More Wednesday morning rail news:
New Jersey budget avoids NJ Transit fare increases, does not address dedicated funding for agency
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy does not plan NJ Transit fare increases as part of his fiscal 2022 budget — the fourth straight year that has been the case — but his budget plan also does not address the agency’s lack of a dedicated funding stream and will again draw from the NJ Transit capital fund to help cover operating expenses. The Asbury Park Press reports the plan will shift $360.8 million from the capital fund to the operating budget, and does not address funding for $5.7 billion of NJ Transit’s $17 billion five-year capital plan. NJBiz.com reports money for the transit agency will also come from a state clean-energy fund. State Senate President Steve Swenney introduced a plan last year to create dedicated funding for NJ Transit, but that plan was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montana senator introduces bill to restore Amtrak long-distance service
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has introduced legislation to provide $165.9 million in funding for Amtrak to restore daily service on all long-distance routes and recall all employees furloughed on or after Oct. 1, 2020. The bill, available here, would require service to be restored within 90 days of the law’s passage. In a press release, Tester calls the cuts “an unacceptable attack on rural America.”
News report says architectural firms quit Montreal REM light rail project because of visual concerns
Two architectural firms have quit work on Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail system because they don’t want to be associated with a visually unattractive project, according to the French-language Journal de Montreal. CTV News reports the two firms declined comment when it followed up on the original report. At issue is an elevated portion of the system in the city’s East End, which a citizen’s group said is “going to be visually problematic” and would prefer was built underground. A spokesman for the pension investment fund Caisse de depot et placement du Québec, which is funding the REM system, said underground construction is not a viable option; a report cites utility lines as an impediment, with the possibility that some buildings could collapse.
