Tuesday morning rail news in brief:
Inspector general: Amtrak needs to better define role of its police
Amtrak needs to define the role and priorities of its police department before it can determine the optimum size of the force and determine if it is being used efficiently and effectively, according to an audit from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General. In a report issued earlier this month, the office says the company and police need to reach a consensus on those foundational issues, and then developed data-driven processes to determine the agency’s size and how its resources are allocated. The full report is available here.
Metra extends sale of $10 All-Day Pass through Labor Day
Metra will continue sales of its $10 All-Day Pass through at least Labor Day, the Chicago commuter railroad announced. The unlimited-use pass, available on the Ventra smartphone app, costs less than a regular round-trip ticket for anyone traveling downtown from Zone C or farther on Metra’s 10-zone system. “We hope that the pass is another incentive for our riders to return to public transportation this summer as office capacity limits are increased under the state’s phased reopening plan,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a news release. The all-day pass, introduced on June 1, was originally to be offered through July 31.
Man charged for thefts of auto key fobs from CSX shipping facility
A 41-year-old Dearborn, Mich., man has been charged with theft from an interstate freight shipment after a two-year investigation of black-market sales of key fobs taken from automobiles moving by rail. The Detroit News reports Jason Gibbs, a contract worker at a CSX’s New Boston, Mich., auto distribution facility, was charged after alleged theft of more than 1,900 of the fobs, which allow keyless entry to vehicles. Cars are shipped with two fobs, but were arriving at dealerships with just one. An investigation traced key fobs being sold online to eBay and PayPal accounts connected to Gibbs, with the PayPal account receving more than $60,000 from the sale of 1,914 fobs, all of which had moved through the New Boston facility.
