Transit Briefs: GCRTA, Metra, WMATA

This summer, WMATA will close the New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue stations on the Orange Line, as part of the final phase of its four-year Platform Improvement Project.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will receive an initial $20.3 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Also, Chicago’s Metra has scheduled 51 safety blitzes for 2022; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will start the final phase of its Platform Improvement Project on May 28.

GCRTA on Feb. 24 reported that it will receive an initial $20.3 million being released by the federal government for public transit agencies across Ohio under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL; also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). Over the next five years, Ohio is slated to receive $1.3 billion of guaranteed funding from BIL, with $260 million going to urban and rural transit providers in fiscal year 2022; $73.5 million is available immediately and the rest will be coming later this year.

“GCRTA is very appreciative of Senator [Sherrod] Brown’s [D-Ohio] support for public transportation, his efforts in getting this bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed, and the funding secured from this Act for GCRTA and other Ohio transit agencies,” GCRTA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer India Birdsong said. “This funding will assist us in strengthening our transportation network and associated infrastructure. Simply put, support of our transportation infrastructure equates to investment in our local economy.”

Metra will conduct Operation Lifesaver Safety Blitzes at 51 train stations across its six-county region in 2022. Blitzes are performed annually as a part of the commuter railroad’s efforts to raise awareness of the importance of safe behavior around trains and tracks. For each blitz this year, employees will visit one of Metra’s 242 stations during the morning rush hour, distributing educational materials about train and grade crossing safety, answering questions, and listening to commuters’ safety concerns. A short video about grade crossing safety will also be available for riders to view as they wait for their trains. Local police, fire and other public officials will be invited to participate.

While these blitzes are educational, the Metra Police Department will also conduct additional enforcement blitzes at locations throughout the region where citations and warnings will be issued to pedestrians and drivers who ignore gates and warning devices.

“Safety is always My Metra’s highest priority,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said. “As customers return to their commuting routines, these safety blitzes allow us to reach them directly to ensure that they understand the need to stay vigilant about safety anytime they’re around the railroad.”

Metra has more than 7,300 miles of track and 10,264 public highway/rail grade crossings. In 2020, Illinois ranked fourth in the nation in train vs. vehicle collisions at crossings and fifth in the nation in trespassing fatalities, according to Metra. From January 2021 through November 2021, statistics compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration show that 22 people died and 28 people were injured in grade crossing incidents in the state and another 19 people were killed and 17 people were injured trespassing along railroad right-of-way.

This summer, WMATA will close the New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue stations on the Orange Line, as part of the final phase of its four-year Platform Improvement Project. From May 28 through Sept. 5, WMATA and its contractors will reconstruct deteriorating outdoor platforms and implement station improvements to “enhance customer safety, convenience and communication”; those improvements include new slip-resistant tiles, brighter energy-efficient LED lighting, larger digital display screens, new stainless-steel platform shelters with charging ports, and new surveillance systems. Free shuttle bus service will be offered to riders, as well as free parking at all closed stations.

“By implementing around-the-clock closures to complete this intensive work, [WMATA] has minimized service impacts across the rest of the system and restored normal service faster than would otherwise be possible,” the transit agency said. “During this time, [WMATA] will take advantage of the closed tracks to rehabilitate six bridges on this section of the Orange Line.”

“We are excited to continue the work of rebuilding safer, more accessible, and modernized stations,” WMATA General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said. “Completing this work is the final step to reaching our goal of rehabilitating and modernizing 20 outdoor stations, and represents our commitment to delivering improved safety and service reliability systemwide through our capital program.”