WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration on Thursday announced $20.5 billion in federal funding will be available in fiscal 2024 for transit projects. Funding can be used to modernize, maintain, and operate transit systems; upgrade station, track, and maintenance facilities; plan and design new corridors; and prvide access for seniors and riders with disabilities. State-by-state […]
CHICAGO — With spring having arrived, at least according to the calendar, commuter operator Metra on Wednesday outlined plans for capital projects planned for the 2024 construction season. The Metra budget calls for $332.4 million in projects this fiscal year, including $140.7 million for bridge projects; $81.6 million for station and parking improvements; $66.2 million […]
BALTIMORE — Amtrak has selected Advance, a joint venture by infrastructure firms AECOM and Jacobs, to manage oversight of design, construction, contract management, administrative support, and other aspects of the $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel project. The project includes replacement of the nearly 150-year old, 1.4-mile B&P tunnel, a major bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor, […]
STUART, Fla. — Design work and other preparations for the new Florida East Coast/Brightline bridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart are under way, the TC Palm newspaper reports, while FEC seeks a federal grant to address the $31.5 million grant to address the unfunded portion of the $218 million project. The current Stuart […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking a developer to serve as master tenant to fill the 25,000 square feet of retail and dining space at Grand Central Madison, the Long Island Railroad Terminal in Manhattan that opened in 2023. “This is an amazing opportunity for the right operator: 25,000 square feet of […]
MEXICO CITY — A loose clamp on a switch led to the Maya Train derailment at the Tixkokob station on March 25, Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense said during a presidential press conference today. The incident involved the fourth car of a train en route from Campeche to Cancún, which derailed as the train entered […]
PHILADELPHIA — A truck carrying an oversized load struck a railroad bridge crossing over Interstate 95 on Monday, closing the northbound lanes of the highway indefinitely and shutting down a portion of NJ Transit’s Atlantic City commuter rail service. The Conrail bridge in northeast Philadelphia was hit about 1:30 p.m.; after railroad engineers assessed damage, […]
The eastbound City of Portland passes the tower at Clinton, Iowa, behind two Chicago & North Western E units at 9:10 a.m. on June 4, 1953. Ahead lies the Mississippi River crossing and the Windy City. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
WASHINGTON — The “Quiet Car” has become a staple on most U.S. corridor trains and many commuter operations. The innovation was first suggested in 1999 by an Amtrak volunteer organization later dissolved by CEO Richard Anderson after the former head of Delta Airlines was hired by Amtrak’s board of directors in 2017. Amtrak’s Customer Advisory […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit has hired an executive from the agency in charge of Los Angeles International Airport to oversee its massive, ongoing light rail expansion, the website The Urbanist reports. Terri Mestas will become the transit agency’s deputy CEO of Megaproject Delivery, acting on a 2022 advisory group recommendation to hire an expert to […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is seeking more time to address one aspect of the Surface Transportation Board case regarding issues with on-time performance of the Sunset Limited. In a filing earlier this week, the railroad requested a 90-day extension to address “narrative explanations of the root cases” of specific delays of 90 minutes or more […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will pay an additional $148 million to Chinese railcar manufacturer CRRC as part of an agreement to complete the order for its long-delayed, problem-plagued Red and Orange Line subway cars, the Boston Globe reports. That will push the total cost of the order to more than $1 billion. […]
