Using NASA-Patented technology, designer Francesco Codicè has designed a new concept for purifying air on trains.

Trains provide a greener alternative to transportation than driving or flying, but US trains could definitely use a design update. Codicè’s AirTrain is a modern and elegant solution to the often stuffy and stale air of the indoors. AirTrain purifies air with live plants and recycled rain water. (more…)

This is a big day for the Department of Transportation, for the Obama Administration, and for the American people.  We are bringing President Obama's vision of American high-speed rail one step closer to reality with $2.02 billion in targeted investments.

And I am thrilled.

(more…)

Going forward, how do localities move forward in the 21st Century? While a lot of metro areas depend largely on the traditional mode of transportation–cars to get to and from their destinations. However, what separates traditional metro areas from those of the 21st Century is one of commitment to green and alternative transportation. While some metro (more…)

Since the Department of Transportation announced the availability of an additional $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects last month, governors and members of Congress from both major parties have been clamoring for the opportunity to participate.

As of our Monday deadline, we received (more…)

In recent months, several conservative governors have rejected federal funds to begin constructing high-speed rail lines in their states. But a high-speed rail advocate argues that such ideologically driven actions are folly, as other U.S. states and countries around the world are moving swiftly to embrace a technology that is essential for competitive 21st-century economies. (more…)

Japan has long been at the forefront of high speed rail development since they laid down the first tracks for the Shinkansen system back in the 1960s. Since then, the bullet trains in Japan have grown into the busiest high speed rail line in the world and serve as the example for what high speed rail can become in other countries. Now, with the bullet train technology getting up (more…)

Take a look at any one of the concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in the U.S. and elsewhere, and you can see that – while CSP is undeniably the most efficient form of solar energy—the land needed (5 to 10 acres per megawatt) is considerable.

At least, it used to be. Now, a company (more…)

Imagine the last time you took a trip between two American cities.  Maybe you had to wait in line at a crowded airport; maybe you spent hours in traffic in a car or a bus.  Or maybe you made the trip on a train that had to slow down over and over because it was running on outdated tracks.

Now think about the fact that over the next (more…)

The ecomagination team at GE is pushing renewable energy limits with heat capture and hybrid dynamic braking on trains.

The energy that’s generated when stopping a train is quite substantial and GE’s ecomagination team is discovering ways to capture that energy. In a conventional train engine, that energy is (more…)

A new study identifies the high-speed rail corridors in the U.S. with the greatest potential to attract ridership in the nation’s so-called “megaregions.” The study by the group America 2050 scores 7,870 potential rail corridors using 12 critical factors, including population, employment concentrations, rail transit accessibility, and air travel markets. (more…)