More Friday morning rail news:
MTA CEO says agency will avoid service cuts, layoffs
Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Patrick J. Foye says the agency will avoid service cuts and layoffs thanks to about $4 billion it will receive from the latest coronavirus stimulus package. Foye told WCBS Radio the agency was “out of the woods,” for 2021, and will not need to make the dramatic cuts in service that had been proposed [see “Digest: New York MTA budget cuts call for 50% reduction in commuter rail, 40% decrease in subway service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 18, 2020].
Maryland bill would increase penalty for assaulting transit workers
Two Maryland state senators have introduced a bill which would make assault on transit workers a felony. The website Maryland Matters reports the bill by Sens. Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher and Cory V. McGray, both Democrats, would elevate such assaults from their current status as a second-degree misdemeanor to a second-degree felony, the same as assaults on law enforcement and other first responders. The move follows the fatal shooting of a Baltimore bus driver in October.
Volusia County, Fla., votes for SunRail extension despite reservations
The Volusia County, Fla., Council has voted to proceed with plans to extend SunRail commuter service to DeLand, despite reservations that had had one member questioning whether a lawsuit was a better option. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the council voted unanimously to proceed with the extension after being told it was contracturally bound to support the planned 12-mile extension from the current northern terminus of DeBary to DeLand, which is expected to cost $42 million. The county is responsible for 25% of the cost of the project.
