high-speed rail

(Newser) - Joe Biden announced an ambitious $53 billion plan to expand America's high-speed rail program yesterday, drawing immediate fire from Republicans. "This is like giving Bernie Madoff another chance at handling your investment portfolio," said House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica, pointing to previous rail failures and labeling Amtrak...

(Newser) - Amtrak plans to dig two new tunnels for commuter trains between New York and New Jersey, Reuters reports. The project, called the Gateway Tunnel and projected to cost $13.5 billion, has a loose finish date of 2020. "The two new trans-Hudson tunnels will provide long-sought, peak-period operational capacity...

(Newser) - Economics blogger Ryan Avent picks apart the arguments against high-speed rail, including the fact that opponents don't seem to take into account the costs of accommodating America's population growth in coming years. We're going to have to build some kind of infrastructure so people can get around, whether it's highways...

(Newser) - It's not exactly a revelation, but it was still surprising to hear a JetBlue executive admit that it "may not make much sense" for travelers to fly short distances, writes Ariel Schwartz. "Maybe there’s a different mode of transportation that may be better to carry those customers...