Commuter Rail

NEW YORK — MTA Metro-North Railroad is streamlining its study of how best to provide direct train service from its New Haven and Hudson lines into Penn Station, New York via the east Bronx and Manhattan’s West Side, officials said. An environmental review began a decade ago with the intent of developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a “Preferred Alternative” pursuant to the National Environmental Protection Act. Through two screening processes, an initial list of 22 service alternatives was narrowed to four “Build” alternatives; two alternatives for Hudson Line service to Penn Station and two alternatives for New Haven

WASHINGTON — Amtrak Police, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel and law enforcement officers from more than 100 federal, state, local, rail and transit police agencies were deployed at approximately 150 passenger rail stations throughout the Northeast Corridor region in an exercise of expanded counterterrorism and incident response capabilities. The deployment happened Sept. 9. The multi-force security surge across 13 states and Washington, DC, is NOT in response to any particular threat or incident. Rather, today’s deployment is part of Operation ALERTS (Allied Law Enforcement for Rail and Transit Security), a coordinated effort involving activities such as heightened station patrols, increased

WASHINGTON — Metro officials are investigating an accident that took place mid-morning today, Sept. 10, when a 44-year old Metro employee was struck by a six-car outbound train at 10:40 a.m. between the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Braddock Road Metrorail stations. The male employee, a communications technician in Metro’s Track, Structures and System Maintenance Office, was originally hired by Metro on Dec. 30, 1996. He was taken to a local hospital. It is believed that he sustained serious injuries. A communications technician is responsible for repairs to the communications network that alerts the Operations Control Center of vital