BART will increase police patrols on trains and in stations, increase the frequency of “deep cleaning” of train cars and add more “scrub crew” cleaning at stations this spring. (BART Photograph)

Transit Briefs: BART, LIRR, MBTA

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is boosting police presence and cleaning in response to rider concerns. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and federal, state and local officials celebrate the start of full-scale Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service to Grand Central Madison; and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) launches a safety dashboard for riders and pushes back implementation of its new automated fare collection system.

Grand Central Madison opened its doors on Jan. 25. Full LIRR service is set to start Feb. 27. (Marc A. Hermann/MTA)

LIRR to Initiate Full Service to Grand Central Madison

Full MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service to Grand Central Madison is set for Feb. 27. Limited shuttle service is currently running between Jamaica, N.Y., and Grand Central Madison, which on

At 1:19 p.m. on Feb. 2, Grand Central Terminal’s 110th anniversary train—a local Metro-North Railroad train from Stamford, Conn., to Grand Central—arrived on Track 27. MTA officials greeted passengers and distributed commemorative stickers. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Happy 110th, Grand Central Terminal!

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials on Feb. 2 celebrated the 110th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, just days after it became the expanded house of the two busiest commuter railroads in the country, Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).

Biden Visits MTA, Announces Funding at LIRR West Side Yard

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) welcomed President Joe Biden Jan. 31 to the Long Island Rail Road West Side Yard at Hudson Yards.

New York MTA’s Metro-North Penn Station Access Project would bring MTA Metro-North commuter rail service to Penn Station and Manhattan’s west side, along Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line on the Northeast Corridor (artist’s rendering shown).

Transit Briefs: Brightline, NYMTA, OCTA, SacRT, SCVTA

Ahead of service to Orlando, train testing of up to 110 mph continues for Brightline, Florida’s private-sector passenger railroad. Also, New York MTA’s Metro-North Penn Station Access Project faces delays; Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and Metrolink unveil track and station improvements in Anaheim, Calif.; Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) in California begins station modifications to accommodate new LRVs from Siemens Mobility; and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) offers limited-edition trading cards.

Wikimedia Commons Photo

Huntington Station to Receive $10MM for Revitalization Efforts

As the sixth-round Long Island winner of New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), Huntington Station will receive $10 million in funding to revitalize its downtown neighborhood and generate new opportunities following the local planning process.

LIRR Service to Grand Central Madison Set to Begin

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has announced that Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service to Grand Central Madison will begin Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Marc A. Hermann/MTA

Transit Briefs: LIRR, MassDOT/Northern Tier Passenger Rail, St. Louis Metro Transit

The opening date of the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Grand Central Madison station has been delayed due to an ongoing issue with an exhaust fan; Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Northern Tier Passenger Rail service could cost up to $2 billion; and four MetroLink stations in St. Clair County will receive the system’s first fare collection gates next year.

The 14-mile Interborough Express would connect the Brooklyn and Queens communities to 17 MTA New York City Subway lines and MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). It would use existing right-of-way of the Bay Ridge Branch freight line—owned by LIRR and operated by New York & Atlantic—and CSX’s Fremont Secondary line.

Light Rail Selected for New York’s Interborough Express Project

The MTA’s proposed Interborough Express project will move forward using light rail to provide service from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Queens, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reported during her 2023 State of the State address on Jan. 10.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Dec. 29 announced that construction work on the Hudson River rail tunnel project connecting Penn Station New York and New Jersey will commence “in the coming months on the Manhattan side,” according to the New York Daily News. (Amtrak Photo)

Transit Briefs: Gateway, LIRR, SMART

Construction on the Hudson River rail tunnels, part of the Gateway Program in New York and New Jersey, will advance with a $292 million Mega grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Also, MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Grand Central Madison will not open by the end of the year, as planned; and California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) will receive $1.8 million in Community Project Funding under the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23.

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