Lunar New Year TAP cards are now available at LA Metro Customer Centers and select rail stations. Also, new efforts to bring high-speed rail to downtown San Francisco include a price tag of $6.7 billion; Link21 announced appointment of 18 members to its newly formed Equity Advisory Council; and Brightline continues train testing at higher speeds in Palm Beach County in preparation for opening to Orlando.
A new Massachusetts Legislature report recommends changing Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) structure, leaving it in charge of subway and bus operations only. Also, MTA Metro-North Railroad marks its 40th anniversary; and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) teams with Rapido Trains, Inc., to produce 1:87 (HO) scale models of the BART legacy cars.
LA Metro releases limited edition TAP wearables at Customer Centers. Also, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) approves developer for North Berkley Transit Oriented Development (TOD); a new transit station area plan for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Huntington Metro Station, which serves the Yellow Line in Northern Virginia, has been approved; the East-West Rail Commission plans first hearing on Boston-Springfield passenger service; the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) pursues concept report for electric rail; and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grants the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) a waiver for train safety at Grand Central Madison.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) announces graduation of 84 new train operators and 10 new conductors and continues its annual tradition of Holiday Nostalgia Rides. Also, new illuminated artwork brings the sky to Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) Powell St. Station; the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) launches new gate prototype to prevent fare evasion; and VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) extends pilot project to reduce fuel consumption.
![SCVTA said its use of a single bore approach to build the six-mile, four-station BART Silicon Valley Phase II extension “will save construction time, reduce the station footprint and property needs, increase the potential for transit-oriented development, [and] reduce disruption to city streets, neighborhoods, and businesses.” (Rendering Courtesy of SCVTA)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCVTA-1-315x168.png)
An independent study has confirmed that the single bore tunnel method is feasible for the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Silicon Valley Phase II project, according to Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA).
The iconic original BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District) car could have looked very different.
![VIA Rail is adding “buffer cars at the front and back end of all trains with [older] stainless steel equipment to reduce the consequences in the unlikely event of a train-to-train collision,” Canada’s government-owned passenger railroad told The Globe and Mail. This safety measure will remain until older cars can be reinforced and new Siemens trainsets (pictured) enter service. (Photograph Courtesy of VIA Rail Canada)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VIA-Rail-Exterior-shot-5_Plan-Extérieur-5-1-315x168.jpg)
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) selects AECOM as owner’s engineer for the Bloor-Yonge Station Capacity Improvements project. Also, VIA Rail Canada is adding “buffer” cars to some trains to improve safety; Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA/Metro) reports that next month the Silver Line extension will be operationally ready to open, but it’s unclear if more 7000-series railcars will be approved for release to support it; and San Francisco Bay Rapid Transit District (BART) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) report a plastic Clipper® fare-card shortage.
Brightline tops off Aventura Station with placement of 131-foot-long pedestrian skybridge. Also, Chicago Transit Board approves two measures authorizing future land acquisitions in support of advancing the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Red Line Extension (RLE) project; and an off-Broadway play is set aboard Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).
“Take your BART, please!” If memes existed in the late 1980s, comedian Henny Youngman would undoubtedly have become one with these four words–a take on his signature phrase, “Take my wife, please.”
In September, our sister agency San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, celebrated its 50th anniversary. BART service changed transportation in the Bay Area forever, connecting communities in a way that hadn’t been done before. For San Francisco, the construction of BART not only provided new travel options within the city and to the East Bay, but also built the Muni Metro system.