Rail infrastructure is a critical component of a transportation network capable of helping the United States compete in global markets. Efforts to expand and modernize U.S. rail, particularly to include high-speed trains, are under debate as lawmakers weigh costs and benefits.

Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, argues that the Costa Concordia disaster was a classic case of poor leadership.

Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, says the U.S. Coast Guard can help ensure that disasters like the Costa Concordia accident do not happen again.

Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, argues that cruise ship disasters should not be happening in the 21st century, and the the U.S. Coast Guard can help ensure they don't.

Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, says the Costa Concordia disaster provides an opportunity for a thorough reexamination of international safety regulations for passenger vessels.

Will Oremus discusses the failure of the U.S. high-speed rail system to materialize, despite Obama's commitment in 2010 to spend $8 billion in fiscal stimulus on transportation infrastructure.

Rob Quartel, chairman and CEO of NTELX, discusses the need for investment in U.S. infrastructure with CFR's James M. Lindsay. "We really have to focus on alternative means for paying for infrastructure," argues Quartel.

Iceland's volcanic disruption poses long-term problems for European airlines, says European economist Jacob Kirkegaard, and it could also depress the EU's overall GDP this quarter because of curtailed business travel.

The Obama administration has initiated sweeping reviews of homeland security policies set up after 9/11. But any plans for far-reaching changes to the apparatus that oversees domestic security could face congressional pushback.

The golden age of globalization is over due to slower, costlier, and less certain transportation. In retrospect, Americans may lament too little globalization, not too much.

The World Bank Group's Transport Business Strategy for 2008-2012.

Scott Borgerson writes that “coastal shipping has the potential to strengthen the resilience of America's transportation system – an important national security objective.”

National Strategy

The first commercial flight of the world’s largest passenger jet previews a showdown for control of global aerospace manufacturing.

Bruce Riedel, a longtime CIA specialist in South Asia, says India’s decision to put a nuclear pact with Washington in “cold storage” is only a “hiccup on the road towards a stronger U.S.-India partnership.”

Labor disputes threaten to undermine a decades-long effort to make the Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s largest railroad, more efficient and less dependent on the state.

An “open skies” agreement between Europe and America could shake up the airline industry and usher in a wave of mergers.

Testimony

Carl Prine, an investigative reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, says his recent report on rail security discovered glaring vulnerabilities that potentially endanger thousands of lives on a daily basis.