The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a $790 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) for the Federal Way Link Extension Project in King County, Wash., via FTA’s Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program.
The Women’s Transportation Seminar Inland Empire Chapter (WTS-IE) has named HDR’s Lisa Reece as 2019 Woman of the Year, the first time in the chapter’s history that a woman from the private sector has been honored. Reece is the company’s transportation client development leader for Southern California.
New Jersey Transit is upgrading its River LINE DLRVs (diesel light rail vehicles) with power plants from Cummins that adhere to current U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Tier 4 emissions standards for non-road engines. The River LINE fleet consists of 20 Swiss-built Stadler Rail GTW (Gelenktriebwagen, or “articulated railcar”) 2/6 DMUs (diesel multiple-units). The replacement engines are expected to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions by at least 57%, lower particulate matter (PM) by 90%, and result in fuel savings of 10% to 15%.
The Los Angele Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is considering various financing options, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), in an effort to close major funding gaps as the city looks to expand its rail transit network ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.
Toronto’s 12-mile Eglinton Avenue Crosstown LRT project is in danger of not opening until seven months past the announced date (Sept. 30, 2021), and is exceeding its budget by more than C$330 million.
Wabtec Corp. has acquired RELCO Locomotives for $29 million, on a cash- and debt-free basis. All conditions for the acquisition are complete and the transaction will be accretive in year one. RELCO’s projected sales for 2019 are roughly $50 million.
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors recently awarded Stadler a $112 million maintenance contract. With the deal, Stadler enters the Maintenance Services sector in the U.S. for the first time.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has renewed a contract with Bombardier to operate and maintain PANYNJ’s automated transit system (AirTrain JFK) at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
St. Louis’s ill-fated Loop Trolley rolled along Delmar Boulevard for the last time on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. It died in infancy, at the chronological age of 13 months and 14 days, but an actual service life of only 235 days. While it is difficult to determine the actual cause of death, it appears that the little streetcar that couldn’t never had a chance. It was an unwanted child whose birth was delayed for years, and who suffered from neglect, ill health, destitution and just plan bad luck during its pitifully short life. Ironically, the line may still get another chance to live, if circumstances allow that.
Year-end 2019 saw the retirement of a unique, Canadian-designed and built streetcar: the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) after 40 years of service, a near-record in today’s transit industry.
