TRAINS: David Lassen
Additional Monday rail news:
Metra extends sale of $10 one-day pass
Metra is extending sale of its $10 All-Day Pass through Jan. 31, 2020. The pass, introduced June 1, allows unlimited Metra rides on a given day through 3 a.m. the following morning, and in most cases is less than the cost of two one-way fares. It is currently used by about a third of Metra riders. “The $10 All-Day Pass has been very well received by our customers because it offers flexibility and affordability,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “And using the Ventra app to purchase the pass is the safest way to buy Metra tickets, allowing customers to ‘Touch Less, Pay Less.”
Sacramento Regional Transit receives state grants for light rail improvements
Sacramento Regional Transit has received two grants from the California Transportation Commission for its Light Rail Modernization Project. The agency will receive $33.87 from the commission’s Solutions for Congested Corridor Projects, which will help fund the three major components of the modernization: new low-floor light rail vehicles, station conversions for low-floor vehicles, and work including new passing tracks and station improvements. Another $1.6 million from the Local Partnership Program, along with $23.7 million previously awarded from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, will go toward the new light rail vehicles.
Caltrain approves second-half budget, captial budget for 2021
Caltrain’s board of directors has adopted a $66.4 million operating budget for the second half of fiscal 2021, and approved an amended capital budget of $82.3 million for the fiscal year. While revenues from the passage of a ballot initiative providing a 1/8-cent sales tax to fund the agency will not be available until 2022, the agency says their approval allows flexibility to deal with an estimated $25 million shortfall, including drawing on the agency’s line of credit and diversion of some funds from capital projects. 60% of the budget goes to Transit America Services Inc., Caltrain’s contract operator.
