Transport Infrastructure

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Monday that the unions have backed down from their threat to strike at Long Island Rail Road later this week, which serves more than 300,000 daily passengers. At a press event, a group of unions announced that they had requested President Donald Trump appoint a board to act as a mediator after threatening to strike the commuter railroad in New York. This action does not mean that a strike will never happen. Gil Lang, the general chairman of BLET's LIRR Engineers, said that it is unlikely to happen in the near future....

Union Pacific Corp CEO Jim Vena and U.S. president Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday to discuss the railroad’s proposed $85billion buyout of Norfolk Southern Corp, according to the company. The company is seeking regulatory approval for the largest U.S. railway merger in decades. The announcement in July of a merger between two major U.S. railroad operators shocked a market that was already very concentrated. Under the Biden administration's aggressive antitrust policies, such a proposal was unthinkable. The White House didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Trump's backing could speed up the review process in...

Union Pacific Corp CEO Jim Vena and U.S. president Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday to discuss the railroad’s proposed $85billion buyout of Norfolk Southern Corp, according to the company. The company is seeking regulatory approval for the largest U.S. railway merger in decades. The announcement in July of a merger between two major U.S. railroad operators shocked a market that was already very concentrated. Under the Biden administration's aggressive antitrust policies, such a proposal was unthinkable. The White House didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Trump's backing could speed up the review process in...

Via Transportation, a transit technology company, was valued at $3.5 Billion on Friday following its shares' 4.4% decline in their NYSE debut. The stock opened at $44, which is below the $46 offered price. Shareholders can be sold via the internet Sell 493 Million Dollars to raise $493 Million 10,7 millions shares priced above the range of $40-$44. Investors are reviving the U.S. IPO Market as easing tensions in trade and expectations of lower interest rates have boosted investor appetite. This has led to the busiest U.S. IPO week since 2021. Via, unlike traditional ride-hailing services, works in conjunction with...

Union Pacific Corp CEO Jim Vena and U.S. president Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday to discuss the railroad’s proposed $85 Billion buyout of Norfolk Southern Corp. The company is awaiting regulatory approval as it waits for what could become the U.S. rail freight industry's largest consolidation in decades. White House support may accelerate the lengthy review despite opposition from competitors and concerns from shippers about reduced competition. The White House didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. If approved, the merger could transform the U.S. rail freight industry, creating the first coast to coast single-line...

Federal Aviation Administration proposed a fine of $3.1 million against Boeing on Friday for a number of safety violations. These included actions related to the mid-air Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 emergency in January 2024, as well as for interfering with the independence and integrity safety officials. The FAA found hundreds quality system violations in the Boeing 737 factories in Renton, Washington and Wichita Kansas, as well as Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing subcontractor. Boeing also failed to comply with the rules of its quality system and presented two aircraft that were not airworthy to the FAA in order to obtain...

Rivian will recall 24,214 R1S or R1T electric cars due to a defect in software that could cause the hands-free Highway Assist to incorrectly identify lead vehicles. This was announced by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday. NHTSA says that the problem affects 2025 Rivian cars in the United States running an older version of software. The NHTSA said that Rivian had released a software update over the air to correct the problem. A 2025 R1S vehicle was involved in an accident where the system classified the vehicle as a low speed vehicle. The driver did not...

About 300 South Korean workers were released on Friday after being held for a week in an extensive U.S. Immigration raid in Georgia at a site of a battery-project. Officials, including the chief of staff to the president, cheered as workers wearing masks disembarked a chartered flight at Incheon Airport. Seoul had been in intense negotiations for a week to secure their release and return them after they were arrested in handcuffs. This shocked many South Koreans, who are a close ally of the United States. South Korean companies have struggled for years to obtain the proper visas needed for...

Via Transportation, a transit technology company and a few existing investors, raised $492.9 in an initial public offering in the United States on Thursday. This is the latest addition to a September rebound of IPO activity. Via, a New York-based firm, sold 10.7 million shares for $46 each. This was above the $40 to $44 range that it had advertised. Via's valuation is $3.65 billion. The U.S. IPO Market has recovered in the fall window of 2025. This is due to an ebullient market, rising expectations of rate reductions, and the strong debuts of several big names. Investor anxiety about...

According to Senate records, President Donald Trump has nominated an American Airlines captain and safety official for the National Transportation Safety Board. John DeLeeuw is the managing director for safety and efficiency at American Airlines, and a Boeing 777 captain. He has been appointed to replace Alvin Brown, a former appointee from the Biden administration, who was fired by the White House last May. The NTSB is responsible for investigating all major highway, rail, marine, and aviation accidents. The NTSB determines the probable causes of accidents and provides safety recommendations. If confirmed, John will be a great addition to the...

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena stated on Wednesday that he is confident the railroad operator will receive approval for a merger from the U.S. government over its deal to acquire Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific announced in July that it would acquire the smaller competitor for $85 billion, including cash and stock. If approved, this acquisition would make the United States' first coast-tocoast freight rail operator. Vena, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Conference in New York, said that he had met with high-ranking officials of the government who called the deal "a win for the country". Do I think that we...

The first public deployment of the partnership will be launched by ride-hailing app Lyft, and the autonomous vehicle startup, May Mobility, in Atlanta on Wednesday. Customers can hail Toyota Sienna vans retrofitted with May Mobility's May Mobility app on routes around Midtown Atlanta for fares that are comparable to normal rides. Companies will begin with a small fleet and have trained operators in the vehicles to answer any questions or take over if necessary. The rollout highlights Lyft’s efforts to integrate autonomous rides into its app via partners, including Baidu in Europe, and Mobileye. This is even as robotaxi companies...

U.S. president Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he was willing to impose new energy sanctions against Russia, provided all NATO countries stopped purchasing Russian oil. The U.S., and the European Union, import Russian energy and commodities worth billions of Euros, from liquefied gas to enriched Uranium. The main commercial ties between the EU and U.S. with Russia and their evolution in the last four-years are listed below: EU TRADE WITH RUSSIA According to Eurostat's latest data, the EU has placed various import and export restrictions upon several products. This resulted in a 61% drop in exports to Russia, and...

The differentials between dated Brent and Urals crude were unchanged Thursday, amid quiet trading. Market participants are expecting Washington to increase pressure on India to stop purchasing the Russian grade. The nominee of Donald Trump for Ambassador to India, said that Washington and New Delhi are "not that different" in tariffs. He also said that Trump has been very clear about India's need to stop buying Russian crude oil. India is the biggest buyer of Russian Urals crude oil seaborne cargoes. OPEC data released on Thursday showed that Russian oil production rose in August by 50,000 barrels per day to...

The Russian authorities announced on Thursday that they had reopened Krasnodar's main airport, which is one of the biggest cities in southern Russia. Flights were suspended in 2022 for security reasons after the beginning of the Ukraine war. The transport ministry stated that it had solved outstanding security issues. It said the reopening would help local businesses and residents, and provide access to resorts on the Black Sea and Azov Sea coastline. Rosaviatsiya (the aviation watchdog) said that Krasnodar Airport, which had been completely overhauled, would receive its first flight regularly from Moscow when an Aeroflot plane is due to...

Two traders with knowledge of the situation said that the crude oil loadings at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC's) marine terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, near Novorossiisk, have remained steady so far this month at 1.6 million barrels a day, according to a preliminary export schedule. The revised CPC Blend loading plan for September has not changed from the provisional schedule as the expected disruptions to exports due to an oil spill at the mooring port did not occur. CPC suspended its operations on August 29 due to an accident that occurred during a loading process and a spill of oil...

Two industry sources say that Russia will cut crude oil exports to its western ports, Primorsk Ust-Luga, and Novorossiisk, to 1.9 million barrels per day in September, down from 2.0 million barrels per day in August, as refinery runs increase in the country. Calculations showed that daily shipments of Urals, KEBCO, and Siberian Light grades will fall by approximately 6% from month to month. As a result of the completion of maintenance work at several Russian refineries, expected in late August or early September, domestic processing is expected to increase and crude exports to decrease. Sources said that delays in...

Two industry sources said that the Ust-Luga oil terminal in Russia will only be able to export 350,000 barrels of oil per day, which is about half its normal capacity, due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones on pipeline infrastructure. This disruption shows that recent Ukrainian attacks on key energy facilities have caused Russian exports to be affected and could lead to supply disruptions. Drone strikes in Russia's Bryansk Region earlier in August caused problems at the Unecha pumping stations. Unecha is an important transit point for crude oil heading to Ust-Luga. The Druzhba Pipeline, which supplies Belarus to Slovakia...

Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Russia revised its crude oil export plans from western ports in August by 200,000 barrels a day (bpd). This was due to the fact that Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted the refinery operations, allowing more crude to be shipped. Due to the ongoing strikes and changing repair schedules, delays and volume revisions may be expected, they stated. "Attacks continue and repair deadlines vary daily." One person stated that it is unclear how much Russia will be able to load in this month or the next. The final plans for loading Russian oil...

The differential between Brent and Urals oil remained stable on Tuesday. Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would raise the tariffs on Indian imports in response to the country's purchase of Russian oil. Trump's threats to India regarding its purchases of Russian crude oil began on July 31 when he announced 25% tariffs for Indian goods along with an unknown penalty. Trump announced on Tuesday that he will increase the tariffs on Indian imports by "substantially" in the next 24 hour, due to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. India is the biggest importer of Urals oil....

Azeri BTC Crude Oil arriving at BTC Ceyhan Terminal in Turkey has returned to its normal specifications, a BP spokeswoman said on Thursday. Last week, it was discovered that Azeri BTC crude cargoes contained organic chloride. This caused the price differentials between them to reach a record low of four years and caused several days delay in loading, partly due to extra testing each cargo underwent. The BP spokesperson stated that oil loadings are still being done from Ceyhan tanks containing oil of the right specification, while BP works with Azerbaijan’s Socar in order to manage oil of the wrong...

The manager of the vessel in Greece that sank earlier this month after it was attacked by Houthi militants near Yemen expressed his relief after watching a video which showed 11 crew members still alive. The Houthis, allied with Iran, released the six-minute video on Monday. They claimed to have rescued seafarers aboard the Eternity C cargo vessel flying the Liberian flag. The Athens based ship management company issued a statement saying that efforts are being made to ensure "safe and rapid return of the sailors to their families". The company said that it was "deeply relieved" to see the...

Houthis, who are Iran-aligned and live in Yemen, said on Monday that they had rescued ten seafarers off the Greek cargo ship EternityC which they had attacked and sunk earlier this month in the Red Sea. Eternity C, flying the Liberian flag, was the second vessel to sink in Yemen this month following repeated attacks from Houthi militants using sea drones and rocket propelled grenades. The Magic Seas was another Greek-operated ship that had been lost days before. The Houthis have been resuming their attacks on ships, having hit over 100 vessels between November 2023 to December 2024 as a...

Azeri BTC crude oil loadings resumed from Ceyhan on Wednesday, after several days of delays caused by an increased check for chloride contamination. Meanwhile, Russian Black Sea oil loadings have been suspended. Two industry sources said that the two major Russian terminals, Novorissiisk in Russia and Yuzhnaya Ozereevka in Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, were suspended due to paperwork relating to new regulations regarding tankers' access into ports. The suspension will increase the uncertainty on the Mediterranean oil market, which is already jittery after a contamination scare led to the recent delay in loadings of Azeri BTC Crude Oil from the Turkish Port...