Author: Marybeth Luczak

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber and MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer (pictured, left) on April 25 announced the agency’s Climate Resilience Roadmap at the Metro-North Railroad Mott Haven Yard. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, Sound Transit, TransLink, Tren Maya

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA) unveils its Climate Resiliency Roadmap. Also, Washington’s Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) earns a sustainability award for its Federal Way Link light rail extension; metro-Vancouver’s TransLink approves a 2024 investment plan to address overcrowding; and the final sections of Mexico’s Tren Maya project are expected to be completed in August.

(MBTA Photograph)

MBTA Issues Proposed $9.6B CIP, Extends Keolis Contract

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on April 25 released its proposed $9.6 billion FY 2025-29 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) and agreed to extend Keolis’ operations contract for its Commuter Rail network, which runs from Boston to Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

HART on April 24 announced the arrival of its final trainset from Hitachi Rail at Honolulu Harbor. (HART Photograph)

HART Takes Delivery of Final Trainset, $125MM in Federal Funding

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) on April 24 received $125 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under an amended Full Funding Grant Agreement, plus its final four-car trainset from Hitachi Rail for Skyline, the first urban rail transit GoA4 (Grade of Automation) system in operation in the United States.

“BNSF is committed to improving safety on our railroad and is proud to have reached an agreement to voluntarily participate with ATDA in C3RS,” BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer said April 25. (BNSF Photograph)

BNSF: Second Class I to Participate in FRA C3RS

BNSF and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) will partner with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to join a one-year pilot program of the FRA-sponsored Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). Their decision to

(Innovative Construction Group, LLC Photograph)
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NCRR Injecting $200K in Innovative Construction Group Plant

Innovative Construction Group, LLC is receiving a $250,000 grant from NCRR Invests, the North Carolina Railroad Company’s (NCRR) economic development arm, to help develop a new manufacturing facility in Siler City, N.C., to be served by Norfolk Southern (NS).

Donald M. Payne Jr. (Photo from the Congressional Office of Donald M. Payne Jr.)
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Donald M. Payne Jr., 1958-2024

U.S. Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. of New Jersey, who served as Senior Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Rail Subcommittee, died April 24. He was 65.

NJT celebrates “Earth Week” by unveiling its first-ever sustainability plan. (NJT Image)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak Virginia, LACMTA, NJT, MWAA

Amtrak Virginia and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) experience double-digit ridership growth in March. Also, New Jersey Transit (NJT) releases its first sustainability plan; and Brookville Equipment Corporation receives a Notice to Proceed on a $16.4 million contract from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

(Union Pacific Photograph)

AAR: Total Carload, Intermodal Volume Flat for Week 16

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 20, 2024 (Week 16), came in at 474,544 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.8%—virtually flat—compared with the same week last year, based on 216,945 carloads—down 6.7% from 2023—and intermodal volume of 257,599 containers and trailers—up 8.2%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported April 24.

(Logos Courtesy of RailPros)
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RailPros Acquires Omega Rail Management

Irving, Tex.-based RailPros on April 24 reported acquiring Nashville, Tenn.-based Omega Rail Management, a TerraPact company that provides right-of-way management services on more than 70 corridors across 20-plus states. “The services offered