Thursday morning rail news:
— New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney is questioning the fitness of NJ Transit’s CEO to run the agency, suggesting a transit expert such as former NYC subway head Andy Byford is needed. Sweeney made the remarks about current NJ Transit chief Kevin Corbett in remarks to the Newark Star-Ledger editorial board and an interview with NJ.com. Representatives of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit issued statements of support for Corbett.
— The New York Times looks at NJ Transit’s aging equipment fleet, specifically its Arrow III coaches, and their role in the commuter railroad’s service problems. The equipment, the oldest in use in the New York area, average only about 40,000 miles between breakdowns, compared to more than 350,000 miles for newer cars.
— A sealed-bid auction has begun for an intermodal facility in Prichard, W.Va., which failed to live up to expectations, losing more than $500,000 per year. The 76-acre facility owned by the West Virginia Port Authority and built on land donated by Norfolk Southern, opened in 2015 with a goal of handling 15,000 containers per year. It closed in 2019 after handling as few as 20 per month [see “Legislators question plan to sell failed intermodal hub,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 18, 2019.] The Associated Press reports that as of Tuesday, there were no bids on the facility. The auction ends April 2.
— GoTriangle, the transit agency for the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area, has named Charles Lattuca as its new CEO, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. Lattuca, currently executive director of transit development and delivery for the Maryland Department of Transportation, arrives as GoTriangle — currently a bus-only agency — begins efforts to launch a 37-mile commuter rail route between Durham and Garner, N.C.
Raleigh is blessed with a new Union Station with intercity passenger trains. Now commuter rail is being proposed. Its state capital counterpart in neighbouring Tennessee, Nashville, has only a fledgling commuter line and no intercity passenger trains.
When I was living in Nashville as a small child, it was served by twenty-two passenger trains with the most famous being ‘The Pan American’. (I am sure many more trains before my time.) I never thought the city would ever be devoid of passenger trains.
I like that they place a link, but they could note if there is a pay-wall.
Why does NewsWire publish a link to a site (NJT Arrow III/NYTimes) that can’t be opened without a subscription?