Free Republic

Construction for a maglev train line that would take passengers from Washington to Baltimore in 15 minutes could alter a D.C. neighborhood and affect nearby properties for years, District officials said Monday. A maglev station in the Mount Vernon Square area has the potential to change the character of the neighborhood and bring “substantial construction and long-term operational implications on nearby properties,” Andrew Trueblood, director of the D.C. Office of Planning, said in a statement that urged residents and city leaders to engage in the federal review of the multibillion-dollar project. The 40-mile “superconducting magnetic levitation train system,” commonly called...

Just over a month ago, an organization sent the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority an advertisement it was ready to pay good money to post on the backs and sides of Metro buses. The ad used only four words: "Find the Perfect Gift." These words were spelt out in the main message of the proposed ad as well as in a web address (FindThePerfectGift.org) printed beside it. Two of the words also appeared in a social-media hashtag printed at the bottom of the ad (#PerfectGift). Now had this advertisement been produced by Macy's, Nordstrom or Target -- to draw traffic...

Well, it turns out man-spreading is not the most pressing threat facing the New York City subway system after all. And neither are the trains that break down in the underbelly of the city leaving passengers stranded for hours with a continuously playing pan flute ensemble. Nor is the most pressing issue roaming gangs of street thugs or perverts manhandling women or homeless people urinating on seats or giant rats prowling subway stations. No, ladies and gentlemen – the greatest threat facing the Big Apple’s subway system is train conductors using the words “ladies and gentlemen.” The New York Post...

Users of the Dulles Toll Road can expect to pay more in 2019, according to a 2018 draft budget presented to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board today.No increase from the $3.50 toll ($2.50 at the plaza and $1 at the ramp) is planned in 2018; however, it is expected to jump to $4.75 the following year. Numbers presented by the Board’s Finance Committee show that is only the beginning of the hikes.In 2023, the toll is projected to go up to $6. Additional jumps of $1.25 or more are projected every five years for the following two decades, resulting...

Washington DC is shutting down the entire subway system on Wednesday with no notice for urgent safety checks The entire Washington, DC, subway system will shut down for at least 29 hours to inspect electrical components on the tracks following a fire near one of the system's tunnels, officials said on Tuesday. The shutdown comes after a fire broke out on Monday about 4.30am in the tunnel outside the McPherson Square station in downtown Washington. The fire led to delays on the orange, blue and silver lines, which go through the station. The Metro subway system will shut down at...

Emma Anderson was kicked off of the Miami Metrorail train system after she was reprimanded for singing gospel music, yet refused to stop. The 82-year-old was booted off of the public transportation system by a security guard who reportedly wasn’t too gentle in his quest to remove her.

Metro proposes to increase bus and rail fares by about 5 percent, raise parking rates and eliminate a controversial rush-hour surcharge this summer to overcome a $116 million shortfall in its next operating budget. Riders who use paper Farecards would face the biggest change. Whether going two stops or 10, they would pay one-way flat fares: $6 during rush hour, $4 in off-peak times. For a group traveling together, hailing a taxi might quickly become more palatable. (snip) Metro officials, however, are promoting the simplification of fares as a plus. The new fare structure would eliminate the “peak-of-the-peak” rate, in which...

For anyone in the DC area who relies on metrorail, a wheel fell off one of the trains on the Orange Line this morning and the entire system is snarled, with people still stuck on the train. Those who made it off are reporting that Metro still made them pay exit fare and somehow find their own alternative transportation.

The woman was heading to to Anacostia on Saturday when she noticed a group of people at the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station acting a bit unruly. They were punching the cars, she says, spooking the passengers inside. Through the ruckus, the woman kept moving to catch a green line train. That scene alone might be enough to rattle Metro passengers, but on this night, it was hardly the worst of it. The young woman, who didn’t want her name used in this report, on Sunday described a commuters’ nightmare — a rowdy mess at L'Enfant, followed by a scary confrontation...

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 16) -- Betty Sugiyama was rushing to catch a train for a shopping trip when authorities say the unthinkable happened: A homeless woman leapt from a bench and shoved her onto the tracks. Witnesses said the woman then calmly returned to her seat as Sugiyama writhed in pain on the tracks with a cracked skull. The 84-year-old Little Tokyo resident died soon after, and the suspect was arrested on murder charges. A sister of Sugiyama who witnessed the attack remained stunned Tuesday that anyone would want to kill her friendly younger sibling, a Japanese-American who had grown...

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) is in line to receive $150 million for the North and Southeast Corridor light-rail lines as part of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal-year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill approved last week. The House version of the FY2011 appropriations bill set aside $152 million for the projects. The full House will vote on the bill later this week. The $150 million proposed by the Senate committee would be in addition to $150 million secured in FY2010, bringing the total amount of federal funds allocated for the two light-rail projects...

One of Houston Mayor Annise Parker's most visible goals since taking office in January has been to shake up the agency that oversees buses, rail and other forms of transit in and around the city. Parker's criticisms of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (known as Metro to those who speak Houston) have been music to the ears of Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who is trying to hold off a November challenge from Parker's predecessor, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White. Through press statements and Web videos and under the predictable mantra of "Metrogate," Perry's team has packaged Parker's criticisms with a series...

The Metropolitan Transit Authority intends to issue an estimated $2.6 billion in bonds in the next four years to help pay for five new light rail lines, about four times the debt capacity voters authorized in a 2003 referendum, Metro officials confirmed Tuesday. Metro leaders insist the borrowing will not exceed the $640 million debt ceiling set by voters because the agency is allowed other borrowing capacity by state law, and much of the bonds will be paid with money from ridership fares. But critics sharply criticized the plans as going far beyond what voters approved, noting that revenues from...

WASHINGTON -- Plan on taking Metrorail to the inaugural ceremonies on Jan. 20? Be ready to hit the stairs. The transit agency says it expects to shut down and lock numerous escalators at high volume stations on the day of the inauguration. ..................... Metrorail is preparing to carry upwards of 1 million riders on inauguration day, a mark that will easily shatter the all time record high of 854,638 riders set this past summer.

Culberson's sway over Metro plans may be diluted A Lampson appointment to key House panel could affect rail project Last throws U.S. Rep. John Culberson easily won re-election, but his party lost the House, which means the Houston Republican could lose some of the committee influence that has made him a force to be reckoned with in Metro's transit plans. But local House Democrats said it is virtually certain Culberson will keep his seat on a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee that authorizes transit funds and will continue to have a strong say on projects in his district. His...

Aug. 1, 2006, 11:32AM Culberson says he'll oppose Metro rail line on Richmond U.S. Rep. John Culberson today announced that because of what he described as "overwhelming opposition of the community" to a Metro light rail line on Richmond Avenue, he will oppose the project. "I will vigorously protect the clearly expressed interests of my constituents, in particular those who live, work, or own property on Richmond," Culberson told a crowd of about 200 who gathered under a tent near James Coney Island, at Richmond and Shepherd, to hear his announcement. "Today I am asking Metro to adopt a resolution...

Eight people were taken to hospitals Friday after a pickup and MetroRail train collided in Midtown. It was the 121st accident since light-rail operations began in late 2003 and the 54th in 2005. *** Roberts said the train was northbound on Main and had received a "vertical bar" signal to proceed into the intersection at Elgin when it and the eastbound pickup collided about 12:30 p.m *** The middle portion of the three-section train was knocked off the track

Undaunted by bad publicity, Metro light-rail trains continue to barge recklessly into cars and pedestrians. Equally undaunted, some cars and pedestrians continue to barge into the trains. But just how many collisions have occurred? There is some dispute. Metro's count, as of August 4, is 99. In its world, Houston is waiting breathlessly for that historic 100th crash. For a lot of Metro-crash aficionados, though, that momentous entry into triple digits is old news. John Gaver, an IT guy who runs the conservative Webzine Action America, has kept an exacting eye on the number of Metro incidents, and he has...

A pickup driver was killed in downtown Houston late Tuesday when his vehicle was broadsided by a Metro light rail train, the first fatality on the rail line since it opened to the public in January 2004. The accident happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. on southbound Main at Jefferson. The driver, who was killed on impact, was believed to be a man in his 30s. He was the only person in the Dodge pickup truck, police said. Veda Flores was following the pickup truck when she said the driver drove through a red light and into the path of the...

Two people suffered minor injuries after a car ran a red light and collided with a MetroRail train Sunday in downtown Houston. The accident was the 61st involving a light rail train. The accident happened at about 4 p.m. at Main and Pierce. A northbound train collided with the car after the female driver failed to stop at a red light, said Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Chief Tom Lambert. The unidentified driver and two children, ages 5 and 9, were uninjured and declined medical treatment, said Metro spokesman Ken Connaughton. Lambert said the driver was cited for running a red...