OTTAWA, Ontario – Public officials in the Canadian capital are upset with the performance of the city’s new Confederation Line light rail operation, which is provided by Rideau Transit Group. Official plan to withhold monthly maintenance payments of up to $4.5 million a month until performance improves. “They have failed the city and its residents,” […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
LA Metro considers options for Sepulveda corridor NEWSWIRE
These maps show options for LA Metro’s proposed Sepulveda Corridor line between the San Fernando Valley and LA’s Westside. The first three options are for heavy rail; the one at far right is for a monorail. LA Metro A rendering depicts a monorail paralleling Interstate 405 through Sepulveda Pass, one of four transit options under […]
Metra opens new Cary, Ill., station NEWSWIRE
Work on a replacement station had already begun in this November 2018 view of the Metra station in Cary, Ill., which dated to 1942. A new Cary station opened this week. TRAINS: David Lassen Several Metra station locations have been in the news this week. A roundup: — A new station has opened in Cary, […]
New agency prepares transit plans for Atlanta area NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — A new Atlanta-area government agency is creating a long-term transit plan for the area which could propose up to $27.4 billion in new projects. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority, created last year by the state assembly to oversee transit planning and funding in a 13-county area, has put […]
Seattle, transit agency could sue over initiative which would cut funding source NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — Seattle and King County, Wash., are saying they will sue to block a measure passed by Washington voters on Tuesday which will cut auto registration fees, the Seattle Times reports. Those fees help fund public transportation, and the measure’s passage will likely lead to cuts in light rail and bus service in the […]
FRA offers $24 million in grants for passenger service NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is soliciting applications for $24 million in grant funding to “initiate, restore, or enhance intercity passenger rail service.” The funds are part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation act, and can be applied to operating assistance including staffing, administrative costs, host-railroad access costs, station expenses, and lease payments on […]
High speed rail conference convenes at Microsoft headquarters
REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp.’s corporate campus in the Seattle suburb of Redmond is miles from rail lines hosting regular passenger-train service. But that corporate campus will be, for three days beginning today [Nov. 6], the focal point of the high-speed passenger rail universe. The Cascadia Rail Summit convenes with U.S. High Speed Rail and Microsoft […]
Houston area passes $3.5-billion transit bond issue (updated) NEWSWIRE
Houston-area voters have approved a bond measure which includes expansion of the city’s light rail system. Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County HOUSTON — Voters offered resounding support for a bond issue for the Houston area’s Metro Transit Authority on Tuesday, with more than two-thirds voting in favor of the $3.5 billion issue. Proposition A […]
Burlington, Vt., council hears opposition to plans preparing for Amtrak service NEWSWIRE
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express departs Rutland, Vt., in September 2013. Burlington, Vt., residents are expressing concerns over preparations to handle trains in their city when the Ethan Allen is extended from Rutland to Burlington. Scott A. Hartley BURLINGTON, Vt. — Burlington’s city council is requesting more information from Vermont’s Agency of Transportation about projects related […]
Denver RTD seeks comment on possible cuts to light rail, bus service NEWSWIRE
An RTD light rail train approaches the Aurora Metro Center station in September 2018. The Denver transit agency is soliciting public comments on possible service reductions because of a shortage of light rail and bus operators. TRAINS: David Lassen DENVER — Facing a shortage of operators that has led to light rail and bus cancellations, […]
MBTA board votes for electrification of some commuter rail lines
BOSTON — The board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has outlined its vision for the future of the agency’s commuter rail service. At a Monday meeting, the Fiscal and Management Control Board unanimously approved a series of resolutions supporting a plan to electrify some MBTA commuter lines and offer greatly increased train frequencies. […]
Metro-North adds more PTC operation on Hudson Line NEWSWIRE
An late afternoon Metro-North Express No. 876 leaves Croton-Harmon station on the Hudson Line in October. Some 67 miles of the line, between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Marble Hill, now have operational positive train control. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad has extended positive train control operation from Croton-Harmon, N.Y., to […]