Railroads

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Dulles International Airport is considering closing one of its runways during President Obama’s inauguration to make room for private jets.

A Polish airline is considering asking Boeing for compensation for problems with its 787 “Dreamliner” airplanes.

Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail have made their partnership for buying high-speed rail equipment official.

A man was arrested for running across the runway at San Diego International Airport.

The House lawmaker responsible for railway oversight promised to put the brakes on a high-speed railway in his state. 

Amtrak and the panel that is overseeing the development of proposed high-speed rail cars will work together to purchase equipment to run faster trains, the organizations will announce on Thursday.

The announcement will be made by Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman and California High-Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station. The duo will be joined by California HSRA CEO Jeff Morales and Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari.

The partnership follows an announcement Wednesday that vocal California opponent Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) will be chairman of the House Transportation Committee's Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials subcommittee. Denham has sought previously to deny federal funding for the proposed California high-speed railway.

Amtrak's inspector general said the company failed to exercise "due diligence" to control substance abuse by employees.

Amtrak is promising to make major improvements to its infrastructure and development of high-speed rail programs in the Northeast United States in 2013.

The announcement comes after a year in which Republicans in the House sought repeatedly to deny the national passenger rail service funding from the federal government that it has received since its inception in 1971.

Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman said Thursday that his company was pushing ahead with its upgrade plans, despite the GOP's attacks.

"Amtrak continues to advance and invest in projects that provide both near-term benefits and long-term improvements for the effective delivery and reliability of intercity passenger rail service," Boardman said in a statement.

House Republicans have set a Friday deadline for members to submit amendments to a Sandy relief package that includes $17 billion in emergency appropriations, and an amendment adding another $33.7 billion in relief for longer-term recovery efforts in the northeast.

The deadline sets up the potential for members to propose language to increase or reduce the size of the package, or perhaps offset parts of it with spending cuts. But as of Tuesday, no amendments to the package were listed on the Rules Committee website.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A man accused of plotting to blow up a New York City subway train has pleaded not guilty.

Salt Lake City International Airport had the most "on-time" flights in America in 2012.

Chrysler is adding apps to its cars' onboard "infotainment" system.

A freight train in Texas collided with a truck carrying a Rolls-Royce.

Amid pressure from House Republicans to reorganize its managerial structure to be more efficient, Amtrak said Thursday that it has hired new Chief Safety and Business Operations officers.

The new officials will be Robin McDonough, who will be business chief, and Magdy El-Sibaie, who will be at the helm of Amtrak's safety operations.

The company said the new officers would report to its vice president of Operations, DJ Stadtler. 

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Analysts are debating whether Avis's acquisition of ZipCar is good or bad for fans of the car-sharing service.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) defended his state's transit authority's handling of rail-car storage as he lambasted lawmakers for delaying approval of a relief package for Hurricane Sandy damage.  

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it found 1,500 guns during its checks of airline passengers in 2012.

A US Airways airplane was clipped by a Spirit Airlines plane at Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport. 

Amid pressure from House Republicans to generate more revenue, Amtrak announced on Friday the appointment of a new marketing director.

The national passenger rail service, which has said it has set ridership record in recent months, tapped Matt Hardison to be its chief marketing and sales officer. Prior to the appointment, Hardison had been Amtrak's chief of sales distribution and customer service.

Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman said Hardison would "provide the necessary leadership and continuous improvement of our business processes as we carry out the vision set forth in our Strategic Plan."