
As the state deals with budget cuts and deficits, some boosters still fight to keep construction going.
Biden Says High-Speed Rail Will Get Millions of Cars Off the Road. That's Malarkey.
This is what happens when you think all of America looks like the Acela corridor.
St. Louis Thought Hiring a Comedian Would Boost Trolley Ridership?!
It didn't, and now the Loop Trolley needs a $700,000 bailout to stay afloat.
L.A.'s Bus Riders Are Suffering. Rail Spending Is to Blame.
L.A. politicians' continued preference for rail projects is screwing over the bus riders who depend on transit the most.
California Sues to Protect Its Federal Bullet Train Pork
The Trump Administration has cut off funding for the budget-busting boondoggle.
Federal Funding for California Bullet Train Boondoggle Formally Canceled
State leaders cannot seem to let a bad project die.
Oops! Construction of Overbudget, Overdue Light Rail Project Accidentally Destroys Historical Site
Is this the world's sloppiest light rail project?
California's High-Speed Rail Disaster Is a 'Shot Across the Bow for the Green New Deal'
"The real battle in the Democratic Party is between reality and fantasy," says Chapman University's Joel Kotkin.
Feds Cut Off Funding for California Bullet Train, Threaten Potential Clawback of $2.5 Billion
Without a realistic avenue to complete the project, why would they keep helping pay?
Trump Mocks California Bullet Train Boondoggle in Slamming 16 States' National Emergency Suit
Trump has exhibited a "flagrant disregard of fundamental separation of powers principles engrained in the United States Constitution," the suit reads.
California's Bullet Train Project Doesn't Deserve Your Moist-Eyed Love Letters
A corrupt boondoggle that broke the bank for subsidized middle-class trips would not have been the flagship for a greener America.
Gov. Newsom Pulls the Plug on California's Costly Bullet Train Boondoggle
Celebrate, don't mourn, the end of what's always been a bad plan.
Rail Transit Is a Dead End, but Social Planners Keep Pushing for More
Government planners do not understand markets, so they promote overly pricey projects that fail to meet our real-world transportation needs.
Kamala Harris Helped Secure Federal Funding for California's Disastrous High Speed Rail Project
The California senator's terrible record on policy extends to infrastructure.
Australian State Government Accuses Light Rail Contractor of Incompetence, Then Gives it Another Multi-Million-Dollar Contract
Sydney's light rail extension is a year behind schedule and almost $500 million over budget.
