The Biden Administration has appointed 39 key members of the U.S. Department of Transportation, with more to come. Among them are Amit Bose, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and Nuria Fernandez, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Both have held the positions previously.
Brightline West hopes to begin construction of its $8.4 billion, 168-mile California–Las Vegas high speed line in the second quarter of 2021.
My two previous reports in this series showed that companies and a union who could benefit directly from various DOT grants made highly favorable statements about Pete Buttigieg. That means little on its face, because the statements came from entities who could say little else. Advocates for the riders on Amtrak and transit are not bound by that constraint, and they have endured other DOT heads who have not been particularly favorable to the riders who are their constituents. I will conclude this series by reporting some comments from those advocates, examining Buttigieg’s political future, and proffering some suggestions about how he can help the riders (assuming that the Senate confirms his nomination).
New Jersey Transit met the December 31, 2020 federally mandated deadline for implementing Positive Train Control. NJT President and CEO Kevin Corbett discusses the project’s complexity, and the “come from behind” coordination
Former New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg has been tapped as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation.
Railway Age is honoring 20 “Fast Trackers” from a pool of more than 100 strong nominations for this year’s 20 Under 40 awards program.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released a status report on hyperloop standard development.
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has proposed $306 billion in infrastructure improvements as part of his 2021 agenda.
President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Jan. 14 that includes a $20 billion investment to “protect the future of transit.”
The University of Delaware (UD) is accepting applications for its Graduate Certificate in Railroad Engineering program, 2021-22 academic year. Professionals and engineering graduates may enroll; GREs (Graduate Record Examinations) are not required.
