TN MOVING STORIES: Mass. Rail Upgrade, Reauthorization Revived, Uber's Latest Lawsuit, & More

Top stories on TN:
NYC Transit Tried Everything to Remove Subway Rats, Even Birth Control (link)
Real Estate Study: Homes Near Transit Hold Value Better (link)
FAA to Close 149 Air Traffic Control Towers (link)
Bike Sharing is Coming to San Francisco and Silicon Valley (link)

An uncomfortable pedestrian walkway in Nanning, China (Link to video below)

The Transportation Department is ramping up for another fight to pass a major authorization bill -- and Polly Trottenberg is in charge. (Politico)

For a full list of the transpo amendments that didn't make it into the budget deal from Congress, see Politico's roundup (some links are behing paywalls). (Link)

Mass. is commencing a $13 billion overhaul of the state's rail system, including a route from Boston to Cape Cod for first time since 1995. (NYTimes)

The tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge go all-electronic Wednesday. (Los Angeles Times) (For background, check our past coverage here and here.)

The NY Auto Show opens, plenty of coverage on what to watch for at The Detroit Bureau. (Link)

Maryland House passes gas tax hike to pay for roads and mass transit, awaits Senate approval. (WaPo)

Boeing completes a test flight with its new (hopefully flame-free) battery system. (Guardian)

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Air travel mini-roundup: FAA moves toward easing electronics restrictions. (The Hill) Meanwhile the TSA is being pressured to outlaw knives again. (Also The Hill) And the TSA issues rules on body scanner usage (TSA via Politico)

Toyota joins London partnership for hydrogen-fueled cars. (AutoBlogGreen)

Fast food chain Krystal is leaving Chattanooga for the Atlanta region in part because of access to transit. (Times Free Press; h/t @T4America)

Turkey is building high-speed rail. (Balkans.com)

Houston's Railroad Museum has to find a new home. (KUHF)

E-hail app Uber is facing a class-action suit in Boston over allegations of tip-skimming. (Mother Jones)

Long Beach Calif Transit is delaying a purchase of electric buses built in China because a U.S. EV bus maker raised objections, potentially forcing the agency to decide who makes better clean buses. (Long Beach Press-Telegram via TransitWire)

Another entry for the "what could possibly go wrong" files: more on Ireland's County Kerry passing a resolution permitting drunk driving, which aims to address "the decline of pub culture and the isolation of rural life." (New York Times)

The Atlantic Cities asks if a 4'3" high pedestrian walkway in Nanning China is the "world's most uncomfortable," with a summary of the Mandarin language video explaining it. (Link)

The ten worst passenger planes still in service. All aboard the Yak-42! (Jalopnik)

And Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos paid to reclaim NASA Apollo rocket parts from the bottom of the ocean. Pics --> (link)