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Matt Silber and Karen Christensen catch up on this Train Time talk, ranging around the region, in the way they’d be doing if there was a pub by the station. The “happy hour” kicks off with an article in the New York Times about a slowdown in the release of federal grants for public transit (gift link below). It also included news about an MTA project done under budget and ahead of schedule—an example of using new methods and technology to do things better. Karen and Matt get into legacy systems and legacy thinking, and how hard it is to get state Departments of Transportation to talk to each other. Other topics include Project 2025’s bizarre criticism of rail infrastructure, the potential for battery-powered trains, and how much we can learn from other countries about building better and faster.

“Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It.” [New York Times gift link]

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