Trump’s pick for transportation secretary could be good for companies with self-driving ambitions As reported by Johana Bhuiyan on Recode Donald Trump will reportedly nominate Elaine Chao — the former secretary of labor under the Bush administration who also served as the deputy secretary of transportation under the previous Bush administration — to be the […]
President-elect Trump picks Chao to run USDOT As reported by Progressive Railroading President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Elaine Chao as the next U.S. secretary of transportation drew praise today from several rail industry leaders and organizations. Chao served as secretary of labor under President George W. Bush from 2001 through 2009. She also served as […]
Trump’s transport chief pick has record of rolling back regs As reported by Reynolds Hutchins in Journal of Commerce WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Transportation, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, has a track record of rolling back regulation and a pro-business bent that has run afoul of labor unions. […]
California’s bullet train authority decides to buy American after all As Published by Ralph Vartabedian in Los Angeles Times The California High Speed Rail Authority has reversed its plans to buy foreign parts for its trains, saying in a letter to federal regulators that it was withdrawing a request for a waiver from the Buy American Act. […]
Private railroads, Amtrak spar over FRA pilot program rule As published by Lauren Gardner in Politico A pilot program to give private companies the chance to take over passenger train service on some long-distance routes from Amtrak is stoking tension among those businesses and the government-backed corporation as federal regulators craft the rules for the […]
Will Lifting The Jones Act Save Puerto Rico? Congressman Introduces Legislation to Exempt U.S. Territory As published in Global Trade Magazine In 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on the impact of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico, calling it a likely factor in the high cost of shipping to Puerto Rico, and […]
Biden: $2.45B loan for Amtrak upgrades in Northeast Corridor As published by Randall Chase in the Associated Press WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Amtrak is receiving a $2.45 billion loan from the federal government to buy new trains, upgrade tracks and make platform improvements along the busy Northeast corridor, the largest such loan ever by the […]
Amtrak taps former freight railroad head to be new CEO As published by Joan Lowy in the Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Norfolk Southern freight railroad, Charles “Wick” Moorman, has been tapped to be president and CEO of Amtrak, the nation’s passenger railroad, Amtrak officials said Friday. Moorman’s ties to […]
Kaine primed for driver’s seat on transportation issues as VP As published by Melanie Zanona in The Hill Sen. Tim Kaine might be Hillary Clinton’s newly minted sidekick, but the Democratic vice presidential nominee is primed for the driver’s seat when it comes to infrastructure issues. Kaine, a former governor of Virginia and mayor of […]
US shippers face tough road to gain national port productivity metrics As published by Reynolds Hutchins in Journal of Commerce Just minutes into its first meeting it was clear that U.S. shippers shouldn’t expect an easy path toward the creation of nationwide metrics to measure the nation’s port productivity. The immediate roadblocks, stalemates and impasses the group […]