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China CNR Corp. Ltd. will recall 54 high-speed trains used on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line over safety concerns, the company said in a statement Friday. The Shanghai-listed train maker said in a statement at the website of Shanghai Stock Exchange that it had asked the Ministry of Railways for approval of recalling its 54 high-speed CRH380BL trains. Previously, the Beijing-based company has decided to suspend delivery of CRH380BL trains which the company said have defects in the automatic protection system. The trains were assembled in the company's subsidiary, Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd., in northeast China's Jilin Province. Friday's...

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...

A routine morning Metrorail ride turned into a frightening experience for one man on Friday, who said the train doors closed right on his neck while he was trying to exit the train. “I was in shock,“ said passenger Oscar Lujan. “I [was] wondering, ‘Is this actually happening?‘“ Lujan was getting off the train at the New York Avenue station around 8 a.m. when got trapped between the doors. He said the doors closed so fast that he felt he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way. After that, he feared the train would take off while...

Like the gleam on the tracks from an oncoming locomotive, high-speed rail transportation in the United States may be finally coming into sight. Before the end of the decade, rail backers promise, Americans will be traveling on bullet trains, the way Europeans and Asians have been doing for half a century. At speeds of up to 220 mph, high-speed rail will make it possible to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours, or half the time it takes to drive. Tampa to Orlando will take less than an hour, or 35 percent faster than by...

Mayor Annise Parker will begin a whirlwind tour of Washington today in which she will try to persuade a skeptical Obama administration not to shelve the Constellation space program, as well as shore up relationships between the city and federal transportation officials. Parker is scheduled to meet with senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and members of the local congressional delegation in a two-day blitz. Shortly after she was elected, the administration had invited her to “open dialogue” on certain key issues in Washington, and today's...

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...

The Obama administration's enthusiasm for high-speed rail is a dispiriting example of government's inability to learn from past mistakes. Since 1971, the federal government has poured almost $35 billion in subsidies into Amtrak with few public benefits. At most, we've gotten negligible reductions -- invisible and statistically insignificant -- in congestion, oil use or greenhouse gases. What's mainly being provided is subsidized transportation for a small sliver of the population. In a country where 140 million people go to work every day, Amtrak has 78,000 daily passengers. A typical trip is subsidized by about $50. Given this, you'd think even...

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives to make remarks on a proposed high-speed rail system in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, April 16, 2009. President Obama outlined his plan for developing "long overdue" high-speed rail on Thursday that would rival air travel, create jobs and help curb the U.S. transportation system's appetite for oil. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to audience members after delivering remarks on a proposed high-speed rail system in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, April 16, 2009. Vice President Joe Biden reacts to the audience after making remarks, with President Barack Obama, on expanding...

Houston Mayor Bill White used a Web video to announce his plan to run for U.S. Senate today.... He cites turbulent economic times, a rising federal deficit and high unemployment rates in the video, saying "this may be an opportunity for our nation to do things it has only dreamed of before..." White previously worked as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy under President Clinton and as chief executive of the Wedge Group, a Houston-based holding company with interests in oil-field services, engineering and real estate. In comments today, he also highlighted signature domestic issues such as health...

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...

March 21, 2006, 2:37PM Richmond rail plan draws a crowd Most of the 500 at town hall talk oppose Metro idea By RAD SALLEE Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle More than 500 people attended a town hall meeting Monday night on the controversial choice of a route for the Metropolitan Transit Authority's next light rail line, most opposing plans to build on Richmond Avenue. Those who spoke at the meeting, at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer, were each given one minute to talk, and most said they favored a line on nearby Westpark. Some, like Christina Campbell, said construction...

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...

RIDING THE RAIL Late-night rail service's fate riding on Metro evaluation Low ridership could spell end to 'last call' trains By LUCAS WALL Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Late-night bar patrons downtown might be running out of time to use the train as their designated driver. Metro is reviewing whether to continue late rail service on Friday and Saturday nights. The extended weekend hours began in June at the request of city officials and downtown businesses who hoped the availability of the rail ride might lure more customers. It hasn't happened. "Ridership has been disappointing, but Metro leadership is now working...

Headline on paper front page online. Controversial Metro Rail hits Prison bus. More details to follow.

ChronicallyBiased.com has learned of an apparent new Houston Chronicle policy regarding light rail's notorious accident rate. The Chronicle will no provide coverage of many Metrorail collisions. News of the policy appears in an message by the Chronicle's Lucas Wall on Wednesday: From: Wall, Lucas; XXXX@XXXXX Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 3:46 pm Subject: MetroRail Crash NumbersI’m not going to continue this debate. But FYI, the Chronicle is no longer reporting every light rail collision in the paper. This decision has to do with space constraints and the fact we do not report on every fender bender car crash. But we...

Stranded riders complain of lack of communication A MetroRail train struck a pedestrian downtown Thursday evening, sending him to the hospital with serious injuries and stranding hundreds of commuters trying to get home from work. Witnesses said the man appeared to be intoxicated as he crossed Main between Rusk and Walker, stepped onto the landscaped esplanade in the center of the street and then into the path of the northbound train about 5:15 p.m. The man, whose name and age were not available Thursday night, was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he was listed in serious condition. The man...

India's railway minister has come up with a novel excuse for the appalling safety record of the world's largest railway network - he blames it on Vishwakarma, the Hindu god of machines. Passengers travel on a crowded train in Calcutta "Indian Railways are the responsibility of Lord Vishwakarma," said Laloo Prasad Yadav. "So is the safety of passengers. It is his duty [to ensure safety], not mine." India's 67,000-mile rail network, on which 1.4 million people are employed, suffers from decades of chronic under-investment. Accidents - on average there are 300 every year - are a permanent hazard for the...

David Wolff, chairman and president of the commercial development firm Wolff Cos., recently took over as chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's board of directors. Mayor Bill White tapped Wolff to oversee transit policy and the Metro Solutions expansion plan, which voters narrowly approved in November. Wolff sat down recently in his Galleria-area office with transportation reporter Lucas Wall. Question: Metro has a lot of opponents in the community -- 48 percent of voters cast their ballots against the expansion plan. What can you do to improve the agency's image and promote the benefits of mass transit? Answer: It's unfortunate...