NJ Transit INVESTS $332.4 million In the first round of a major railcar purchase program, New Jersey Transit placed a $233 million order with Alstom for 50 single-level push-pull control cars and 80 push-pull trailer cars, with an option for up to 53 additional control cars and 47 trailer cars. MTA Metro-North Railroad will purchase up to 30 of the cars for service on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines, which it shares with NJ Transit. Under an $86.8 million contract, Terminal Construction Corp. will demolish and reconstruct three Northeast Corridor bridges that span NJ Transit's main and Bergen County lines and Norfolk Southern's Croxton Yard, and complete the Secaucus Transfer Station. Syseca, Inc., under an $11 million contract, will design, construct, and implement a TMAC (Train Management and Control) system for the Kearny, N.J., Rail Operations Center. TMAC will provide real-time train arrival announcements for passengers systemwide. NJ Transit also awarded a $1.6 million contract to TAMS Consultants, Inc., for design and engineering work on a new central concourse and possible refurbishment of the existing Hilton Corridor at Penn Station New York.

Equipment

AMTRAK: Exercised an option with Alstom for an additional six double-deck intercity cars. The option, worth more than $14 million, brings the total value of the contract, originally awarded in February 1998, to over $114 million.

Facilities

AMTRAK: Siemens Transportation Systems has begun construction of the $59.6 million, 180-megawatt Richmond Station static frequency converter, which will replace Amtrak's antiquated rotary converters on the Northeast Corridor electric traction power grid. The new converter, which will support NEC high speed operations, will be the largest of its type in the world. Completion is scheduled for February 2002.

BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT: Awarded a $48 million contract to Tutor-Saliba/Slattery to build the South San Francisco station on the BART extension to San Francisco International Airport. BART has now let all four construction contracts for the 8.7-mile airport line. The $1.5 billion project is scheduled for completion in December 2001. BART also awarded Lea+Elliott a general engineering services contract for the BART-Oakland International Airport Connector Project, which would run from BART's Oakland Coliseum Station to Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.

MASS TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (BALTIMORE): Awarded an $18.5 million contract to Haverhill Contracting, Inc., Baltimore, for construction services on a 13.5-mile extension of the MARC Brunswick Line from Point of Rocks to Frederick City, Md.

METRO-NORTH: Awarded a contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for the planning and design of a new rail maintenance facility in Croton-Harmon, N.Y. The project includes replacing an existing maintenance repair shop.

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston): Named Carter & Burgess, Inc., to head the design and engineering effort for a $300 million, 7.5-mile light rail system linking downtown Houston with the Astrodome Complex. The completion date is 2004.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: Selected Carter & Burgess, Inc., to provide program control and construction management service for the North Operating Division reconstruction project, Cerone overhaul and repair project, Guadalupe LRV facility expansion project, Cerone Complex expansion project, Caltrain maintenance facility project oversight, and a facilities master plan study.