U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to immediately begin requiring critical safety monitoring systems that consist of inward and outward facing cameras in locomotives and operating railway cabs following the December 1 Metro-North derailment.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) will overhaul its Blue Line O’Hare Branch, which will provide faster travel times and updated stations while creating more than 1,300 jobs.
The first segment of the Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) Sugar House Streetcar line (S-Line) will open December 8. The UTA says new service connects thousands of area residents with local employers, shops and area attractions while spurring millions of dollars in residential and retail development along the route.
American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President and CEO Michael Melaniphy reiterated the commuter rail industry’s commitment to Positive Train Control (PTC) installation but said Congress needs to help cover PTC costs for the technology to be implemented as soon as possible.
Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) largest unions, SEIU 1021 and ATU 1555, filed a lawsuit against members of the transit agency’s board of the directors, challenging the directors’ action on the ratification of the unions’ contract.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) introduced the Commuter Rail Passenger Safety Act, to help commuter rail lines, such as Metro-North, fund and implement positive train control (PTC) systems.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Metro-North Railroad resumed more than 98 percent of its regular Hudson Line service December 4, following last weekend’s derailment.
Construction of the twin tunnels is complete for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE). The final segment of tunneling was finished when tunnel boring machine (TBM) “Torkie” broke through the headwall at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station site, finishing the 10th and final tunnel drive for the project.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said that additional tests are needed on Phase 1 of the Silver Line, focusing on software updates related to the automatic train control system, before the project can be turned over to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has completed one phase of the Transbay Tube earthquake safety project ahead of schedule.
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada issued its 2013 Fall Report and criticized Transport Canada’s safety management system (SMS) of the nation’s rail network saying the department “needs to address significant weaknesses in its oversight of safety management systems implemented by federal railway companies to manage safety risks on a day-to-day basis.”
The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project is taking sustainable transit further with a pilot installation of eco-track on SW Lincoln Street downtown.
Phoenix’s Valley Metro has received the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the 1.9-mile Gilbert Road light-rail extension.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has awarded a contract for General Engineering Consultant (GEC) support services for the next phase of the rail project.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) has completed the Alum Rock Fish Passage, a mitigation effort for the Mission Warren Area Improvements Project, a support project for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension.
Three Massachusetts transportation agencies, managing three different projects, worked closely together to save a total of more than $4.1 million while completing the work and limiting disruptions to subway service for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Blue Line Orient Heights Station.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors identified a preferred alternative to extend light rail from the Northgate mall area in Seattle, Wash., north to Lynnwood in Snohomish County. The preferred route will mostly run adjacent to I-5 with stations in the Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood areas.
All blasting operations for Phase 1 of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Second Avenue Subway Project are complete.
A University of Texas, Arlington (UT Arlington), feasibility study of high-speed rail in Texas shows that trips between most city pairs that use existing Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) right-of-way can be made in less than two hours, making it competitive with air travel and superior to highway driving.
In 2012-2013, Amtrak California carried a record 3.9 million passengers on its Pacific Surfliner and San Joaquin rail lines. Over the past 10 years, ridership on the Pacific Surfliner and the San Joaquin increased by nearly one million passengers and ticket revenues skyrocketed from $44 million to $102 million.