Rail on CrossGov.com

Surface Transportation Board Puts Union Pacific's $85 Billion Norfolk Southern Takeover Through Its First Test Under the 2001 Merger Rules

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that regulates freight railroads, is reviewing Union Pacific’s $85 billion takeover of Norfolk Southern. Its final decision is due by August 28, 2027.

The deal would join Union Pacific, one of the two big railroads in the West, with Norfolk Southern, one of the two in the East, and create the first single-company transcontinental railroad in the US: more than 50,000 route miles in 43 states. Shareholders of both companies approved it in November 2025 by more than 99%. The board now has to decide whether it’s in the public interest, and it’s using a standard no railroad merger has faced before.

Transit Fiscal Cliffs: Bay Area Votes on November 3 as the Federal Stopgap Cuts Transit Funding About 20%

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On November 3 voters in five Bay Area counties decide on a sales tax to keep BART, Muni, AC Transit and Caltrain running. It would add half a cent in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and a cent in San Francisco for 14 years, raising about $980 million a year against a combined operating deficit of more than $800 million a year. A poll found 54% support.

California High-Speed Rail Loses Its Federal Grants as Britain's HS2 Resets at Up to £102.7 Billion

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On July 16, 2025, the Federal Railroad Administration terminated about $4 billion in grants to California’s high-speed rail project. The Transportation Department put its projected total cost at $135 billion, with about $15 billion spent over 16 years. California is now laying track in the Central Valley with no federal money at all.

Britain’s HS2 tells the same story at a different scale. On May 19, 2026, Britain’s Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, gave Parliament the new price of HS2. The line from London to Birmingham will cost between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion. In 2019 prices, the estimate is now £70.9 to £82.2 billion, against £35 to £45 billion before. The first trains, between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street, are expected between May 2036 and October 2039. The full route into Euston follows between 2040 and 2043.

Second Avenue Subway vs Madrid Metro: Why New York Pays Over Ten Times the Global Average per Mile

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In June 2026 New York broke ground on the main construction stage of Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. It’s 1.8 miles of tunnel from 96th Street to 125th Street, with three new stations. The construction budget is about $6.9 billion, and the full cost with financing is about $7.7 billion. That works out at more than $4 billion a mile. The tunnel boring machine starts at 120th Street in early 2027, and trains are due in 2032.