ATLANTA — A new Atlanta-area government agency is creating a long-term transit plan for the area which could propose up to $27.4 billion in new projects. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority, created last year by the state assembly to oversee transit planning and funding in a 13-county area, has put […]
SEATTLE — Seattle and King County, Wash., are saying they will sue to block a measure passed by Washington voters on Tuesday which will cut auto registration fees, the Seattle Times reports. Those fees help fund public transportation, and the measure’s passage will likely lead to cuts in light rail and bus service in the […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is soliciting applications for $24 million in grant funding to “initiate, restore, or enhance intercity passenger rail service.” The funds are part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation act, and can be applied to operating assistance including staffing, administrative costs, host-railroad access costs, station expenses, and lease payments on […]
REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp.’s corporate campus in the Seattle suburb of Redmond is miles from rail lines hosting regular passenger-train service. But that corporate campus will be, for three days beginning today [Nov. 6], the focal point of the high-speed passenger rail universe. The Cascadia Rail Summit convenes with U.S. High Speed Rail and Microsoft […]
Houston-area voters have approved a bond measure which includes expansion of the city’s light rail system. Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County HOUSTON — Voters offered resounding support for a bond issue for the Houston area’s Metro Transit Authority on Tuesday, with more than two-thirds voting in favor of the $3.5 billion issue. Proposition A […]
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express departs Rutland, Vt., in September 2013. Burlington, Vt., residents are expressing concerns over preparations to handle trains in their city when the Ethan Allen is extended from Rutland to Burlington. Scott A. Hartley BURLINGTON, Vt. — Burlington’s city council is requesting more information from Vermont’s Agency of Transportation about projects related […]
An RTD light rail train approaches the Aurora Metro Center station in September 2018. The Denver transit agency is soliciting public comments on possible service reductions because of a shortage of light rail and bus operators. TRAINS: David Lassen DENVER — Facing a shortage of operators that has led to light rail and bus cancellations, […]
BOSTON — The board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has outlined its vision for the future of the agency’s commuter rail service. At a Monday meeting, the Fiscal and Management Control Board unanimously approved a series of resolutions supporting a plan to electrify some MBTA commuter lines and offer greatly increased train frequencies. […]
An late afternoon Metro-North Express No. 876 leaves Croton-Harmon station on the Hudson Line in October. Some 67 miles of the line, between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Marble Hill, now have operational positive train control. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad has extended positive train control operation from Croton-Harmon, N.Y., to […]
A former F40 locomotive converted to a cab car leads a southbound Hiawatha through the Techny interlocking in Northbrook, Ill., on May 23, 2019. Tracks diverging in foreground are used by Canadian Pacific for trains to or from Bensenville Yard west of Chicago. CP won’t allow more round trips until more tracks are added in […]
There is no mistaking Atlantic Coast Line boss Champ Davis’ favorite color — Royal Purple — as E6 No. 518 nears Cascade Road leaving greater Atlanta for Waycross, Ga., with local train 101 in Oct. 1958. David W. Salter The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was true to its name: it linked an important string of […]
SEPTA General Manager Jeff Knueppel SEPTA Nearing the end of a 30-plus year career with the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority general manager Jeff Knueppel is retiring at the end of 2019. He spoke at length with Trains News Wire about the changes he’s seen and helped make at SEPTA, the importance of listening to employees, […]
