WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board  determined that the two-train collision on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line last year occurred as a result of the trolley operator’s failure to obey a signal indication likely because she became disengaged from her environment consistent with experiencing an episode of micro-sleep.
The lack of a [...]

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued an “urgent safety recommendation” to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) calling for enhanced safety redundancy of its train control system.
“A recent accident on the Metrorail’s Red Line between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations has shown that WMATA’s train control system is susceptible to a [...]

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Valley Metro Rail officials and local leaders announced $36 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds for the Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project.
“This light rail project has been an engine for growth in the Phoenix area,” LaHood said. “And these recovery funds will ensure [...]

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Richard L. Cañas joined N.J. Transit Police officials and representatives from Newark-area emergency response agencies to announce the completion of a communication system upgrade recently installed on Newark Light Rail that enables dozens of responding agencies to communicate via a common radio channel.
“Enhancing [...]

MIDVALE, Utah — Residents in the growing cities of Murray, Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan will soon have more options for traveling to and from downtown Salt Lake, thanks to $428.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.
Acting FTA Administrator Sherry Little was joined by Utah Transit Authority (UTA) officials and local leaders this [...]

WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has substantially improved its proposal to extend Metrorail, responding various concerns the Department of Transportation raised in January, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced.
“Consequently, we have sent the required 10-day notification to Congress that we intend to move the project into the Final Design stage of FTA’s [...]

WASHINGTON — President Bush has recommended a $1.62 billion funding package for Fiscal Year 2009 that includes new projects in nine cities across the nation. This New Starts amount is part of a total public transportation budget proposal of $10.1 billion, a 6.8 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2008.
“Well planned, cost-effective transit is crucial to [...]

WASHINGTON — Norfolk’s light rail system is one step closer to reality, now that the federal government has signed a “full funding grant agreement.”
Under the agreement, the federal government will provide $128 million in tax dollars, more than half of the $232 million in capital costs for the project. The money will be allocated through [...]

WASHINGTON — The federal government is giving $1.3 billion in tax dollars for New York’s Second Avenue Subway line, which when completed, will help ease congestion for commuters in the nation’s biggest city, officials announced earlier this month.
“It was bold ideas and big dreams that made New York City the place it is today, and [...]

NEW ORLEANS – Streetcar service is returning to the historic St. Charles line in New Orleans now that a federally funded project to replace electrical lines used to power the system is complete, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said.
“Today, the streetcars’ familiar sounds return to St. Charles Avenue for the first time since Katrina [...]