LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has reinstated its own mask requirement for public transit and transportation sites such as airports, even though the federal mask mandate was struck down earlier this week by a Florida judge. The Los Angeles Times reports the rule went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today (Friday, April 22), with […]
TORONTO — The latest update on commuter rail ridership between London, Ontario, and Toronto continues to show limited ridership, but provincial transit agency Metrolinx says it’s difficult to gauge the pilot program’s success because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transit. The CBC reports total ridership for the first six months of […]
READING, Pa. — Two Pennsylvania counties have agreed to create a passenger rail authority to support restoration of service between Reading and Philadelphia, leaving just one more county needing to approve formation of the authority. The Pottstown Mercury reports commissioners in Berks and Montgomery counties approved creation of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority on […]
WASHINGTON — More transit agencies have dropped their requirement for riders to wear masks, but the Biden Administration has announced it will appeal the judge’s ruling that struck down the federal mask mandate for public transportation. Among the latest agencies to end a mask rule are several in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area […]
WASHINGTON — Most registered voters in California continue to support the state’s high speed rail project, despite delays and increased cost, according to a poll released earlier this month. The survey conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles times found 56% of voters continue to support the project, even […]
BATON ROUGE, La. — A decades-long effort to create a Louisiana passenger rail corridor between the state capital of Baton Rouge and New Orleans moved a step closer Wednesday when Gov. John Bel Edwards joined Amtrak, federal, and railroad officials on an inspection run along the route. Among those joining the governor, a Democrat, were […]
TORONTO — Signal and communications workers at Toronto Union Station have gone on strike, creating the possibility of service disruptions at the station which sees more then 300 trains daily. The CBC reports 95 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers walked out at 12:01 a.m. today (Wednesday, April 20) after the union failed […]
WASHINGTON — Switching details and conflicting traffic modeling assumptions dominated discussions at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing into Amtrak plans to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. The seventh and eighth days of testimony and cross-examination, spread over three weeks, on the dispute over plans for two daily Amtrak round trips precedes […]
WASHINGTON — More transit agencies determined or clarified their stance on Tuesday in the wake of a Monday court ruling striking down a federal requirement for mask use on public transportation, with most — including some that initially planned to retain a mask requirement — dropping the mandate. Meanwhile, the Biden administration said Tuesday it […]
TORONTO — The government of Ontario has awarded a contract for major expansion of Go Transit service in the Toronto area, a plan calling for more than 120 miles of new track and electrification of more than 370 miles of the system. The electrification will also bring new trains capable of speeds exceeding 85 mph, […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada wants about 90% of its proposed High Frequency Rail route between Toronto and Quebec City to be electrified, the passenger operator’s CEO has told the Montreal Gazette. VIA CEO Cynthia Garneau said the 90% figure “is not a written goal” but that the company will aim to electrify as much […]
ORANGE, Calif. — Jason Jewell has been appointed interim managing director of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which oversees Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service in Southern California. Jewell was appointed unanimously by the LOSSAN board of directors, effective April 18, the agency announced Tuesday. He will also continue to serve as chief financial officer, a position […]
