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After the July 23rd train crash in Wenzhou China, where over 40 people were killed, safety isn’t the only thing that has come under the spotlight. China’s railway ministry is saddled with debt. A debt of over 320 billion US dollars, or five percent of China’s GDP. This debt has built up through the rapid expansion of the railway network. Several railway ministry officials have also been charged with corruption for siphoning off money for themselves. The railway ministry has been criticized for calling off the rescue efforts early in order to get trains running again. Some analysts believe this...

Last Updated: Thu, 08/04/2011 - 12:54pm Despite getting more than $1 billion from the U.S. government to bolster security, the nation’s passenger train system—known as Amtrak—remains vulnerable to a terrorist attack because the money wasn’t spent efficiently to adequately protect the most vulnerable stations. It’s the last thing Americans need to hear in the tumult of an epic budget crisis and record-high unemployment, that tax dollars were wasted by yet another incompetent government agency with a bloated budget. It’s an old, worn out story that gets repeated way too often. In this case the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed...

Maybe Chinese trains don't go as fast as promised, but they still cost quite a lot. China's Railway Ministry is 1.98 trillion yuan ($294.87 billion) in debt after the first quarter of this year, and its asset-liability ratio has reached 58.24 percent. To continue financing projects (they still have trains to buy and roads to build), the Ministry will issue bonds on July 21st. This is the third time they've had to issue bonds this year- the first time it raised 20 billion yuan, the second time it raised 15 billion yuan. That's aside from what China Daily calls "super-short-term...

RENO, Nev. (CBS/AP) — Authorities plan to look into the driving and medical records of the semitrailer driver who died when the truck slammed into an Amtrak train, killing a train crew member and injuring dozens of passengers. Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said they also will look at autopsy results to determine whether the driver had consumed any drugs around the time of the collision Friday. The big rig plowed into the California-bound train at a crossing in a rural area about 70 miles east of Reno. Knudson said federal investigators would make sure...

CHURCHILL COUNTY, Nev. -- At least two people were killed and about 20 others were injured in a fiery collision between a Sacramento-bound Amtrak train and a semitrailer on a rural northern Nevada highway. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Lopez said the truck driver and one person on the train were killed in the 11:25 a.m. Friday accident about 70 miles east of Reno. He says an unknown number of other people on the train were injured and are being taken by ambulances to the hospital.

Amtrak blames the red ink on rising compensation costs for union workers and increased costs for fuel, materials and other expenses. Amtrak is making money on its heavily traveled Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, serving mostly commuters, executives said. But money-losing, long-distance routes are a drag on the bottom line, Amtrak say. Amtrak officials project an operating loss of $506 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up from a loss of $419.9 million last year. Officials have projected a loss of $616 million next year. Federal subsidies cover about 16% of Amtrak's operating expenses, which are projected...

As if it isn't hard enough to get to sleep on overnight journeys, one group of unlucky passengers shared a carriage with a woman who talked loudly on her mobile phone for 16 hours. In the end she was arrested. Lakeysha Beard of Tigard, Oregon, was charged with disorderly conduct after police were called by Amtrak staff following continued complaints from passengers. Police said the 39-year-old became aggressive and was involved in a 'verbal altercation' when asked to be quiet during the journey from Oakland, California to Salem, Oregon. Fellow travellers said Ms Beard refused to put the phone down...

One of the projects to be funded with the money Florida rejected will be to transform 135 miles of Amtrak’s Wolverine route, which runs between Chicago and Detroit, into a higher-speed rail line, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. This improvement, which will cost $196.5 million, will be paid for by the federal government. Trains will be able to reach speeds up to 110 mph, compared with their current top speed of 79 mph. The trip, which currently takes more than 5 hours, is expected to be more than 30 minutes shorter. “This is not true high-speed rail by...

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley is calling on Iowa lawmakers and Gov. Terry Branstad to fund the state’s share of the cost of developing a high-speed rail connection between Iowa City through the Quad Cities to Chicago. Iowa and Illinois have secured $230 million in federal funding for an Amtrak route between Chicago and Iowa City. The project now depends on Branstad and the Legislature fulfilling Iowa’s $20 million commitment to the project, according to Braley, whose district includes the Quad Cities. He has written to Branstad as well as House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal,...

It's A Dead Heat, Lunacy And Hypocrisy Are Dueling For The Lead, At The Head Of The StretchSen. Charles Schumer, NY, is calling for increased security on trains; since, Osama's computer files have included vague plans for attacking rail systems to celebrate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Schumer is suggesting an ever larger increase in America's security forces that have largely been shown to be ineffective and incompetent in the past. Schumer is also suggesting a fool proof, no-ride list, so that terrorists who are known to be terrorists cannot ride, but will be free to find another opportunity...

Subsidies: This week, Amtrak marks its 40th anniversary, which means that for decades it's wasted tens of billions of tax dollars. Naturally, Washington wants to reward this with billions more under the guise of "high-speed" rail. To say that Amtrak is a failed business is to be unkind to failure. Consider: • A Pew study found that all but three of Amtrak's 44 lines lost money in 2008, with an average loss of $32 per passenger. Even the heavily used Northeast Regional line was a money-loser. • Each year, Amtrak relies on more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies —...

— Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for better rail security now that the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound has turned up plans to attack trains in the U.S. “Anyone, even a member of al-Qaida could purchase a train ticket and board an Amtrak train without so much as a question asked,” Schumer said. “So that’s why I’m calling for the creation of an Amtrak no ride list. That would take the secure flight program and apply it to Amtrak trains.”

After lobbying federal officials hard and long for $270 million for the Springfield-to-New Haven high-speed rail project, Connecticut landed just $30 million Monday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the distribution of $2 billion for fast train projects, and Connecticut was counting on a hefty share. Despite earlier signals from LaHood that Connecticut and the rest of the Northeast stood a solid chance, he ended up giving more than half the money to projects in the Midwest and California. Despite heavy traffic congestion and dense population, Connecticut got less than 2 percent of the funding. "Any money for high-speed rail...

A senator on Sunday called for a "no-ride list" for Amtrak trains after intelligence gleaned from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound pointed to potential attacks on the nation's train system. Sen. Charles Schumer said he would push as well for added funding for rail security and commuter and passenger train track inspections and more monitoring of stations nationwide. "Circumstances demand we make adjustments by increasing funding to enhance rail safety and monitoring on commuter rail transit and screening who gets on Amtrak passenger trains, so that we can provide a greater level of security to the public," the...

This week kicks off the 40th Anniversary of the money-sucking, inefficient, outmoded national rail system we call Amtrak. Let’s start with money. Amtrak loses bucketloads of money every day. The national rail system operates in the red, generating huge losses and has done so each and every year of its existence. And they are not shy about it. That’s over $1.2 billion in losses for the most recent year, putting the overall tab for this antiquated, bloated and inefficient system around $50 billion dollars of taxpayer money. The embarrassment of Amtrak has even struck a chord with someone who rallied...

SNIPPET: "CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) – Chester police are urging vigilance after they found an improvised explosive device, this afternoon, near Amtrak and Septa railroad tracks and the Commodore Barry Bridge. 

 Police say the device consisted of two bottles with a yellow liquid inside. They say one had a timer and wires attached by duct tape."

No deal. That's the decision from the state Department of Transportation, which notified BNSF Railway Co. this week that the state was terminating an agreement to buy 182 miles of unneeded northern New Mexico train track. And Gov. Susana Martinez wants a $2.35 million refund. In 2008, the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson paid nearly $5 million for the track from Lamy, N.M., to the Colorado border. The segment is used only by Amtrak for twice-daily passenger service. BNSF stopped its freight service there several years ago. The unneeded segment was part of a package deal that enabled the...

QUINCY, Ill. — The Illinois Zephyr — a workaday locomotive and four cars sitting in the predawn darkness in Quincy, Ill. — isn’t the sleek, futuristic image of high-speed travel, but it’s what some Eastern Iowans have worked toward for years. While the effort to bring passenger service to Iowa City by 2015 still faces some political and financial obstacles, trains sponsored by Iowa’s would-be operating partners Amtrak and the state of Illinois continue to draw travelers — 1.6 million in 2010 — from the highways and airways. “It’s pretty convenient,” said Don Huechteman, a Quincy retiree seeing his wife...

Back in June and July of 2009, I spotlighted the Obama corruptocrats’ unceremonious removal of respected veteran Amtrak watchdog Fred Weiderhold (see here and here). Flashback: Who railroaded the Amtrak inspector general? by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2009 Watchdogs are an endangered species in the Age of Obama. The latest government ombudsman to get the muzzle: Amtrak inspector general Fred Weiderhold. The longtime veteran employee was abruptly “retired” last month –just as the government-subsidized rail service faces mounting complaints about its meddling in financial audits and probes. Question the timing? Hell, yes. On June 18, Weiderhold met with Amtrak...

Today’s the big day for Amtrak’s Wilmington train station. It is being renamed in honor of Vice President and former Delaware Senator Joe Biden following major renovations made possible with stimulus funds. One problem: the CEO of Amtrak got stuck on the train. ABC News Deputy Political Director & Political Reporter Michael Falcone tweeted at approximately 10 a.m. that the Acela train he was riding had been “delayed” in Baltimore and that he was sitting next to Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman. Falcone tweeted, “Acela to NY delayed for ‘unknown period’ Should I feel better that the Amtrak CEO is sitting...