Commuter Rail

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Commuter Rail

Romney Implements Bag Inspections On The MBTA

October 14, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

BOSTON – Gov. Mitt Romney earlier this month directed the MBTA to re-institute regular random bag inspections on the public transit system in order to shake up normal routines and make it more difficult to plan and carry out a potential terrorist act. The MBTA conducted random bag searches for a limited time before and during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. “Terrorism is not a traditional criminal activity,” Romney said. “We are fighting a war against people who have as their objective the overthrow of the United States government. Given that kind of threat, we have to adjust our homeland security strategies to confront it.” In August, the U.S.

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Commuter Rail

Multilevel Rail Cars to Debut on Northeast Corridor

October 14, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. – After months of extensive testing, N.J. Transit will place the first multilevel train into service on Dec. 11 for customers on the Northeast Corridor between Trenton and New York. “These cars provide much needed capacity to meet our growing demand while we build the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel,” said N.J. Transit Chairman and Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri. “We look forward to customers coming aboard.” “The Port Authority was proud to partner with N.J. Transit by providing $250 million for the first 100 multilevel rail cars,” said Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia. “That investment was the precursor to our landmark contribution to Trans-Hudson Express (THE) Tunnel project, which

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Commuter Rail

Metro Unveils New 6000 Series Train On Green Line

October 12, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, Metro officially introduced its first six new 6000 series train on the Green Line. The first three pairs, operating as a six-car train, departed the Greenbelt Metrorail station at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 3, to the Branch Avenue Metrorail station. By the end of the year, 50 of the new cars are expected to be in service, and by the end of 2008, Metro expects to have all 184 of these new rail cars in service. “Once again, the Metrorail system has achieved another milestone in its illustrious 30-year history,” said Gladys Mack, Chairperson of Metro’s Board of Directors. “We are extremely proud to unveil these

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Commuter Rail

Commuter Rail, Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study Launched by Tulsa Transit

October 12, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa Transit’s board of directors has approved a six-month feasibility study on commuter rail and/or bus rapid transit between downtown Tulsa and downtown Broken Arrow. “This has been a topic of discussion for many years in both Tulsa and Broken Arrow, but until this time, there has not been a serious feasibility study,” Tulsa Transit General Manager Bill Cartwright said. “The firm we have retained, Lockwood, Andrews & Newman has completed similar studies in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. They have extensive knowledge in the rail/bus rapid transit field and their studies have resulted in implementation in other markets.” “Tulsa is really an ideal candidate for a

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Commuter Rail

CTA Forecasts $8 Billion in Capital Needs

August 16, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO – An $8 billion capital investment is needed in the next five years in order to allow the CTA to continue to provide safe and reliable service and meet growing transit need, CTA’s vice-president of capital programs said. The announcement came after an Aug. 9 Chicago Transit Board meeting. Including all planned rail line extensions would increase the figure to more than $10 billion. Of the projected $8 billion need, CTA staff has identified about $2.2 billion that could be available through federal funding or CTA-issued bonds, leaving a potential unfunded need at $5.8 billion. A decision on an anticipated state capital program could help narrow the gap, officials

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Commuter Rail

Morning Red Line Service Disrupted Because of Suspicious Package

August 10, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – A suspicious package discovered around 9 a.m. Wednesday (Aug. 9) on the tracks near the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue- Gallaudet U Metrorail station disrupted Red Line service for three hours just after the morning peak period. Normal Red Line service resumed at 12:10 p.m. Throughout the police investigation, Metro suspended train service between the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Judiciary Square Metrorail stations, and established free shuttle bus service. More than 40 Metrobuses stopped at Rhode Island Avenue, New York Avenue, Union Station and Judiciary Square stations. Metro Transit Police, along with other law enforcement were called to investigate a 12-by-12-by-4 inch fiberglass box left on the tracks between

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Commuter Rail

Miami-Dade Transit to Receive Funding For Metrorail Expansion

August 7, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

MIAMI – Federal money will help pay for a Metrorail expansion from the Broward County line south and west to the Florida Turnpike and the FIU South Campus. The money – $2 million in the Senate Appropriations bill of the Fiscal Year 2007 and $1 million in the House bill – is earmarked for the “Orange Line” Metrorail expansion. “The Orange Line is critical to alleviating traffic congestion in Miami-Dade County,” said Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley. “Thanks to the efforts of Federal legislators we are one step closer to accomplishing this major project.”   Miami-Dade County and Transit officials have visited Washington numerous times to gain support for the funding.

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Commuter Rail

MBTA Opens Rhode Island Layover Facility

August 4, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – MBTA this week opened its Pawtucket Layover Facility in Rhode Island, which officials say will improve rail service. The facility was a joint venture between MBTA and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and boasts a six-track commuter rail yard for the purpose of overnight storage of commuter rail equipment. “This state of the art facility is capable of housing more equipment, which means more service for our customers,” MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said. “Our mission is to preserve our customer base, while at the same time attract more customers.” Prior to opening the new facility, trains were stored at an overcrowded facility in Attleboro,

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Commuter Rail

N.J. Transit to Begin Portal Bridge Replacement

August 4, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. – Plans to eliminate a major chokepoint and source of delays on the Northeast Corridor are underway thanks to action taken this week by the N.J. Transit Board of Directors to conduct environmental and related engineering work to rehabilitate or expand the 96-year-old Amtrak Portal Bridge. The Board awarded a $3.3 million contract to New York-based AKRF Inc. to determine how best to increase rail capacity at the two-track swing bridge, which carries the Northeast Corridor (NEC) over the Hackensack River just west of Secaucus Junction. “Today’s action is another example of this Board’s commitment to take meaningful steps to increase capacity, improve reliability and reduce delays for