Selected transit agencies in cash-strapped municipalities from coast to coast and Puerto Rico may now use certain Federal Transit Administration funds to cover the cost of the gas, diesel and electric power that keeps buses, light rail, streetcars and other transit vehicles up and running.
Amtrak is on pace to set another new annual ridership record as passenger counts across its national network for the first six months of fiscal year 2012 (October 2011 – March 2012) are up 3.7 percent over the same period last year when the current record was established.
This month, Southern California’s Metrolink will complete the first phase of implementation of a $1.6 million upgrade to its communication system that will provide passengers with more timely train schedule information and status updates at Metrolink train stations. The new system is now installed and operational on Metrolink’s San Bernardino, Orange County, Inland Empire-Orange County and 91 lines.
After six months of extensive public outreach, Portland, Ore.-area TriMet released its final budget proposal to close the $12 million to $17 million shortfall in its upcoming Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The budget begins July 1, 2012.
The Canadian government has set aside up to CA$7.5 million (US$7.48 million) for work on the restoration of the Vancouver Island Railway between Victoria and Courtenay, BC.
The Virginia Fairfax County Board of Supervisors confirmed the county’s participation in Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
The Virginia Fairfax County Board of Supervisors confirmed the county’s participation in Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is planning a two-part improvement for the Providence Train Station. It’s a stop that has more than one million Amtrak and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail passengers who use it annually.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is planning a two-part improvement for the Providence Train Station. It’s a stop that has more than one million Amtrak and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail passengers who use it annually.
To date, RIDOT has identified $1 million for the first part of the project, anticipated to cost between $5 and $6 million.
Daniel Grabauskas, the new executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, pledged greater transparency for the Honolulu rail transit project.
Daniel Grabauskas, the new executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, pledged greater transparency for the Honolulu rail transit project.
Both Portland, Ore.-area TriMet and San Francisco, Calif.-area Caltrain are seeing strong ridership numbers.
Both Portland, Ore.-area TriMet and San Francisco, Calif.-area Caltrain are seeing strong ridership numbers.
Initial findings from the Caltrain annual ridership count show average weekday ridership at an all-time high, 42,354, an increase of 4,575 passengers per weekday, or 12.1 percent higher than 2011. This marks the second year ridership has increased, despite service cuts and fare increases driven by Caltrain’s on-going fiscal challenges.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new $28.2 million federally-funded intermodal train and bus station in downtown Dearborn, Mich., providing greater connectivity for residents throughout the region.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas completed the first light-rail test train into Irving, as it completed the five-mile section between Bachman Station and the Irving Convention Center on Monday, April 9. The first section of the 14-mile Orange Line opens July 30.
During Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s recent visit to Japan and South Korea, Japanese and South Korean officials both expressed interest in supporting and providing high-speed rail in the state of Texas. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is laying the groundwork to invite these officials to the 18th Congressional District to see first-hand the needs and plans for an expanded rail transportation system.
The demand for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2012 grants have far surpassed the available funding, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo reaffirmed the Obama Administration’s commitment to passenger rail and stressed the need for long-term planning to create market-driven passenger rail corridors while speaking at the Northern Flyer Alliance’s Passenger Rail Symposium at Kansas City’s Union Station.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority released a schedule of planned major track work for the second half of 2012. WMATA’s massive rebuilding effort, known as Metro Forward, will resume with midday trackwork on Monday, April 16 and with weekend trackwork on Friday, April 20.
The Utah Transit Authority officially announced an opening date of Monday, December 10, 2012, for the new FrontRunner Provo to Salt Lake City line. The new 45-mile commuter rail line is an extension of the FrontRunner Salt Lake City to Weber County line that opened in April 2008.
