Amtrak

(Maryland DOT Photograph)
  • News

MDOT Tightening Budget Belt

The state of Maryland’s six-year transportation spending plan includes some $3.3 billion in proposed cuts across modal administrations to address “declining revenue projections,” it reported Dec. 5.

Virginia DPRT Executive Director Jennifer DeBruhl will retire at the end of June.
  • News

DeBruhl to Retire as DRPT Executive Director

Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) Executive Director Jennifer DeBruhl will retire at the end of June, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report.

(Amtrak Photograph)

Watch: Amtrak Releases FY23 Preliminary Results

Amtrak on Nov. 30 reported continued “strong growth” in Fiscal Year 2023 with nationwide ridership up 24.6%, as it resumed service on all routes and advanced infrastructure projects that it said will support plans to double ridership by 2040.

A preliminary design and environmental study will be completed this year on bringing Amtrak service to the Warwick/T.F. Green Airport Station (pictured) in Rhode Island, which is currently served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. (City of Warwick Photograph)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, HART, Kansas City Streetcar, MARTA

Will Amtrak stop at Warwick, R.I.? Also, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board approves a new financing agreement for Skyline; the price tag for Kansas City Streetcar’s riverfront extension has gone up 75%; and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) breaks ground on a new transit-oriented development project in DeKalb County, Ga.

ASLRRA’s Fred Oelsner, Cameron Downs and Richard Sherman recently joined Wi-Tronix’s Chad Jasmin for a field tour of Amtrak’s Ivy City Maintenance Facility in Washington, D.C. (ASLRRA Photograph)
  • News

Supply Side: ENSCO, RailPros, Wi-Tronix

The U.S. Department of Labor recognizes railway track inspection and measurement technology provider ENSCO for excellence in recruiting, employing and retaining America’s veterans. Also, engineering and diversified safety services company RailPros opens a Chicago office; and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) staffers visit Amtrak’s Ivy City Maintenance Facility in Washington, D.C., to learn about Wi-Tronix’s onboard locomotive system implementation.

NYMTA photo

Transit Briefs: Claymont Transportation Center, NYMTA, DART

The $90 million Claymont Transportation Center will soon open to rail commuters. Also, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announces that significant station upgrades have been completed at the Flushing-Main Street 7 subway station; and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) festive trains return to bring holiday cheer.

Commentary

Watch: Brightline on CBS Mornings

CBS Mornings correspondent Kris Van Cleave produced an excellent report on the prospects for high-speed rail in the United States, focusing on Brightline’s successful Miami-Orlando service, which offers 125-mph operations on a