June - 2019

Archive

Ground broken on Virgin Trains USA's expansion linking Miami to Orlando.

Virgin Trains USA has broken ground on the project to expand passenger rail service from Miami to Orlando. Virgin Trains USA, formerly Brightline, is reinventing rail service in America by providing a fast, efficient rail service that will be a pleasure to travel on. There is a great opportunity to connect cities that are too close to fly and too long to drive. Passenger service is expected to begin in 2022. Orlando is the nation’s most-visited city and there is huge demand,

DART receives $60 million federal grant for platform project

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have entered into a Full Funding Grant Agreement for $60.76 million that will help DART complete its Red and Blue Line Platform Extensions project. The project will allow DART to accomodate more riders and longer trains by lengthening platforms at 28 stations along the extigin Red and Blue light-rail lines. The platforms at these stations currently accommodate two-car trains, but the $128.74-million

METRO Board Welcomes New Member

Robert "Bob" Fry is the newest member of the METRO Board of Directors. He was sworn in at today's Board meeting. The former mayor of West University Place was appointed to represent a group of 14 smaller cities on the Board that are within METRO's service area. Fry is a Houston native who graduated from Milby High School, attended the University of Texas at Austin and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. After returning from duty, he started a maritime industry com

South Carolina ports set cargo record in May

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) logged its strongest May on record, with 204,457 20-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) handled in the month, authority officials announced yesterday. Fiscal year-to-date TEU volume through May was up 9.7 percent, with 2,192,689 TEUs handled since the fiscal year began July 1, 2018. “Our volumes have been strong this fiscal year compared to fiscal 2018, particularly with [our] container business, rail dray program and inland port

Three Years: Expanded Panama Canal Continues to Exceed Expectations

On June 26, 2016, the Expanded Canal welcomed its first transit, marking the culmination of the largest enhancement project since the waterway’s opening in 1914. Based off a decade’s worth of planning, the Expansion stood as a tremendous feat of engineering. It also represented the Canal’s commitment to a new era of global shipping. Three years and over 6,000 Neopanamax transits later, we celebrate the Expanded Canal’s achievements today as it continues to exceed expectations

SpaceX records another first for reusable rocketry by catching Falcon Heavy fairing with a boat

SpaceX has managed to do another thing that seemed audacious and highly unlikely after a few early botched attempts. It used a ship at sea to catch the falling nosecone that shielded the cargo aboard its Falcon Heavy rocket during launch. The maneuver saw a SpaceX -owned barge called Ms. Tree rigged with a giant net slung across four large protruding beams navigate to a point off the Florida coast in the Atlantic Ocean to await the SpaceX fairing’s return once it separated f

U.S. House passes FY2020 "minibus," including THUD bill

As the appropriations process continues, transit funding fares well in the House version with two potentially detrimental amendments left out of the package. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $383.3 billion, five-bill appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2020 on June 25. The "minibus" package includes the House's $137.1-billion Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development FY2020 Appropriations bill that funds the U.S. Department of Transportation. The package's

Starsky Robotics tests first unmanned autonomous truck on public highway in Florida

Starsky Robotics tested its fully unmanned autonomous truck on a 9.4-mile stretch of public highway on the Florida Turnpike on June 16. The company had previously been testing its self-driving technology on private roads. “We are now the only autonomous company that’s testing trucks without having people in the cabs on public roads with the motoring public,” Stefan Seltz-Axmacher told FreightWaves. “This is the biggest step forward in the autonomous industry.” A remote operat

Mayors Appear Increasingly Concerned About Infrastructure

More than half of mayors discussed it during their annual State of the City addresses this year -- double the number four years ago. SPEED READ: Infrastructure was the second-most popular topic in mayors' annual addresses this year. Twice as many talked about infrastructure than in 2016. On the federal level, prospects for an infrastructure package have dimmed. As the prospects for a federal infrastructure package this year become vanishingly thin, mayors are becoming more co

China-made carbon fiber train finishes trial run

China's carbon fiber subway train, which is lighter, faster and more energy efficient, recently completed a test run in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, signaling the coming of new subway technology. The carbon fiber vehicle is expected to conduct tests on subway lines in various Chinese cities, according to a statement sent by the CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co. to the Global Times on Thursday. The statement said that the train has a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour an

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