On May 3, 2016, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s (R-CO-6) chief of staff and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s (R-CO-4) regional director joined the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) and the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association, Inc. (REMSA), for a tour of a new commuter rail maintenance facility (CRMF).
Kevin Haboian has joined HNTB Corporation in the new position of chief business development officer and senior vice president, where he will support the firm’s growth within the transportation sector across the United States.
The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Line’s tunnel boring machine (TBM), Harriet, began digging the first of two twin-tunnels beneath Crenshaw Boulevard last week.
Michael P. Melaniphy has resigned as President and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association, effective April 29. APTA Vice President-Member Services Richard A. White is Acting President and CEO until a permanent replacement is selected.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) received final approval to acquire exclusive rights to the radio spectrum needed to operate future communications systems for its trains.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) Board of Directors adopted the 2016 Business Plan, which lays out an approach to sequencing the Phase 1 system that will ultimately connect the San Francisco Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin via the Central Valley with high-speed passenger rail service. The plan will now be delivered to the legislature by May 2.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently visited a Keolis work site in Ashland, Mass., to review the progress on infrastructure upgrades the Massachusetts Bay Transporation Authority (MBTA) is making as part of a larger effort the MBTA, its Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) and leadership are making to improve service, access, accountability and reliability for riders and taxpayers.
Former Dallas Area Rapid Transit Vice President of Marketing and Communications and current Richland College faculty member Sue Bauman has been appointed to the DART Board of Directors by the Dallas City Council.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is now accepting applications from local governments, states and railroads for $25 million in competitive grants to increase rail safety. Applications are due by June 14, 2016.
Chicago’s Metra completed its 13th straight month of meeting or exceeding its on-time performance goal in March 2016, posting an on-time performance rate of 96.8 percent for the month. The rate exceeded the five-year average for the month of March of 96.3 percent.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed S.B. 369, a bill that empowers the city of Atlanta to hold a fall ballot referendum asking voters to support a half-penny sales tax to expand the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) system.
CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, unveiled plans for its Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM), an integrated, public transportation project.
The Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) adopted a resolution on April 21, 2016 endorsing the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) plan, which envisages the construction of six new urban rail lines in Miami-Dade County.
On April 22, federal, state and local officials celebrated the start of construction of Sound Transit’s East Link light-rail extension connecting Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond’s Overlake area and Microsoft campus.
The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) Board of the Directors took another step toward expanding commuter access to Chicago with a $1.6-million matching grant to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) to help fund $4 million in preliminary engineering and environmental work for the South Shore double tracking project.
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver on April 22 began University of Colorado A Line commuter rail service from downtown Denver to Denver International Airport. The line is among the nation’s first transit projects built by a public-private partnership and is a part of an ambitious transit expansion plan for the eight-county metropolitan area.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development passed $56.5 billion legislation to fund its programs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, including several allocations for rail.
The first shipment of steel rail on which the streetcars in El Paso, Texas, will run has arrived; about 900 pieces will be used throughout the entire project. Each length of rail is 59 feet long and weighs approximately 2,300 pounds.
J-Track LLC will open a new railroad construction and maintenance company in the Chicagoland area on May 1. The new company, J-Track LLC Central Division, will be led by Vice President and General Manager, Bill Dorris.
The Republic of Panama has signed an agreement with the Japanese government valued at US$2.6 billion to fund the construction of Line 3 of Panama’s Metro, the largest project in Panama since the expansion of the Panama Canal. The monorail system will be the first to use Japanese technology in the Americas.
