Transportation

Solar-Powered Airships Could Make Air Travel Climate-Friendly
Flying is the most damaging mode of transportation for our climate. At least, up until now. Researchers are investigating technical alternatives to conventional aircraft, and one such alternative is the old-fashioned airship, equipped with solar panels.
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Paving the Way for Electric Vehicle Adoption
For many car owners, their next purchase will be an EV. But as many current EV owners know, the environmental benefits of battery-powered cars come with a tradeoff and that tradeoff is the driving distance existing battery technology can support. The problem is the battery, specifically how much energy they can store, their longevity, and how long they take to charge.
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Will the Charging Networks Arrive in Time?
MIT Mobility Forum considers whether startups can provide the infrastructure for electric vehicles, or if more automakers must step in.
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Bolstering Cybersecurity in Navigation Systems
Interference such as jamming and spoofing that targets critical infrastructure has the potential to cause widespread delays and cascading failures across multiple modes of transportation including ships, trains, trucks, and cars—and the problem is only getting worse. New project aims to enhance resilience of transportation infrastructure against cyber threats, developing advanced countermeasures for GPS spoofing and jamming.
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Bringing Better IT Security on Board
Cyberattacks on industry and critical infrastructure are on the rise across the globe. Targets also include ships, which, by transporting billions of tons of goods around the world each year, form part of international supply chains — yet their on-board IT systems often lack secure protection.
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From Fiction to Reality: Could Airships Be the Key to Greener Travel?
Airships have captured science-fiction writers’ imaginations — including Kim Stanley Robinson in Ministry for the Future. We examine the tech’s utility in the real world.
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Making Drones Suitable for Cities
Unmanned aerial vehicles will make their way into urban skies only if the safety of people below can be ensured.
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How the U.S. Rail System Works
A spate of train derailments, most notably in East Palestine, Ohio, has reinvigorated the debate over the nation’s railroad infrastructure. Here’s how U.S. rail could be brought up to speed.
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The True Dangers of Long Trains
Trains are getting longer. Railroads are getting richer. But these “monster trains” are jumping off of tracks across America and regulators are doing little to curb the risk.Some trains stretch for 2 or even 3 miles, sometimes without regard for the delicate physics of keeping heavy, often combustible tanker cars from jumping off the tracks.
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A Spill Outside Philadelphia Adds to the Growing List of Chemical Accidents This Year
There have already been 50 chemical spills or fires in the U.S. this year, and it’s only March.
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Extremists Co-opt Norfolk Southern Train Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio
In the aftermath of the February 3, 2023, freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a range of misinformation and unfounded claims has emerged as extremists and conspiracy theorists leverage the event for their own political and ideological gain.
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In a Growing Petrochemical Hub, the East Palestine Derailment Triggers “an Uneasy Feeling”
The Upper Ohio River Valley has been layered in industrial pollution for centuries, and residents are fed up.
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Can You Tell Whether a “Bomb Train” Is Coming to Your Town? It’s Complicated.
This information about trains carrying hazardous materials is out there, but it is not always readily accessible. With the derailment of the Norfolk Southern train receiving international attention, more railroad communities are now asking what is traveling through their backyard, and how to avoid the fate of East Palestine, Ohio.
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Ohio Chemical Spill Draws Focus on Railroad Dangers
The U.S. has one of the most extensive rail networks in the world, but diminishing safety standards puts people and the environment at risk. The latest accident has drawn sharp focus onto the safety standards of the highly profitable freight rail industry and its prolific lobbying against regulation.
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The Train Derailment in Ohio Was a Disaster Waiting to Happen
The derailment of a freight train filled with volatile chemicals in rural Ohio earlier this month captured the headlines, but researchers and chemical spill experts say it’s a situation that plays out far too often across the country. Trains carry hazardous chemicals everyday. They’re also dangerously unregulated.
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