Wednesday morning rail news:
— The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has named former Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg as the interim president of New York City Transit. Feinberg replaces the well-regarded Andy Byford, who recently resigned. She will oversee a 48,000-person agency responsible for New York’s subways and buses. Feinberg was already serving as an MTA board member, appointed last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and had led the push for expansion of the MTA’s police force, the New York Daily News reports.
— Seattle’s expansion National Hockey League team plans to provide free transit passes to fans attending its home games, the Seattle Times reports. The yet-unnamed team also is entering into a partnership with the privately operated Seattle Monorail which includes capital improvements to the 1-mile, two-station monorail route. The team will begin play in the 2021-22 season at the Seattle Center arena, currently being rebuilt
— The interim general manager of Denver’s Regional Transportation District says the agency needs to deliver quality service to regain the trust of commuters. Paul Ballard, the former head of Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas, started work Monday and will head the agency for four to 14 months while it searches for new permanent leadership, the Denver Post reports. The agency has faced a myriad of issues, including operator shortages that are leading to cuts in services, and long-overdue completion of commuter rail lines.
Feinberg is Cuomo’s acolyte, especially in the controversy about MTA policing people of color.
Not RR related I know, but I thought it had been announced that the Seattle team will be called the Seattle Kraken?
Another Cuomo lackey. MTA will drift back to what it was, a dumping ground for otherwise unemployable sycophants.