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Entries Tagged as 'rail'

Playthings lead to substance? Incremental to real change? What does a “solar train” really mean?

December 22nd, 2017 · Comments Off on Playthings lead to substance? Incremental to real change? What does a “solar train” really mean?

Electrification of rail, a global phenomena (with, sigh, a major exception in the US/Canadian market), has significant positive impacts: Improved rail capacity with no other change, roughly 15% improvement in capacity due increased efficiency in braking/acceleration Interesting options for improving grid reliability, connections, etc … rail right of way as viable for power lines Reduced […]

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Tags: rail · solar · trains · transportation

Steel Interstates, Fast Freight, and Brawny Recovery

July 4th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Yet another guest post from the thoughtful BruceMcF laying out how a Steel Interstate program provides one of the most sensible national policy paths forward to address our intertwined economic, energy, and environmental challenges … and opportunities. (Right: Liberty Line) The Steel Interstate proposal is an effort to build Rapid Electric Freight Rail Tollways across the […]

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Tags: Energy · environmental · rail

Why We Fight (rail edition)

May 30th, 2011 · Comments Off on Why We Fight (rail edition)

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Tags: Energy · oil · rail

Conventional Rail and the Steel Interstates ~ Best Friends Forever

April 24th, 2011 · Comments Off on Conventional Rail and the Steel Interstates ~ Best Friends Forever

Yet another guest post from the thoughtful BruceMcF. I’ve written several times about the direct potential of the Steel Interstate project to cut our oil imports by 10% by getting long haul freight trucking off the road. It would at the same time relieve the crushing burden imposed by long haul trucking on our over-worked, […]

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Tags: Energy · guest post · rail · trains · transportation

Oil Addiction is a Political Choice, not a Necessity

April 10th, 2011 · Comments Off on Oil Addiction is a Political Choice, not a Necessity

Yet another guest post from the thoughtful BruceMcF. We can tell that an energy policy is not aimed at ending our nation’s oil addiction in time when the speech presenting it follows up: The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity, our long-term security on a resource that will eventually run […]

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Tags: Energy · guest post · Obama Administration · oil · rail

Making a ‘national HSR plan’ into a National Network+*

February 14th, 2011 · Comments Off on Making a ‘national HSR plan’ into a National Network+*

Yet another valuable guest post from BruceMcF, whose thoughts re rails valuable role in fostering a robust, prosperous, climate-friendly future for America merit attention. Way back before the Super Bowl, the White House had a series of exciting announcements, covered at The Transport Politic under the heading The White House Stakes Its Political Capital on […]

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Tags: Energy · guest post · rail

Going on the Attack for Amtrak

January 31st, 2011 · Comments Off on Going on the Attack for Amtrak

BruceMcF is a thinker re rail transportation who merits heeding … in this guest post, he looks at Amtrak’s value as it faces the budgetary axe threat from the Republican Study Committee. The Republicans have won one of the established political Power Positions in American Politics, and so they propose to eliminate funding for Amtrak: […]

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Tags: Energy · guest post · rail · republican party · trains · transportation

Energy SMART: Invest in Electrified Steel Interstate for economic, security, and environmental reasons

October 27th, 2010 · 3 Comments

Let me give Alan Drake one of the highest compliments that I know of: he makes me think. I got to know Alan due to some pretty acerbic criticism from him about the viability of aspects of the 2006 Energize America plan. He (rightfully) argued that it gave rail (especially electrified rail) short shrift and […]

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Tags: Energy · rail

HSR Plan A and Plan B Thinking

September 26th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Another guest post from the extremely thoughtful and insightful BruceMcF. Bruce’s thoughts, writ large, about transport policy and, more specifically, electrified rail merit attention and action. Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence This last week, I have been staring at The Transport Politic post, Republican Wave Could Spell Trouble for High-Speed Rail Projects […]

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Tags: Energy · guest post · rail · transportation

Local Electric Transport and the Energy Independence Levy

May 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Another guest post from the extremely thoughtful and insightful BruceMcF. Bruce’s thoughts, writ large, about transport policy and, more specifically, electrified rail merit attention and action. If we reduce our oil consumption by 5% a year over each of the next twenty years, that allows use to be free of our oil addiction if we […]

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Tags: electricity · Energy · guest post · rail · the five percent solution