2025 is coming to a close, so we’re taking a moment to reflect on some of the biggest stories from the year. Whether it’s through reimagining infrastructure, restoring rail service, or making sure federal dollars actually serve communities across the U.S., our top posts of the year show how Transportation for America is working to drive real change within our transportation system.
Gulf Coast rail is back and better than ever
Our biggest win of 2025 came this August with the return of passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast. Since 2013, we’ve partnered with the Southern Rail Commission and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker to make this happen. This milestone shows the power of persistence: rallying state and federal leaders, negotiating with freight rail operators, and even creating new federal programs to fund restoration and expansion. It’s proof that when we don’t take no for an answer, we can create and expand a federal rail system that reaches everyone. The story of passenger rail’s return to the Gulf Coast is an energizing win that we will carry with us in our advocacy going forward.
For more excitement, watch our short video from the launch of the Mardi Gras service!
The Highway Trust Fund has been dead since 2008
Transportation for America Director Steve Davis’s article digs into why the Highway Trust Fund is fundamentally broken. In the article, he explains that the Highway Trust Fund hasn’t been self-sustaining since 2008 (something not new to our readers). By laying out why the current funding model doesn’t work, Steve’s article sets the context for our broader work to reshape surface transportation reauthorization to deliver for taxpayers’ priorities.
Five reasons why the IIJA will expire without a replacement in September 2026
While the Highway Trust Fund post focuses on the structural problem of federal transportation funding, we wanted to look in our crystal ball to see what could be in store for the federal transportation program as it approaches reauthorization. With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set to expire in 2026, some members of Congress and the media will have you think that a replacement bill is a shoo-in, but historical patterns and the current realities on the hill show this is far from guaranteed. In this article, we lay out five reasons we can expect to miss the 2026 deadline, including the fact that on-time reauthorization is historically rare, deficit concerns limit appetite for continued spending at current levels, and the bipartisan coalition that supported the IIJA is weakening. Read our article to see why we don’t expect Congress to pass a new reauthorization in 2026 and why the tea leaves suggest the federal transportation program itself is due for major restructuring.
Why the World Cup could be our transit shame
At T4America, we like to look ahead to potential challenges that may arise from policy shortcomings, funding shortfalls…and massive global events. One of our 2025 interns, Yoni Preuss, broke down how the U.S. transit system is unprepared to accommodate the millions of visitors expected to travel for the World Cup in 2026. We’re lucky to have interns like Yoni that bring a fresh perspective and creative ideas to our work, especially when it has gone on to spark national (and international!) conversations to highlight the need for better transit funding.
What the Trump Administration’s actions signal for transportation
Throughout 2025, we tracked how federal funding decisions have had real ripple effects for states, cities, and local advocates. Our analysis of the Trump administration’s continued grant cancellations and funding rescissions shows that these actions put billions of dollars in transportation funding at risk and introduced new layers of uncertainty for communities working to build safer, more accessible transportation systems. This kind of careful tracking and clear analysis gives communities the tools they need to push back against funding clawbacks, and will continue to be important as we move into 2026 and beyond.
From our big passenger rail victory in the Deep South to our consistent analysis on transportation funding and spending, our work in 2025 proved that we can challenge the status quo and help communities reimagine the future of transportation. As we continue to advocate for a better federal transportation program, we can’t wait to build on this momentum in 2026, so that together we can continue to fight for a transportation system that safely, affordably, and accessibly connects everyone to jobs, services, and opportunities, no matter how they choose to get around.
Other favorites from the year
- USDOT initiated another arbitrary freeze sowing chaos for chaos’s sake: Congress should take note
- Congress’s new budget reconciliation bill takes back billions from locally-led projects across the country
- Los Angeles’s “No Car” Olympic Games are important beyond 2028
The post Year in review: Our top most read blogs of 2025 appeared first on Transportation For America.