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Rail transportation in the United States

Mobutu Sese Seko

Researchers have identified the key to a successful dictatorship

Global Scan

It’s not easy to be dictator, what with the threat of coups and all. Now US and Canadian researchers are helping with a sort of Dummies’ guide to dictatorship. Meanwhile, Russians are hearing that the Malaysia Airlines tragedy is a Western plot. And Iran has decided to boost its population by banning vasectomies. All that and more, in today’s Global Scan.It’s not easy to be dictator, what with the threat of coups and all. Now US and Canadian researchers are helping with a sort of Dummies’ guide to dictatorship. Meanwhile, Russians are hearing that the Malaysia Airlines tragedy is a Western plot. And Iran has decided to boost its population by banning vasectomies. All that and more, in today’s Global Scan.

BNSF train on trestle

Ex-employees claim a major US freight railroad company has ignored key safety checks

Environment
BNSF train on trestle

Ex-employees claim a major US freight railroad company has ignored key safety checks

Environment

Landslides more prevalent in Pacific Northwest as climate change indicates rain increase

Environment

Amtrak enjoying record ridership across system

Global Politics

Boston’s mass transit system burdened by debt and increased ridership

Global Politics

A flawed highway construction project has put the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority nearly $9 billion in debt. The costly project forced MBTA officials to answer two fundamental questions about their 100-year-old system: Who benefits from it and ultimately, who should pay for it?

The World

Full Steam Ahead for Amtrak

Amtrak’s ridership is up and subsidies from the government are down. Yet many in Congress and Presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, are calling to end federal funding for the national passenger rail system.

Unemployed Vermonter Speaks of Little Hope

Coming up, The Takeaway checks in with Alexander Jarrin…after a long bout of unemployment, she tells us about her new job and her prospects for getting a better one.

The Living on Earth Almanac

This week, facts about… the joining of the Central and Union Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit, Utah, 129 years ago. Will new high speed trains rekindle America’s romance with railroads?

The World

Amtrak on the Line

The pressure to cut federal subsidies may put some Amtrak passenger train service on the chopping block. The rail line seems like an easy hit, until the subsidies and hidden costs of auto travel are factored in. How does the equation look then? From Boston, Dan Grossman adds it all up.