The Federal Transit Administration is awarding American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 grants for COVID-19 response to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT, $332.5 million); Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA, $1.24 billion); New Jersey Transit (NJT, $1.6 billion); and New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA, $6.2 billion).
Amit Bose on Jan. 12 was confirmed as the 15th Federal Railroad Administrator in a 68-29 Senate vote.
Currently pending before the Surface Transportation Board are an application by CSX to acquire Pan Am Railways (PAR) and a related petition regarding operation of Pan Am Southern (PAS) by the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. These transactions will bring strong transportation and safety benefits to New England.
Luke Bridle has been named Director of Transportation for HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. In addition, Transit Wireless has elevated Anthony Mazzarella to Vice President of Analytics and Advertising.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) now includes canceled rail and bus trips on its transit app. Also, California’s North County Transit District (NCTD) is launching a first-mile, last-mile pilot program for COASTER regional/commuter rail riders; and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) at the end of 2021 fired 354 workers who did not comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau is making available up to $5 million in grants for its Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) Demonstration Program.
California’s Metrolink is the latest regional/commuter rail agency to join the Commuter Rail Coalition. It was the final of four such agencies to join the CRC in calendar year 2021, following the Long Island Rail Road (now part of a combined New York MTA membership that also includes Metro-North), Trinity Metro and the Utah Transit Authority.
New Jersey Transit has awarded a Phase One, $9.2 million contract to a consortium of Parsons Transportation Group, Grimshaw Architects and Steer Group to lead the Master Planning and Design portion of the $190 million Newark Penn Station Revitalization project.
New York MTA acting CEO and Board Chair Janno Lieber has been officially nominated by Gov. Kathy Hochul to serve in those roles; also nominated, Elizabeth Velez to serve on the MTA Board.
Railway Age’s January 2022 issue is now available digitally. It features a cover profile of Canadian Pacific President and CEO Keith Creel and Kansas City Southern President and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer—the recipients of Railway Age’s 2022 Railroader of the Year Award, the 59th annual.
