Andy Byford, nicknamed “Train Daddy” when he was President of MTA New York City Transit, will begin his new role as Senior Vice President for Amtrak’s high-speed rail (HSR) program, effective April 10, according to multiple news reports.
Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner Andy Byford will leave the authority at the end of October. He will be replaced on an interim basis by current Chief Operating Officer Andy Lord. Byford, nicknamed “Train Daddy” when he was President of MTA New York City Transit, confirmed that he will return to the U.S. upon leaving TfL.
The New York Metroplitan Transportation Authority’s loss is Transport for London’s (TfL’s) gain. On May 27, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the TfL Board named Byford as London’s Transport Commissioner.
New York City Transit President Andy Byford resigned on Jan. 23. Andy was hired in January 2018 to improve and transform New York City’s 116-year-old subway, North America’s largest, and he was doing just that. But he got fed up with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who thinks he’s in charge of running New York’s railways. Now, someone else will have to carry on—if they’re capable—and that remains to be seen.
Statistics released Feb. 22 by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) show that New York City Transit (NYCT) subway performance, bolstered by the Subway Action Plan and Save Safe Seconds Campaign, “continues its months-long trend of improvement, with the best on-time performance, and the fewest number of delays, that the system has seen in four years.” However, constrained funding will limit just how far these programs will carry improvements.
I usually have reason to be critical of non-rail-industry-trade-publication reports on railroads or rail transit. The reporters rarely understand the subject matter, and they frequently describe rail technology in terms that makes my hair stand on end—and I’ve been bald (“follically challenged”, in euphemistic terms) since about 1985. Or, they have an agenda. Not so with the Oct. 21, 2018 CBS 60 Minutes report on New York’s subway system.
MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford on May 23 revealed “Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize NYCT,” an estimated $19 billion* program described as “a comprehensive plan to completely modernize every major aspect of the organization and its services, from subways to buses to accessibility to corporate culture.”
MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford, recently arrived from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and working diligently to improve operations, has named two agency veterans to executive posts running North America’s largest rapid transit network.
Andy Byford, who has forged a rail transit career on three continents, will join the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority as President of New York City Transit, the agency responsible for New York City subways, buses, paratransit services and the Staten Island Railway, effective in January 2018.
