Commuter Rail

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) this week committed $91 million in voter-approved Regional Measure 2 bridge toll money to help finance an $890 million extension of the BART system to Fremont’s Warm Springs district. Construction of the 5.4-mile extension from the current terminus at the Fremont station — which would be the first leg of a planned $6.1 billion extension of the BART system to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara — is slated to begin in the summer of 2009. MTC made the financing pledge as part of a strategic plan for implementing the $17.4 billion

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, alleging that WMATA is engaged in a pattern or practice of religious discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion. The complaint alleges that WMATA failed to reasonably accommodate and provide equal employment opportunities to employees and prospective employees whose religious practices conflict with WMATA’s uniform policy. WMATA’s practice is to deny all requests for religious accommodations to its uniform policy, regardless

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved legislation that proponents say will improve the Nation’s intercity passenger rail system and the safety of the nation’s railroads. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 will increase funding for Amtrak over the next five years, require new safety controls on trains that help reduce crashes, allow states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines and allocate funding for improvements to Washington’s Metro transit system. The legislation sets “an aggressive deadline” of 2015 for implementation of positive train control (PTC)