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Railways

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

by Will Grant
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
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Deadline looms for potentially "perilous" nationwide rail strike

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Nov 28, 2022
The effects of a work stoppage could be felt as soon as Dec. 5. Many in the private sector are looking to Congress for a solution.
A rail strike could affect energy, wastewater treatment and much more. "Rail companies have been pushed to get those better profit margins, better performance on Wall Street, and .... are trying to use as little equipment and staff as possible," says Rachel Premack of FreightWaves.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Companies reroute cargo away from Russian rail network

by Kristin Schwab
Mar 16, 2022
It could put extra pressure on global shipping and force companies to raise prices.
Some goods with high price margins, like computers and car parts, typically travel between China and Europe by rail. Above, a freight train rolls through a forest in Poland.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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What freight rail tells us about the economy

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Aug 4, 2021
Trains are delivering shipping containers brimming with the imported products consumers are demanding. Rail can tell us about U.S. exports, too.
The U.S. has seen an uptick in intermodal train traffic over the first half of the year — that's when products travel in containers from ship to truck or train.
David McNew/Getty Images
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First, the Port of L.A. was clogged. Now, it's Chicago's railroad yards.

by Caroline Champlin
Jul 26, 2021
Given the history of U.S. railroads, a chokepoint in the Windy City was "inevitable" once cargo started backing up elsewhere.
Following the shipping bottleneck in the Port of Los Angeles, Chicago railyards are now experiencing their own backlog.
Andreas Rentz via Getty Images
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China's slow trains for the poor

by Jennifer Pak
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
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Amtrak says it had its best year in company history

by Kimberly Adams
Nov 11, 2019
After years of being the subject of congressional ire, the federally subsidized company is almost at the point of breaking even.
Passengers board an Amtrak train at New York City's Pennsylvania Station.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Baltimore subway closure exposes deeper problems

by Amy Scott
Feb 23, 2018
Transit advocates say the city's system perpetuates inequality.
The Penn-North Metro Subway Station in West Baltimore is among those closed for emergency track repairs.
Amy Scott/Marketplace
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Railroads worry trade policy could reduce freight traffic

by Annie Baxter
Nov 22, 2016
A big infrastructure plan would boost rail shipments of construction materials.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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