SAN FRANCISCO — The Transbay Transit Center, closed since last September, will reopen July 1 — but not, initially, for its primary use as a bus terminal. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the $2.2-billion transit facility, which closed just six weeks after its August 2018 opening because of cracks in two major steel support […]
Tag: Passenger/Transit
A first look at the next-generation Acelas
HORNELL, N.Y. — At first, the arched snout seems to resemble a bird in flight. In a nearby bay at Alstom’s sprawling Hornell, N.Y., manufacturing complex, you see why: a bevy of crash energy management components are concealed under the nose. We’re looking at a second-generation Acela power car on a shop floor that has […]
Engineering panel clears San Francisco transit center for reopening NEWSWIRE
SAN FRANCISCO — An independent panel examining the design and repair of the Transbay Transit Center has determined the $2.2 billion facility is safe to reopen, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports a date for returning service to the facility has not yet been set. While preparations for reopening the center have been under way […]
FRA awards $326 million in grants to 45 rail projects NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced the recipients of more than $326 million in grant funds under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program and the Special Transportation Circumstances Program, for a wide variety of state and local railroad infrastructure projects. The grants will fund 45 […]
MBTA says operator error led to Saturday derailment NEWSWIRE
BOSTON — Saturday’s derailment of a Green Line light rail train appears to have been caused by operator error, according to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The Boston Herald quotes MBTA Deputy General Manager Jeffrey Gonnevile as saying the derailment “does appear to be operator-related” at a meeting of the MBTA’s oversight board. At least […]
Refurbished PCC cars hit the streets of San Francisco NEWSWIRE
SAN FRANCISCO – Nearly seven decades after being built, PCC streetcars are still earning their keep in San Francisco and thanks to a recent rehabilitation effort, the streamlined cars will be doing so for years to come. Since 2014, Brookville Equipment Corporation has been rebuilding 16 PCC cars for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. […]
Washington city wants Point Defiance Bypass to stay closed until all recommended safety installations are complete NEWSWIRE
A view of the wreckage of derailed Amtrak Cascades Train 501 on Dec. 18, 2017. Steve Carter SEATTLE — The city council in Lakewood, Wash., has approved a resolution asking the Washington State Department of Transportation and Amtrak not to reopen the Point Defiance Bypass until all of the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations are […]
Long road ahead for Illinois Amtrak route improvements NEWSWIRE
A Metra train leaves Big Timber Road west of Elgin in 2014. A connection will be built to Union Pacific rails to Rockford in the foreground Bob Johnston CHICAGO – Although Illinois lawmakers and newly-elected Gov. J. B. Pritzker, a Democrat, enacted the state’s first infrastructure capital spending legislation in a decade [see “Illinois passes […]
MBTA Red Line subway derailment injures one, disrupts morning commute NEWSWIRE
BOSTON – An MBTA Red Line subway derailment near the JFK/UMass station on Tuesday morning has injured one person and disrupted the morning Boston commute for thousands, the Boston Globe reports. According to the agency, shuttle buses are replacing Red Line service between North Quincy and Broadway and Ashmont to Broadway due to the derailment. […]
MTA begins work to rebuild 7th Avenue Penn Station entrance, and expand LIRR concourse NEWSWIRE
NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road will start construction on a new Penn Station entrance at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue on June 17, which will bring much needed improved access, while LIRR’s concourse will get wider corridors, natural light, and improved safety to the underground station. To help […]
New Jersey legislation would create agency to oversee tunnel project NEWSWIRE
TRENTON, N.Y. —New Jersey state senators have introduced a bill to create a commission to oversee construction of a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, the latest step in trying to move forward the stalled Gateway project. NJSpotlight.com explains that the legislation would give the Gateway Development Corp., currently a small agency […]
New York to try new subway communication system NEWSWIRE
New York’s subway system will test a new system to address long-standing problems with radio communications underground. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — Relief from communication problems for New York subway crews and riders is on the way, according to information from the Wheel Detection Forum 2019, held in Vienna, Austria. The International Railway Journal reports […]
