Word: rails
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...should have been, pretending I knew where to look. Instead, all I could locate was a town called “Filadelfia”—had we known we were headed to the City of Brotherly Love, we might have saved the airfare and hopped the commuter rail downtown from our house in northwest Philadelphia. After an hour of nausea-inducing driving, I shot an eye-roll at my mom that implored, “Please tell dad this is getting absurd.” Little did I know, we were almost home...
...equal opportunity for all its children,” and argued that certain “narrowly-tailored” race-conscious policies may be constitutionally permissible. Yet the use of race, for even the noblest of ends, still remains a contention topic, particularly amongst modern social scientists who rail against race as a mere social construct. A post-racial America may eventually be realized, but the current moment in American society is still fraught with racism and race-consciousness. Until race-neutral policies are able to yield fair and equal opportunities in education, we must be attentive...
...Finally, passenger trains have also been increased in length. Until a few years ago a typical train had about 15 carriages. IR officials discovered that a passenger-train journey could earn a profit with 24 carriages, which became the target length. By pushing the "quicker, heavier, longer" mantra, rail bosses have also been able to improve services. For example, in 2006 IR began offering special express trains on certain routes such as the run between New Delhi and Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Tourists making day trips to India's most popular tourist attraction now can book online...
...many people credit with rail's comeback is Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Known only as Lalu to his energetic supporters in the poor northern state of Bihar, Yadav is a controversial figure. He is adored by millions as a man of the people because he is of a lower caste - a rarity among politicians. Yet he is routinely vilified by his many detractors who claim his term as Chief Minister of Bihar was characterized by mismanagement and corruption. When he became Rail Minister in 2004, Yadav asked Kumar and his team to run the system on sounder business principles, even...
...more charity. IR wants to compete. Hoping to grab more of the long-haul freight business lost to truckers in recent years, rail bosses plan to borrow at least $15 billion to build a dedicated fast-freight corridor between Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). They also have big plans for some of the 1 million acres (420,000 hectares) of land that IR owns along rail lines and around stations and shunt yards. Real estate developers are currently bidding to overhaul the first of 16 major stations. At New Delhi's central station, which is likely worth billions...