Mining of the 2.5-kilometer (1.6-mile) tunnel for the Confederation Line Light Rail Transit project in Ottawa, ON, Canada, is proceeding on time and on budget with 10 percent of the tunnel excavation now complete.
Houston Metro‘s new East End (Green) Line tracks have been undergoing tests by dragging a light-rail vehicle up and down the track with a diesel-powered-shuttle, and crews have been performing live-wiring testing. The test covers 2.3 miles of the 3.3-mile tracks.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Board of Directors awarded a $25.6-million design/build contract to F. H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen and Associates, LLC, for the rehabilitation of the Damen, Western and California stations to improve and upgrade the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line.
For the first time, New York City Transit’s (NYCT) FASTRACK maintenance program came to the 2, 3 and 4 lines in Brooklyn between Crown Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA-17) recently toured the 10-mile Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Extension Project.
According to Leger, The Research Intelligence Group, who did an independent survey recently, the majority of polled Toronto residents want to build a seven-stop light-rail transit (LRT) line in Scarborough rather than a three-stop subway extension. The poll question did mention that a subway option would mean a CA$1-billion (US$903-million) tax increase over 30 years.
The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Board of Directors recently authorized issuance of up to $100 million of 30-year general obligation RTA bonds to finance multiple state of good repair projects to bolster the condition of the region’s transit infrastructure.
“State and federal dollars are not sufficient to support our capital needs, so the RTA is using its bonding authority to keep our region in a state of good repair,” said RTA Board Chairman John Gates, Jr. “Our region needs approximately $33 billion to bring the existing system to a state of good repair. The RTA is meeting a portion of the need with this bond issuance. The recent favorable reports from the three ratings services only reinforce the importance of the RTA and its ability to benefit the region in this way.”
The bonding will fund projects that benefit the region’s public transit riders through enhancements to Chicago Transportation Authority, Metra and Pace bus capital assets, specifically tied to state of good repair, in the categories of rolling Stock, track and structure, electric signal and communications and stations and passenger facilities
Qualifying projects would include projects that upon completion would have a useful life of at least 20 years; projects that will reduce the region’s state of good repair backlog and projects that replace assets, which fall into the category of “worn” or “marginal” as identified in the Capital Asset Condition Assessment.
In Portland, Ore., TriMet has called upon on the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) to represent employees on the issues of wages and benefits before the 150-day statutory bargaining period ends on February 4.
The Metropolitan Council released two draft reports prepared by independent consultants to examine important issues that affect the proposed Southwest light-rail line serving the communities of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.
Charlotte, N.C., City Council approved authorization of $12 million during its January 27 meeting to advance CityLYNX Gold Line Phase 2 project and stay on track to meet current and future goals.
TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane responded to the release of the Oregon secretary of state’s audit, thanking the team of auditors for their diligence during their review of the agency’s finances, transparency and operations.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) says the Central Subway‘s second tunnel boring machine (TBM) will soon pass beneath Powell Street Station and the existing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Muni Metro tunnels, passing under Market Street from SoMa into Union Square.
When the Central Subway opens, the new tunnels will allow T Third Line trains to travel quickly beneath 4th Street and Stockton Street, cutting transit travel times by more than half along this busy corridor.
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) Governing Board named Jack Stephens interim executive director. He replaces Joseph Giulietti, who is leaving SFRTA at the end of January to become president of Metro-North Railroad in New York City. Stephens has served as the SFRTA’s deputy executive director since May 2003.
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver, Colo., held three public meetings in January to seek input and provide an update on the Northwest Area Mobility Study (NAMS).
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded a contract from the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) to provide monitoring and technical assistance for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant and loan Program.
With critical utility relocation work underway for the Detroit, Mich., Woodward Avenue streetcar project, M-1 Rail‘s construction manager, Stacy and Witbeck, Inc., is now seeking proposals from local contractors and suppliers for construction.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a rule in the Jan. 24 edition of The Federal Register, amending the Federal Track Safety Standards to promote the safety of railroad operations by enhancing rail-flaw detection processes.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officials and city staff celebrated the start of the DART South Oak Cliff Three Line extension January 24.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed to develop a sister transit agency affiliation with Shanghai Metro, the subway system in Shanghai, China.
BART says such an affiliation will benefit both urban rapid transit systems and their customers by the mutual sharing of experiences, challenges and solutions.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has received more than $886 million in federal aid to help cover costs associated with repairs from Superstorm Sandy, primarily in the Montague, Greenpoint and Steinway subway tunnels, and to make New York’s transportation system more resilient to any future storms.