Thursday morning rail news:
American Society of Civil Engineers warns of $5 trillion infrastructure funding gap
The American Society of Civil Engineers warns that the gap between current spending and the need to maintain the U.S. infrastructure in a state of good repair has reached $5 trillion, measured in 2019 dollars. In preliminary findings for a report to be released later this year, the ASCE calls the future of the transit sector “bleak,” with a current backlog of $176 billion in investments, considering vehicles, tracks, and equipment that are already past their useful lives. That figure could reach $535 billion for transit and intercity passenger rail by 2039 as existing assets age. The preliminary report, available here, does not specifically address freight rail needs, but in previous reports analyzing U.S. infrastructure, the freight rail system has generally fared better than other forms of transportation because of the private investment in right-of-way and other capital projects.
San Diego County residents will have free transit service on election day
Residents of California’s San Diego County will be able to use public transit for free on election day this year. City News Service reports the Metropolitan Transit System — operator of San Diego’s trolley system — and the North County Transit District, which operates Coaster and Sprinter trains, will offer “Free Ride Day” to help voters who may have to travel farther to reach polling places. Voting will be conducted at fewer locations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brightline, still idle, has no date for return
Brightline, which shut down operations between Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla., more than six months ago, has yet to set a date to resume service. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel quotes company spokesman Ben Porritt as saying the company is “evaluating a number of factors” to determine when to return, and notes that factors including tourism, the lack of sporting and entertainment events drawing crowds, decreased business travel, and the shutdown of the cruise-ship industry all hit the passenger operator’s ridership. Brightlight stopped operations on March 26 and laid off 262 workers.
