New York governor seeks to set MTA priorities NEWSWIRE

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Cleaner stations, homeless issues, and fare evasions are among the issues New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants addressed as priorities in the MTA’s 2020-24 capital plan. Here, a Bronx-bound No. 2 train stops at West 96th Street in Manhattan. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — With a strongly worded letter to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New […]

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Montreal plans free transit to address closure of Mount Royal tunnel

Logo of Montreal commuter rail operator Exo

MONTREAL — With the approaching two-year closure of the Mount Royal tunnel, a key commuter rail route, Montreal transit and traffic planners are making plans to offset the resulting issues and warning commuters to do the same. On Monday, they announced free transit in an effort to minimize the number of displaced rail commuters who […]

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Seattle cancels streetcar contract NEWSWIRE

SEATTLE — The Seattle Department of Transportation said Monday it is cancelling a contract to buy new streetcars for the proposed Center City Connector line, but it still plans to go ahead with construction of the line through downtown. In an announcement on its website, SDOT said it had informed manufacturer CAF USA that it […]

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World’s oldest, largest cable car returns to the hills of San Francisco NEWSWIRE

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No. 19 on a Sept. 8 test run. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency SAN FRANCISCO – The world’s oldest and largest operating cable car entered revenue service for the first time in 77 years this past weekend in San Francisco. Sacramento-Clay Line cable car No. 19 – also known as “Big 19” – ran on […]

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Hearing calls for preservation of commuter rail service into West Virginia NEWSWIRE

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CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — An overflow crowd turned out at a Saturday hearing to call for preserving MARC commuter train service into West Virginia, which faces a significant reduction because funding from West Virginia that short of what the Maryland Department of Transportation says is required. The Martinsburg (W.Va.) Journal reports that the crowd filled […]

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Proposed ban on Chinese railcars gets White House support NEWSWIRE

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Chinese manufacturer CRRC displays models of its various types of rail equipment at InnoTrans in 2016. The White House says it supports a ban on purchases of transit equipment by Chinese manufacturers. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of federal funds to buy transit vehicles from state-owned Chinese manufacturers […]

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Sound Transit seeks public opinion on commuter train improvements NEWSWIRE

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A Sounder commuter train arrives in Lakewood, Wash., in June 2018. Sound Transit is considering improvements for its service to Lakewood including additional trains or extending the line further south. TRAINS: David Lassen SEATTLE — Sound Transit is planning a series of community “drop-in sessions” to consider how it might spend almost a billion dollars […]

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Before lot opens, two-thirds of suburb’s premium commuter parking spaces have sold NEWSWIRE

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More than two-thirds of the premium parking spaces at Barrington’s Metra station have been sold in advance of the new premium lot’s opening. TRAINS: David Lassen BARRINGTON, Ill. — More than two-thirds of the spaces in a new premium parking lot for the Barrington Metra station have been sold in advance of the lot’s opening […]

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First rail laid on Maryland’s Purple Line light rail NEWSWIRE

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LANHAM, Md. — The first section of rail has been laid on a 16-mile light rail project connection New Carrollton and Bethesda, Md. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was among officials taking part in the first-rail ceremony Thursday for the Purple Line, WTOP Radio reports. Construction began two years ago on the $5.6-billion project. Its 21-station […]

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Japanese commuter train crashed despite advance warning of truck on tracks NEWSWIRE

YOKOHAMA, Japan — A warning light alerted the driver of a Japanese commuter train that there was an obstacle in the train’s path, but he was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting a produce truck at a grade crossing. The driver of the truck was killed, a rare fatal rail accident for Japan. [See […]

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Cascades crash civil trial begins in Washington state NEWSWIRE

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SEATTLE — In what’s believed to be the first suit stemming from the December 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades passenger train to go to trial, three of those injured in the wreck are seeking damages in federal court in Tacoma, Wash. The trial, which began Tuesday, Sept. 3, and is tentatively scheduled for eight […]

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