Transport Infrastructure

Bipartisan funding agreement announced by U.S. legislators?Tuesday funds 2,500 air traffic control officers and $2.4 billion for U.S. passenger rail Amtrak while cutting funds for high-speed train and?electric vehicle charging? The funding agreement includes $514 millions to subsidize rural air services, also known as the Essential Air Service Program. This is in contrast to the White House's proposal to reduce the program by half. It also increases annual funding for modernizing air traffic control towers to $824 million. The budget bill includes $2 million for an independent study of the airspace around Washington, D.C. after a crash in January 2025...

The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Elliott 'Investment Management' has acquired a stake in a company called Stratolaunch. This hypersonic flight company has successfully tested a reusable hypersonic aircraft for the U.S. Military. The Journal reported that Elliott would also gain board representation at privately-held Stratolaunch and its investment is worth several hundreds of millions of dollars. The WSJ reported that the 'exact size' was unknown. Could not 'immediately confirm the WSJ report. Elliott and Stratolaunch didn't immediately respond to our request for comments. In May of last year, the Pentagon announced that Stratolaunch had been part of...

A committee of Israeli ministers approved on Sunday a law allowing shared ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft in Israel to operate in an effort to reduce taxi fares. The Transportation Ministry has proposed a reform that would allow "technology-based transport operators" to use models used successfully globally. However, this law still requires full approval from the Parliament. The Ministry noted that the Shared Transport Law, approved by the "Ministerial Committee for Legislation", would allow companies like Uber and Lyft to offer services via smart apps that connect private drivers and passengers. It was said that the move would...

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board sent Union Pacific's $85 billion merger proposal with Norfolk Southern back to be revised on Friday, saying that it was missing required information. This is part of an ongoing review by the U.S. The STB rejected the application in December, citing a lack of projections on market share and competition impacts. The board denied the application without prejudice and allowed the railroads to re-file once they addressed the deficiencies. Donald Trump publicly supported the merger proposal. The administration tends to 'approve large transactions or impose remedy rather than blocking them outright. A merger of this...

The U.S. president Donald Trump renamed a road near his private club in Palm Beach in Florida. This is the latest addition to the 'growing list' of programs, initiatives, and buildings that bear?his? name since he took office in January. The state legislature approved a new honorific name for a part of Southern Boulevard. This road connects Palm Beach International Airport with Mar-a-Lago - Trump's residence and private club. The president's motorcade frequently uses this road to travel between the airport, and Trump's property. Trump described himself as "tremendously honoured" by the recognition. He said: "I will remember this amazing...

Chicago O'Hare International Airport has been a major hub for air travel in the United States and is now at the forefront of a heated competition between United Airlines, American Airlines, and other airlines. What started as a 'post-pandemic rebuilding' of flight schedules – with United restoring its capacity faster and American ramping it up more recently – has now evolved into a competition over gates, routes and premium offerings, and even a battle for?marketshare at one of the most connected airports in the world. Analysts believe that the results could have long-term effects, since better gate access, and more...

The removal of Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela could be the start of a larger U.S. effort to realign Latin America in a geoeconomical sense, thus limiting Russia's and China's ability to use the Western Hemisphere as a pressure-point on global commodity markets. Central America may be the next domino in the fall. This region has a lot of shipping lanes, and is close to checkpoints. It's a great place for both licit and illegal commerce. The Panama Canal handles approximately 40% of U.S. containers and 5% of world trade. Other transit routes include the Caribbean Sea and ports on the...

Canadian National announced on Monday that it had filed a petition with the U.S. Surface?Transportation?Board that asks for the agency to order Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to reveal more details on?their merged proposal. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed a nearly 7,500-page merger request to the board of directors in December. This triggered a regulatory review for what would be the largest rail transaction in decades. The $85 billion agreement, announced in July, aims to speed up shipments by reducing delays and handoffs. It would also create the United States' first coast-to-coast railroad. The proposal has attracted Critics of...

According to a source familiar with the program, the Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing's biggest variant of the best-selling 737 MAX, the 'MAX 10', to move on to the second phase flight testing for the plane's much-delayed certification. Both the company and FAA declined comment. Boeing executives previously stated that they expected to complete certification for the MAX 7 & 10, the smallest & largest variants of this popular single-aisle aircraft, by the end of this year. Cirium, an aviation data analytics company, reports that the MAX 10 has over 1,200 orders in its backlog. Boeing has faced delays in...

On January 13, a U.S. House of Representatives 'committee' will hold a hearing to discuss legislation that aims to make it easier for autonomous vehicles without the need for human control. Congress has been split for years on whether or not to pass legislation to overcome deployment obstacles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not granting exemption requests by major automakers, but has maintained safety regulations. The current law allows NHTSA?to exempt up to 2,500 vehicles per automaker annually if the company can prove that it would be safe. The Teamsters union and consumer groups have expressed concern about...

Goldman Sachs dominated again the league tables of global dealmaking for 2025. It took the market share and top spot in an year that was marked by high stakes political dramas and ever-larger mergers. Goldman's No. 1 ranking was boosted by the rise of $10 billion deals, which totaled $1.5 trillion last year, or more than double the previous year. According to LSEG data, Goldman ranked No. 1 in the world. The firm was involved in 38 of these deals, more than any other investment bank. Total volume of advised deals was $1.48 trillion. This was the most active period...

Shipping data shows that Venezuela's main oil port on Tuesday became the fifth day without delivering crude to the state-run PDVSA customers in Asia – the OPEC country's major buyers – as the U.S. pressed the nation with an oil embargo. Chevron, the main joint venture partner of PDVSA, resumed Monday exports of Venezuelan crude oil to the U.S., after a four day pause. It also called its?workers overseas back to their Venezuela offices, as flights into?the country re-started. In recent weeks, the U.S. company has become 'the only firm fluidly exporting Venezuelan crude. In early January, a dozen vessels...

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said that electric air taxis developed Joby Aviation will begin commercial operations in Dubai before the end of this year. Joby Aviation's first fully electric air taxi test flight in the emirate was conducted in June 2025. This is a significant milestone in Dubai's efforts?to introduce them to its existing transport networks. The Joby Aerial taxi, developed by a Californian company, is the "flagship" electric vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft. It can travel up to 160 km (100 miles), at speeds of 320km/h (200mph). Joby’s air taxi has zero emissions and is...

According to Spanish police and Turkish Airlines, a false bomb threat received via an onboard mobile connection forced a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul on Thursday to land at Barcelona's El Prat Airport after making an emergency landing. Turkish Airlines spokesperson stated earlier that crew had detected that a passenger created an in-flight hotspot that was named with a?bomb warning as the aircraft approached?Barcelona. The Guardia civil?police force in Spain said that after a thorough examination of the aircraft, following the disembarkation of its passengers, the alert was deactivated. No explosives were found. Spanish airport operator AENA confirmed that El...

Kazakhstan called on Europe and the U.S. to secure oil transport after drone attacks on tankers headed to a Black Sea Terminal on the Russian coast that handles 1% of the global supply. Unidentified drones attacked at least two oil tankers in Tuesday's Black Sea, including a tanker chartered by U.S. major Chevron. They were sailing toward a terminal along the Russian coast that would load oil from Kazakhstan. In a press release, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said that three tankers had been hit on their way to the Black Sea marine terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Drones attacked CPC’s...

Three autonomous regions of Somalia with close ties to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have rejected a central government decision taken this week to "sever" ties with UAE, which has been a long-term sponsor. Somalia canceled all agreements with the UAE on Monday, including those in the security field. The country accused the Gulf of having undermined Somalia's sovereignty by 'training and funding' its army, and investing in its ports. Somalia has not provided any further information about its motives for this move. Mogadishu investigates allegations that the UAE escorted a separatist leader from Yemen to Somalia via Somalia. Separately...

Data from LSEG and market sources showed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports increased by almost 40% in December compared to November, reaching about 3,41 million metric tonnes. This was due to higher fuel production, and a'seasonal decline in domestic demand. Sources said that exports of ultra-low sulphur diesel via Primorsk - Russia's largest outlet for diesel shipments - grew 35% on a month-on-month basis to 1.7 millions tons as major suppliers increased output and supplies. Last month, diesel?and gasoline loadings at southern ports Tuapse?and Novorossiysk increased by?almost 60 percent compared to November. This was due to local refineries...

The Somalia government announced on Monday that it was 'annulling' all agreements with United Arab Emirates. This includes?port deals, defence and security collaboration, and'security and defence cooperation. It accused the UAE of undermining the national sovereignty. The Council of Ministers of Somalia said that the decision was based on "credible reports" and "convincing evidence" of hostile acts undermining the national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Somalia. In a press release, it was stated that the decision "applies?to?all agreements and partnerships relating?to the ports of Berbera?and Bosaso?and Kismayo... and] bilateral security and defense cooperation agreements." The?UAE foreign ministry didn't...

Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said that Russian drones attacked two foreign-flagged ships on Monday. This was the second attack on Black Sea shipping in four days. Kuleba stated that the vessels were flying the flags of Panama and San Marino. He also said one person was injured. He added that the San Marino flagged vessel had just been loaded with corn and was on its way to Panama to pick up vegetable oil. Kuleba posted on Telegram that "this is further proof that Russia is deliberately targeting civilian vessels, international commerce, and maritime security." Sources familiar with the...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These?stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. U.S. prosecutors have opened an investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for his testimony about the renovation of the building at the Federal Reserve Bank last summer. Allegiant Travel has reached a deal worth $1.1 billion to purchase Sun Country Airlines. This is despite the fact that budget airlines in the U.S. are facing stiff competition from their larger competitors. Walmart plans to expand drone deliveries to '150 more stores in the next year, with a...

Ukraine officials reported on Friday that Russia had attacked two civilian boats with drones, one of which was flying a foreign flag, in the southern Odesa area, killing a Syrian citizen and injuring a second. In the last two month, Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's sea export routes in retaliation to attacks on tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet", which were heading there to export oil. Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister, said in a press release that a ship was sailing along Ukraine's export route to pick up grain cargoes at the port Chornomorsk. The ship was flying the...

U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright stated that there is room to balance the roles of the United States and China in Venezuela, to allow for commerce. However, Washington will not let Beijing have a major influence over the Latin American nation. Wright said in an interview with Fox Business Network that he expects to?see Chevron rapidly grow its operations in Venezuela, while ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil will also be looking to play a positive role. "I think you'll see China playing a long-term role in Venezuela. The United States will control oil flow as long as the United States is...

The Gulf's major stock exchanges were mixed on Monday morning amid lower oil prices, as investors weighed geopolitical risk against concerns about a possible oversupply. Brent crude 'futures' fell 52 cents or 0.8% to $60.23 per barrel at 0801 GMT as global supplies were adequate, reducing concerns over supply disruptions following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. in an audacious raid on the weekend. Saudi Arabia's benchmark?index?dropped by 0.2%. This is a continuation of the 1.8% drop from the previous session. ?Oil giant Saudi Aramco slipped 0.6%. According to a Monday survey, the non-oil sector of...

Flights in Greece were grounded Sunday after a 'collapse of radio frequency crippled the air traffic communication. This left thousands of travellers stranded and brought airport operations to an end. The cause of the disruption was not clear. It began early on Sunday morning and rapidly escalated. The civil aviation authority of Greece said that some overflights in Greek and regional airspace are still being serviced. However, airport operations have been restricted for safety purposes. Dozens were affected. Panagiotis Psarros of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers told ERT that "for some reason, all frequencies were suddenly gone.. we...