Commuter Rail – Page 59 – Railfanning.org

NTSB to Discuss Metrolink Crash

February 10, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing on the 2008 collision in Chatsworth, Calif., involving a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train. The two-day hearing will begin on March 3 at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington. At 4:22 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2008, Metrolink commuter train 111 and a Union Pacific freight train collided. As a result of this head-on accident, there were 25 fatalities and numerous injuries. On the day of the accident, the Metrolink engineer, who was responsible for the operation of the

Atlantic City Express Service Launches Inaugural Trains Connecting New York, Atlantic City

February 6, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Representatives from the Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) joint venture partners — Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa — joined New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and other key New Jersey officials to launch weekend train service between New York’s Penn Station and Atlantic City. The launch of the ACES train is another major step in the evolution of Atlantic City into a world-class destination, providing residents of New Jersey and New York the opportunity to experience all the new attractions the city has to offer. “I welcome this

Mica: 80 and Counting Respond to Call for U.S. High-Speed Rail

February 5, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Eighty companies and state departments of transportation have responded to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) request for expressions of interest to develop high-speed rail corridors, according to U.S. Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla. “This overwhelming response is remarkable given the current state of the economy,” said Mica, the Republican Leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Last year, he led the effort to open high-speed rail development to private sector participation in 11 federally designated corridors in the United States. The measure including this initiative was signed into law in October. As required by the Mica initiative,

MTA New York City Transit Uses Web to Help Reconnect Riders with Their Lost Items

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — Using the internet as a central tool, MTA New York City Transit has streamlined and modernized the way it attempts to reunite bus and subway customers with their lost property. Finally, riders have access to an on-line system they can use to inquire about their lost items and receive an e-mailed response.Retrieving a valued item that has been left behind on a bus or in the subway has long been a taxing and time-consuming endeavor, requiring multiple telephone calls or visits to the Lost Property Unit seeking information about such items. The new system allows customers to

MTA LIRR Achieves Record On-Time Performance For 2nd Year in a Row

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — While serving a record number of passengers, the MTA Long Island Rail Road achieved a best-ever On-Time Performance (OTP) of 95.14 percent in 2008, breaking the previous record of 94.07 percent set in 2007 by more than a full percentage point. The 95.14 percent OTP is the best since modern record keeping began in 1979. The LIRR reached the 95.14 percent milestone in 2008 while operating 245,933 trains – which is 1,368 more trains than last year. “This is the second year in a row the LIRR has improved our on-time reliability, while seeing increases in ridership,”

NYC Subway Rider Report Card Results Are In For Shuttles

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — The 42nd Street S and Rockaway Park S shuttle grades have been tabulated. Trends may be difficult to determine due to the small size of customer responses. In 2007, there were 380 responses for the 42nd Street shuttle and 132 responses for Rockaway Park shuttle. In 2008, there were only 146 responses for 42nd Street and 60 responses for Rockaway Park. The 42nd Street shuttle travels only one stop in the east-west direction between Times Square and Grand Central stations. Keeping the small sample size in mind, the grade for “Overall Performance” for the 42nd Street shuttle

A Line Customers Grade Their Service a “C-Minus” in 2nd Annual Rider Report Card Survey Same Grade in 2007

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK –In MTA New York City Transit’s 2nd Annual Rider Report Card Survey, the A line again received an overall grade of “C-minus,” unchanged from 2007. The customer satisfaction index of 85 percent was, however, slightly lower than 2007’s 87%. Customers sent in 5,839 Rider Report Cards by mail and 171 via the internet, totaling 6,010 responses, to gauge customer satisfaction on the line. Twenty-one separate service attributes were graded on the A line, the longest subway line in the system; it runs from Inwood-207th Street in Manhattan to Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue or Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd. The highest grade

Customers on the E Line Grade Their Service a ‘D-Plus’ in 2nd Annual Rider Report Card Survey

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — MTA New York City Transit released the results from the 2nd Annual Rider Report Card Survey, and the E line again received an overall grade of “D-plus,” unchanged from 2007. However, the customer satisfaction index of 81 percent was three percentage points lower that 2007’s 84 percent. Customers sent in a total of 4,511 Rider Report Card responses – 4,280 by mail and 231 via the internet – gauging customer satisfaction on the line. Once again, 21 separate service attributes were graded on the E line, which runs from the World Trade Center to Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer at

Customers Give MTA Metro-North Railroad Record High Ratings

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — Overall customer satisfaction with MTA Metro-North Railroad in its largest market (inbound customers traveling on its Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines) climbed to 94 percent in 2008, setting a record high for the second year in a row. In addition, it marked the fourth consecutive year that customer satisfaction has increased according to Metro-North’s annual customer satisfaction survey. The survey is conducted each Fall and is jointly sponsored by the railroad and its partners – the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the Metro-North Rail Commuter Council and the Connecticut Metro-North New Haven Rail Commuter Council. Fully half

Newark Light Rail Gets Communications Upgrade

February 3, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

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 interoperable communications among and between first responders in this part of New Jersey because of its heavy reliance on the mass transportation network, like the Newark Light Rail, is a key component of our state’s homeland security strategy,” said Cañas. “We will continue to