Plans advance for Central California’s ‘Valley Link’ light rail NEWSWIRE

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PLEASANTON, Calif. — A proposed 41-mile light rail system which would connect the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area’s BART system is gaining traction, the San Francisco Business Times reports. The system, known as Valley Link, would run from the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station — the easternmost station of a line that runs to Daly […]

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LA Metro board approves plans for improvements on Metrolink’s Antelope Valley line NEWSWIRE

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LOS ANGELES — The LA Metro board has approved plans to upgrade service on Metrolink’s Antelope Valley Line, which carries about 7,000 passengers daily. The Santa Clarita Signal reports that the board approved a study which recoomended three changes to the 76.6-mile line, which currently offers 15 round trips on weekdays. Recommendations included adding one […]

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Feds give California authority to complete environmental reviews; potentially saving time and money NEWSWIRE

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two months after the Federal Railroad Administration announced it was cancelling a nearly $1 billion grant to help build California’s high-speed rail project, state officials on Thursday announced an agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration that removes a significant obstacle to building it. The FRA has signed over its environmental review […]

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California town holds ‘Wig Wags Forever’ festival to celebrate restoration of signals NEWSWIRE

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Wig-wag signals in downtown Richmond, Calif., are being restored to operating condition. Google Street View RICHMOND, Calif. — Richmond will hold a “Wig Wags Forever” festival on Sunday, celebrating the restoration to operating condition of two of the nearly extinct grade-crossing protection devices. The signals, near 1 West Richmond Ave. at a grade crossing in Point […]

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Cost estimates soar for LA’s Sepulveda Pass transit line NEWSWIRE

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LOS ANGELES — A rail transit line over Sepulveda Pass, connecting the San Fernando Valley and LA’s Westside, could cost almost $14 billion, significantly higher than previous estimates, the Los Angeles Times reports. The figures for the route paralleling the traffic-choked 405 Freeway were released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. LA Metro is studying […]

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LA Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line nears completion NEWSWIRE

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LA Metro’s new Southwestern Yard will service Green Line and Crenshaw Line trains. LA Metro The Crenshaw line begins its dive below ground at the edge of LA International Airport. LA Metro An artist’s rendering of the planned Airport Metro Connector at LA International Airport, due to open in 2023. Los Angeles World Airports Part […]

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Caltrain announces business plan through 2040; plans on tripling ridership NEWSWIRE

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — After more than a year of staff work and public meetings along the San Francisco Peninsula, Caltrain today released a draft business plan for its next two decades calling for up to $25 billion in capital investments to triple its ridership to more than 180,000 passengers per weekday. The plan, which […]

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Metrolink adds McIntyre as ‘strategy officer’ NEWSWIRE

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LOS ANGELES – Todd McIntyre will join Metrolink as chief strategy officer, the commuter railroad has announced. McIntyre joins Metrolink after three years at the District (of Columbia) Department of Transportation, where he was an advisor on strategic direction and decision making. Before that, he was a transportation specialist at the Federal Railroad Administration, where […]

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LA Metro begins weekend shut-downs to prepare for Olympics NEWSWIRE

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority has suspended weekend service on its light rail Green Line between the Crenshaw and Redondo Beach stations as part of the work to connect the Green Line with the new Crenshaw/LAX line. The suspension began Friday evening. It will resume every Friday at 9 p.m., ending […]

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