The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) awarded 40 projects a total of $3.59 billion in federal disaster relief funds to help public transportation systems in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy to become more resilient, in order to withstand the impact of future natural disasters.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have been awarded nearly $2 billion in storm resiliency funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). All of the grants are part of the FTA Emergency Relief Program & Disaster Relief Appropriations.
A combined $1.5 billion in Sandy resiliency grants to repair and fortify New Jersey’s transit system has been awarded to New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
Beginning September 20, 2014 and continuing each weekend through November 23, 2014, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and third-party contractors will replace bridge timbers and make structural improvements to the Cobbs Creek and Darby Creek Viaducts along its Media/Elwyn regional line in Delaware.
Two pieces of rail-related legislation have progressed on opposite sides of the hill.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is expressing concerns over the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Bill (S.2777), scheduled to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
Starting September 15, crews will begin work at the Harlem River Lift Bridge in New York to replace 60-year-old cables that lift the bridge and install all new electrical components designed to increase their resiliency to potential storm surge flooding.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $53.7 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants that will help rail projects in six states and District of Columbia.
The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors has appointed Neil Yellin as the agency’s new deputy executive director and Robert Lavell as vice president and general manager of NJ Transit Rail Operations.
The M-1 Rail streetcar project in Detroit, Mich., has set up an assembly line near Cass Avenue to weld steel rail into about forty 560-foot-long strings of continuously welded rail (CWR).
Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Metro-North Railroad employees have successfully rebuilt a switching control house in Cos Cob, Conn.
Union Pacific will begin a major rail replacement project September 15 on its West Line, which serves freight and Metra passenger trains in Illinois.
Metrolink, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and Operation Lifesaver Inc., launched a combined safety campaign September 4 of “See Tracks? Think Train!” to honor Rail Safety Awareness month in California.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Nashville, Tenn., has selected Parsons Brinkerhoff, Inc., to conduct a study of cost-effective transit improvements to serve the Northwest area of Middle Tennessee, which will bring the state one step closer to having passenger rail service between Clarksville and Nashville.
A Blue Ribbon Panel of transportation experts studying safety and maintenance practices at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) three railroad operations – Metro-North Railroad, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New York City Transit (NYCT) – has released its final recommendations for improvement, including creating better data systems to monitor track conditions, adjusting schedules to provide more time for track work and bolstering the safety culture at Metro-North.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published its final rule concerning Positive Train Control (PTC) systems in the Aug. 22 Federal Register. The rule, which takes effect Oct. 21, 2014, expands certain exemptions and comes 16 months before the full implementation deadline of Dec. 31, 2015.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) $40-million improvement project at Massapequa Station will enter its next phase August 25 with work shifting to the station’s east end.
The Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission (STC), building on the Act 89 transportation plan, has updated Pennsylvania’s 12-Year Transportation Program with a $22-billion boost in much needed transportation improvements.
In an effort to increase transit ridership, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is releasing nearly $100 million in grants for Locally Operated Transit Systems (LOTS).
All Aboard Florida and the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in coordination with the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, has secured funding for a continuous quiet zone between the city of Hallandale Beach and downtown West Palm Beach along the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC).