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 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.
The Green Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) project team has completed the first stage of evaluation for the project’s Centre City alignment in Calgary, AB, Canada.
The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) provided an update to its safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) system during a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Construction on Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, a.k.a. the Silver Line, is about to head into a busy period as the project hits the 30 percent complete mark.
AECOM has been selected to provide technical advisory services on the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Mississauga and Brampton, Ontario, Canada and the Hamilton LRT project in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, for Metrolinx.
Ontario is partnering with Thales in Canada to develop the next generation of railway signaling solutions, which is expected to improve transit safety, efficiency and create jobs.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) appointed Patrick Lavin to the position of chief safety officer, effective May 9. Lavin comes to WMATA from New York City Transit (NYCT), where he is second in command of the agency’s Office of System Safety.
Light-rail service to Snohomish County in Washington state is closer to reality as Sound Transit moves ahead with a final design contract for the 8.5-mile rail extension. The transit agency issued a formal notice to proceed on its $73.7-million final design contract with the HNTB Jacobs Trusted Design Partners joint venture.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) awarded MERMEC a contract to supply a track recording vehicle to be operated on 104 miles of rapid transit lines serving the San Francisco Bay Area.
Lori Katzman has joined HNTB Corporation as senior project manager and vice president in the firm’s rail transit group and will be based in HNTB’s New York City office.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will begin Provisional Revenue Service Operations for Positive Train Control following written authorization from the Federal Railroad Administration.
In a unanimous vote, the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors appointed William Crosbie as the new executive director, effective on or about April 25, 2016.
Staff of Metro, the Portland metropolitan planning organization, recommended light rail as the best kind of high-capacity transit to connect Portland and Bridgeport Village, Ore., for the Southwest Corridor Plan.