MBTA Orange Line work after derailment extended to April 11
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has extended its shutdown of a portion of the Orange Line by one week, through April 11. NBC-10 Boston reports the use of shuttle buses between the Oak Grove and Sullivan Square stations will continue as the agency continues infrastructure work in the area of Wellington station and addresses damage from a derailment earlier this month [see “Digest: MBTA sidelines new CRRC cars after derailment,” Trains News Wire, March 17, 2021]. Trains may also be delayed because of single-tracking between the Sullivan Square and Community College stations.
Nova Scotia will extend subsidy to preserve inactive rail line for possible intermodal terminal
The Province of Nova Scotia will continue to pay a $30,000-a-month subsidy to the owner of an inactive, deteriorating rail line to keep the line in place for possible use by an intermodal terminal. The CBC reports the government will continue the subsidy to the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway for the line, last active in 2015, for another year. Cape Breton’s municipal government has awarded a contract to a private investment firm to try to attract investors in a container terminal at Sydney harbor, but Mayor Amanda McDougall says there are local businesses hoping to ship by rail in the future, so the subsidy is about more than preserving the rail line for the port. The railroad is a Genesee & Wyoming property.
San Jose, Calif.,-area transit agency set to resume fare collection
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the agency serving the San Jose, Calif., area, will resume collecting fares on light rail trains and buses on April 1. Patch.com reports the agency will also resume front-door bus boarding. The VTA, which had stopped collecting fares as a health move because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue to offer free rides to anyone going to or from a COVID vaccination site, if that person has an appointment slip or vaccination card.
