[TRAINS: David Lassen]
Tuesday afternoon rail news:
Miami-Dade delays vote on preferred station locations for Brightline commuter operation
A planned vote on station locations for Miami’s proposed commuter rail service between downtown and Aventura, Fla., using Brightline’s route was put off Tuesday, after Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez exercised his right to delay last-minute legislation. The Miami Herald reports the delay came in the face of protests from the Wynwood and Little Haiti neighborhoods, which both hope to land stations but were left off the preferred list of locations that was up for a vote. Action is now delayed until at least Oct. 20, the last meeting before the Nov. 3 election, when six of 13 commissioners leave office and a seventh is up for reelection. The fight over station locations is unfolding even though Miami-Dade and Brightline do not yet have an agreement to operate the proposed service [see “Digest: Report says Miami, Brightline are closing in on commuter-rail agreement,” Sept. 25, 2020].
FRA, NHTSA launch grade-crossing safety campaign
The Federal Railroad Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are launching a $6.6 million public awareness campaign — “Stop. Trains can’t.” — for grade crossing safety. The program will feature radio, digital, and social media advertising, along with a targeted campaign for high-risk grade crossings in Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee, and Texas. In announcing the program, the agencies note that 798 people have died in the last five years in grade crossing accidents. In 2019 alone, 126 people were killed and 635 injured at grade crossings; about 75% of the deaths involved drivers who went around lower crossing gates. Social media graphics and other elements of the campaign are available here.
