Published on October 8th, 2009

Norfolk Southern unveiled an all-electric locomotive this week at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, PA The 1,500 horsepower locomotive gets its power from 1,080 12-volt lead-acid batteries, the same kind found under the hoods of most cars.
No diesel motor here, just all electric baby.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:
electric locomotive 999,
electric train,
lead-acid batteries,
leadacid batteries,
locomotive,
norfolk sothern,
norfolksouthern,
ns 999,
ns 999 locomotive,
ns999,
train,
U.S. Department of Energy
Published on July 24th, 2009

On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals will travel via Amtrak train from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a weekend series with the Phillies. The railroad road-trip will be the first time in over forty years the Cardinals have traveled via train.
Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak told NPR that both he and the players were looking forward to the trip. “It’s very unusual for us, but it was something we looked into and it seemed to make a lot of sense,” said Mozeliak. “Plus it ends up shaving a significant amount of time off our travel.”
The Cardinals will ride in three privatized train cars that will be added to the standard train for the one hour, forty-five minute journey. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on November 11th, 2008

The new transportation investments would be paid for with a myriad of tax and fee hikes, including:
- a 2-cent per gallon gas tax increase
- doubling the vehicle titling fee to $110
- raising the vehicle registration fee from $27 per year to $81 per year
- creating a first-time fee of $100 for titling cars new to the state
- raising the tobacco tax by 2½ cents
The plan also calls for borrowing $600 million and using and additional $16 million in lottery money.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:
Boats,
Cars,
economy,
Environment,
freight,
Infrastructure,
Investment,
Kulongoski,
Oregon,
port,
Rail,
roads,
Shipping,
transportation
Published on October 30th, 2008

Tri-Rail is to start operating 8 of its 10 locomotives on a 99 percent blend of either palm or soil oil biodiesel, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority announced Wednesday.
Thanks to South Florida’s comparatively temperate climate, Tri-Rail is one of the few commuter rail systems in the country that can operate on such a pure blend of bio-fuel.
“The switch to biodiesel fuel has been long in coming,” said Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Jr., chair of the SFRTA Governing Board. “It follows in the path of Governor Crist’s mission to ‘green’ the state of Florida and we are pleased that the economies and efficiencies have come together to allow us to make this change for the betterment of the environment.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 11th, 2008
What If They Were Heavier, and Longer?

Had enough of the “big rigs” on the highway? Well, Congress is looking at new weight and size limits, and Teamster President James Hoffa says “no” to bigger trucks.
In a House subcomittee hearing July 9, Hoffa is quoted as saying:
“Bigger trucks are more dangerous trucks. Lifting truck weight and size limits would turn big rigs into time bombs.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:
Biodiesel,
clean air,
congress,
Environment,
fuel,
Hoffa,
railroad industry,
railroads,
semi-trailer,
semi-trailer trucks,
Teamsters President Hoffa,
Teamsters Union,
trucking,
trucking industry,
trucks
Published on June 19th, 2008

In order to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the delivery of new automobiles, Honda has launched a 400-car fleet of new Auto-Max railcars to carry its products from factory to city. Currently, Honda transports 82 percent of its Honda and Acura cars by rail, more than another other automaker.
The new, multi-level rail cars hold up to 22 vehicles, both cars and trucks, to reduce unused space. Honda says conventional rail cars hold only 10 trucks.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 13th, 2008

Imagine a high-speed rail line that could get you from San Francisco to LA in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
That dream appears to be coming true, thanks to work by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. After getting a green light by State environmental impact assessors, they’ve begun implementation of an 800-mile bullet-train system that will connect Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. Trains traveling at 220 mph on the systems are forecast to carry up to 100 million passengers per year by 2030. Read the rest of this entry »