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Commuter Rail

N.J. Transit Dedicates New Multilevel Rail Cars to Nine Communities

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — N.J. Transit dedicated its first multilevel rail cars to nine communities served by the state’s commuter rail system. At a Nov. 15 ceremony during the League of Municipalities gathering at the Atlantic City Convention Center, the cars were dedicated in recognition of the strong ties between N.J. Transit and the host communities of Trenton, Hamilton, West Windsor, Edison, Rahway, Woodbridge, Elizabeth, Newark and Summit. Each of the 234 multilevel cars will display a commemorative plaque in honor of a community served by the rail network as they are delivered over the next two years. “These municipalities

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Commuter Rail

Two Killed by N.J. Transit Trains

BRADLEY BEACH, N.J. — Two people were killed Tuesday, Nov. 21, by a pair of N.J. Transit commuter trains. A woman was killed just before midnight Monday, delaying rail traffic on the North Jersey Coast Line. About two hours, as a second train was traveling to pick up stranded passengers who were on the first train, a man’s clothing was caught in a passenger coach door. He was dragged and killed, The Associated Press reported. The news agency reported a N.J. Transit crew member may not have been in the proper place to watch the platform as the train pulled

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Commuter Rail

Romney Implements Bag Inspections On The MBTA

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

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Commuter Rail

Multilevel Rail Cars to Debut on Northeast Corridor

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

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Commuter Rail

Metro Unveils New 6000 Series Train On Green Line

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

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Commuter Rail

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

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

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Commuter Rail

McCrillis named MARTA General Manager

ATLANTA – Richard J. McCrillis has been named general manager and Chief Executive officer of the authority of MARTA. He has served as interim general manager/CEO since January. “Richard McCrillis brings a wealth of experience to the table and is the clear choice to lead MARTA at this critical time in our history,“ MARTA Board Chairman Edmund Wall said. “As Interim General Manager, Richard has charted a course focused on fiscal responsibility, customer-focused service planning and regional transportation development, and the Board is excited to continue working with him to achieve these goals.” McCrillis joined MARTA in 1985 as Director

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Commuter Rail

CTA Forecasts $8 Billion in Capital Needs

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