Ponzio Promoted to STV SVP
John Ponzio has been promoted to Senior Vice President of STV’s National Systems Group.
Passenger
Metra issues RFP for new cars
Metra issued March 20 a request for proposals (RFP) for at least 200 new locomotive-hauled railcars, and the Chicago-area commuter railroad is allowing manufacturers to propose alternative designs that may cut delays and suit Metra’s needs better than the bi-level gallery cars, some of which that have been in service upwards of 70 years.
A new frontier in railway innovation
As railways push ahead with digitalization, more and more are engaging and implementing solutions from a new form of supplier: the tech start-up. This is changing the railway-supplier relationship and altering the industry’s wider approach to innovation, as IRJ’s Kevin Smith discovers.
FTA stymies Gateway tunnels with “medium-low” rating
The $13 billion Hudson River tunnel project, aimed at building two new rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey, is again facing funding problems after federal authorities announced a rating that means the project remains “ineligible for critical grant funding.”
New York’s subways “an overall better experience”
MTA President Patrick Foye, New York City Transit President Andy Byford and Senior Vice President Subways Sally Librera provided statistics on March 18 to show that the New York subway system has seen a dramatic increase in performance since the implementation of the Subway Action Plan and NYCT’s Save Safe Seconds campaign.
FTA, states strengthen SSO Programs; WMATA oversight transferred
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced March 18 that it has partnered with the requisite 30 states to strengthen and certify 31 State Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs prior to the April 15 safety deadline, and is transferring WMATA safety oversight to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC).
LRT expansion under way in Ottawa, Edmonton
Ottawa (Ontario) City Council, in a landmark 19-3 vote, has approved Stage 2 of the city’s Confederation Line LRT project, as well as a crucial extension to the Trillium Diesel Multiple Unit operation. This represents the largest capital project in the National Capital’s history. However, Stage 1 of the Confederation Line continues to experience delays. Meanwhile, in Alberta Province, the Government of Canada, through its agency Infrastructure Canada, recently announced federal funding totaling more than C$1 billion for two Edmonton LRT projects.
“At Amtrak, It’s No Longer 1950”: An analysis
First, a salute to Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank Wilner for finally obtaining an interview with a senior officer at Amtrak, Executive Vice President Stephen Gardner. From my perspective, this article offers interesting revelations; yet, it’s still like pulling a thread from a sweater to slowly unwind the backstory as to why Amtrak conducts itself in such a secluded, secretive style, operating in a bubble seemingly oblivious to expressed concerns.
NYCT: Faster, safer
MTA New York City Transit has made progress in safely increasing subway speed limits with its Save Safe Seconds Campaign, part of the agency’s Subway Action Plan initiated by President Andy Byford.
TOD: How New York got it right
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has gained prominence in boardrooms around the country with the increasing urbanization of society. The TOD terminology used by real estate developers, transit agencies and political leaders is “development that focuses on dense, mixed-use communities, integrated into a neighborhood within a reasonable walk of high-order mass transit—generally high-frequency rail or bus lines.” It serves as a way of capturing the value of large mass transit earlier in a project’s life cycle, thereby increasing the sustainability of the TOD.