Free Republic

The train Nevsky Express on the route Moscow-St. Petersburg will appear the first in Russia to have wireless Internet. It is planned that Wi-Fi technology will be available to passengers by the end of August.

Dexter air taxi starts flying to southern cities of Russia at the beginning of 2008. Particularly for this purpose Air Management Group (organizer of the air taxi project) buys several Swiss planes Pilatus PC-12.

The German company Siemens starts to produce high-speed trains Velaro Rus for exploitation in Russia. An official ceremony marking the beginning of the first train production is held in the city Krefeld, today, July 20.

Switzerland has opened the world's longest rail tunnel on land - the 34-kilometre (21-mile) Loetschberg tunnel under the Alps. It will cut the journey time between Germany and Italy by at least a third.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will join its counterpart agencies and federal officials across the nation during the next 2-1/2 days to check to be sure tractor trailer drivers are operating safely. Patrol trooper Betsy Randolph said troopers from the patrol's size and weights unit will stop and check trucks to make sure their equipment is operating correctly and that the vehicles are not overloaded. Troopers also will check drivers to make sure they are properly licensed and are properly maintaining log books showing the hours they have driven. The checks are scheduled to start at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and authorities...

Delta Air Lines is exiting bankruptcy and re-entering an increasingly competitive market in which its success depends on operating with a lean labor force and expanding its international flights. The newly restructured airline was under Chapter 11 protection for almost two years and cut 6,000 jobs and $3 billion in annual costs. On Wednesday, it received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent company. Delta, the nation's third-largest airline, estimates it will be worth $9.4 billion to $12 billion. More than 95 percent of creditors voted to endorse the plan for Delta to...

4/24/2007 - MOFFETT AIR FIELD, Calif. (AFNEWS) -- Air National Guardsmen here worked with an aircraft that was vastly different from the MC-130P Combat Shadow tankers, HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and other Air Force aircraft they are accustomed to. Airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing were deploying to Afghanistan and needed aircraft to transport HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters. Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have kept C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy aircraft extremely busy, and the high operations tempo of these aircraft led to the scheduling of contracted cargo airlift, said Senior Master Sgt. Anthony Przymus, the...

The number of people trying to use the metro has almost doubled Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has sacked four ministers, as polls suggest falling support for her government. The last few months have seen protests in the capital, Santiago, over the introduction of a new transport system. In a national TV address, Ms Bachelet said her government owed an apology to Santiago's residents, especially the poor, for the chaos they have faced. It is the second big cabinet reshuffle since she took office in 2006. The first one followed student protests. Increased strain Speaking on Monday evening, Ms Bachelet...

Germany’s Automobilewoche reports that with the change in Volkswagen’s top management is coming a change in strategy for hybrids. Martin Winterkorn, who formerly headed the company’s Audi AG unit, became CEO after Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned at the end of 2006. Pischetsrieder had brought in Wolfgang Bernhard from DaimlerChrysler to run the Volkswagen unit. Berhard has now left (as of today), and Winterkorn will personally oversee the VW brand for the time being. Now, rather than target a mild hybrid Jetta for sale into the California market in 2008 as described by Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen will focus first on a full hybrid...

Across the country, state highway officials are almost giddy about the prospects of selling the right to build toll roads to private investors. Financial wizards have learned how to amass gigantic pools of capital to pay the states for the privilege. Prestigious financial institutions are promoting the new method of financing infrastructure as the greatest development since sliced bread. Left out of the equation is the consumer – the poor working stiff who has paid exorbitant local, state and federal taxes on every gallon of gasoline he ever purchased so that highway officials would have the funds necessary to construct...

January 15, 2007 Now here’s an opportunity for a bright young lad. The Thrustpac pushes you along on the device of your choice, and can be used for motive power on skates, canoes and other water craft, scooters, wheelchairs, skis and bicycles and we’re sure there are lots of ways to use it. It comes in three different power specifications, from a 12 pound four-stroke pack offering 10 pounds of thrust through to a 20 pound (weight) pack offering 20 pounds of thrust from a two-stroke motor. Each ThrustPac is tailor-made for you, with prices starting at US$900 and running...

12/4/2006 - ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) -- Airmen from the 36th Medical Group and 734th Air Mobility Squadron played an integral role in treating and transporting six critically injured Sailors Dec. 2 from Andersen AFB to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The Sailors were transported via a C-17 Globemaster III to Hickam AFB, then onto the Army's Burn Center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where they will receive specialized care. The Sailors sustained injuries as a result of an accident aboard a Navy submarine tender, according to a Naval Base Guam press release. The Sailors...

10/10/2006 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- Normally they move people, humanitarian supplies, troop rations and equipment, but Airmen with the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron's Detachment 1 here were tasked Oct. 7 to move different equipment -- several 30-foot, 100,000 pound Canadian tanks. The C-17 Globemaster III "Spirit of McChord" and its crew made two trips to Kandahar AB, Afghanistan, in one day to transport the equipment for Canadian ground forces supporting the NATO mission. Col. Michael McLean, Canadian Defense Attaché, said the Leopard tanks will support Canadian troops by providing greater mobility on the ground and more flexible...

Air passengers travelling from European Union countries are to be restricted on how much liquid they can take on board. The European Commission has proposed limiting liquids to 100ml containers which must fit into a transparent, re-sealable plastic bag. The rules are likely to be agreed next week and adopted in November. Earlier, the Department for Transport said a hand-luggage liquids ban will remain on UK flights to the US despite the Americans easing restrictions. The US has announced liquids bought from secure airport sites would now be allowed on planes. But the DfT said liquids would still not be...

An Iraqi Soldier raises the national flag during a pass and review ceremony held yesterday at Camp Taji. The Iraqi Army's 6th Motor Transport Regiment conducted a transfer of authority ceremony that released control by the 4th Sustainment Brigade. Story and photo by Sgt. Trevor Snyder 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi Army 6th Motor Transport Regiment took control of its own operations in a ceremony July 3 at Camp Taji, a sprawling joint Iraqi-Coalition facility just a few miles north of Baghdad. The regiment has been working closely with the 4th Sustainment Brigade since October 2005....

7/19/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Three Air Force MH-53 Pave Low helicopters are part of the forces helping transport American citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus. The aircraft, from the 352nd Special Operations Group at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, are operating out of Akrotiri, Cyprus. They have been doing this for several days, U.S. European Command spokesperson Maj. Pam Cook said. The helicopters were in the region when tasked to provide support to the ongoing movement of Americans, the major said. The Airmen join other U.S. military forces also helping in the operation. Other U.S. military units involved are...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will christen the newest San Antonio-class Amphibious Transport Docking ship Green Bay at 10 a.m. CDT July 15, during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems – Avondale Operations, Avondale, La. The ship is named Green Bay to honor the nation's Midwest "city by the bay." The city of about 100,000 residents was founded in 1634 by French explorer, Jean Nicolet, and is the oldest community in Wisconsin. Rose Magnus, wife of the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Magnus, is serving as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will...

CHARLOTTE, VT. — Dave Matthews Band announced today that it has arranged for NativeEnergy and Clean Air-Cool Planet to offset 100 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from all of its touring activities since 1991. By offsetting the CO2 pollution that touring activities, such as transporting gear, powering stages and air travel generate, Dave Matthews Band is taking a proactive role in fighting global warming and helping Native America begin to restore sustainable homeland economies in balance with the Earth. This announcement comes at the beginning of Dave Matthews Band 2006 summer tour, which kicked off on May 30th...

50 years ago President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the 1956 National Federal-Aid Highway Act and since 1990 referred to as the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways. He authorized the connectivity of 41, 000 miles of high quality highways across the United States. It would be financed by a combination of the Highway Trust Fund, federally imposed user fees on motor fuels and state user fees. Eisenhower was prompted to persuade the nation’s people to build the interstate highway system, as a matter of national security. Although not at war at the time, he believed...

Britain was named yesterday as one of 14 European nations that allegedly helped the Central Intelligence Agency abduct and secretly transport terrorist suspects to countries where they faced torture.The accusations came in a report by a former Swiss prosecutor for the Council of Europe, which monitors human rights in 46 European nations. Tony Blair denied the collusion allegations and said the report, by the Swiss senator Dick Marty, contained no fresh evidence. Mr Blair told MPs during Prime Minister's Questions: "I have to say the Council of Europe report has absolutely nothing new in it." In Washington, a spokesman for...