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Mexico's massive new Tren Maya rail network raises environmental concerns

Jan 8, 2024
The cost of Mexico's 1,500-kilometer train line has ballooned to more than $28 billion.
An aerial view of the construction of part of the Tren Maya in Uman, Mexico, in August.
Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images

High-speed rail — environmentally friendly and popular worldwide — has a hard time in the U.S.

Dec 8, 2023
The Biden administration's pouring billions into it, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost.
Though high-speed rail is common in Europe and Asia, most Americans lack access to it.
Bastien Inzaurralde/AFP via Getty Images

D.C. could become the largest U.S. city to experiment with free transit

Dec 15, 2022
A city council measure would make it free to ride the bus within the capital's city limits. Proponents say the plan, estimated to cost $42 million annually, would boost ridership and equity.
If the measure passes,  D.C. will join cities like Albuquerque, Kansas City and Boston that have experimented with zero-fare transit during the pandemic.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Possible train strike could derail supply chain even more

Sep 12, 2022
A nationwide rail shutdown could cost $2 billion a day, the Association of American Railroads said.
Around half of the goods we import and export touch U.S. railways.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

China's slow trains for the poor

Apr 20, 2021
There are 81 no-frills train routes left over from the Mao era to service far-flung areas. Who rides them?
A villager boards a slow train with a television strapped to his back in 2015. The train connected communities in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces that were not frequently served by China's modernized rail network.
Qian Haifeng

The coronavirus has highlighted the transit inequalities in America

Jul 1, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic essential workers have relied on public transit, just as services are being cut.
An MTA worker hands out free hand sanitizer and face masks at the Grand Central Station subway during morning rush hour in New York City.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

General Electric built this town, but its presence is shrinking

Jan 19, 2018
The company plans to leave the locomotive manufacturing industry in a few years.
Jim Connelly, a former GE engineer, hopes to go back to school and start his own business. He sits at the Lawrence Park Dinor, just up the street from the 350-acre GE plant.
Erika Beras/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

A rural town hates the coming of high-speed trains

Jul 29, 2015
Tiny Acton, California, fears railway will bring water and noise pollution.

Fun Fact Friday: A driverless battle

Mar 27, 2015
A look at the week that was...

The fight over America's rails

Mar 25, 2015
A train whistle can evoke far-away places and adventure. Also, lawsuits.