• ‘Bout time! Alabama’s Regional Planning Commission announced that they have the funding to start a feasibility study for HSR between Birmingham and Atlanta. (NBC)
• Will Central Texas build its own, privately-run HSR system? (Kvue.com)
• California State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, chairman of the transportation committee, is calling for leadership changes in current HSR authority to prevent conflicts of interest. (LA Times)
• More China, more HSR: Tickets just went on sale for the new HSR service linking Shanghai and Nanjing. The line will run about 120 shuttles are scheduled everyday, and the full trip takes around 73 minutes. (xinhuanet.com)
• Selling HSR rights to raise cash? Why not? The U.K. government announced this week that it plans to put up for sale the rights to operate the country’s first HSR line, as part of the country’s desperate attempts to fill their gaping budget deficit. (WSJ)
• And finally, magnetic levitation (aka Maglev) may not be the boon to HSR that it was once purported to be, but it may have a practical use: Scientists have discovered that the technology can be used to take important food measurements, like whether water is too salty to drink and how much fat is really in lowfat milk. (NPR)
• Gallup-Healthways’ Well-Being Index, which ranks metro areas according to poll responses about physical and emotional health, work environment, and life evaluation, packs a few surprises. Florida has three cities in the bottom ten! (
• Car-sharing went up a staggering 117% between 2007 and 2009. According to analysts, a person who drives 12,000 miles a year can save $1,834 annually by forsaking his or her own vehicle and shifting to a car-sharing service. (
