There is nothing operating in the United States or Canada that meets the standard of the High-Speed Rail (HSR) lines that run in Europe, Japan and China today. Still, there are many planners, managers, transportation officials, and rider-advocates who want to remedy that situation.
President Joe Biden on March 28 submitted to Congress a $5.79 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2023 that calls for $105 billion to be distributed to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). With an additional $37 billion in guaranteed advance appropriations provided under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL; also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA), the USDOT’s total budget would be $142 billion. Included in the budget for USDOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is funding for four new rail-related projects; the Gateway Program’s Hudson Tunnel project in New York and New Jersey, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II rail project in California are among them.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) on Feb. 11 submitted a letter to Congress urging members to “fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).”
MTA Metro-North Railroad has expanded its rider seat availability tracker to Google Maps. In addition, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has scheduled pilot testing of autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle routes in 2022 and 2023; and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has selected WSP USA’s Jannet Walker-Ford to serve on its Executive Committee.
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) has named Bonnie Todd COO; she is the first woman to hold the agency’s top operating job.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has announced the honorees of its 2021 Bus and Rail Safety, Security and COVID Response Excellence Awards, and published a new transit agency report on pandemic response, trends and the path forward.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has responded to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) call for Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program feedback, and has updated its dashboard of CIG projects in the pipeline.
Amtrak executives—including newly appointed Executive Vice President-Major Program Delivery Laura Mason—addressed plans for potential infrastructure bill funding and pandemic recovery during the Rail Passengers Association’s virtual conference this week.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has released its annual Public Transportation Fact Book, which covers transit finances and operating statistics by modes of travel; transit vehicle characteristics and deliveries; federal grants and the Federal Transit Act; and statistical trends for Canadian transit operations.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and a coalition of industry partners have called on Congress and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to support additional public transit and high speed rail investment in the reconciliation bill, the Build Back Better Act. In addition, a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board Committee has approved depositing a portion of pandemic relief act funds with small, disadvantaged and minority-owned financial institutions.
