Commuter Rail

NEW YORK – State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Dec. 21 asked a judge to hold the leadership of a transit union in contempt of court. “Hopefully, these cumulative sanctions will result in a termination of the strike,” Spitzer said in a statement. “If not, my office will be back in court seeking additional penalties until this strike is ended.” More than 7 million riders have no choice but to find another means of transportation as 33,000 New York City transit workers are on strike. The transit agency and its 33,000 workers are fighting over wages and pension contributions; the

NEW YORK – Transit workers on Dec. 20 went on strike, forcing millions of city residents to find another way to commute to work. "The morning rush hour was unlike anything this City has experienced in 25 years," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "For a lot of New Yorkers, it was not an easy commute and getting home tonight won’t be easy either. The good news is New Yorkers are following the strike contingency plan we developed and put into effect early this morning." The strike is the first since an 11-day strike in 1980. The transit strike is illegal under

NEW YORK –  Commuters went to work Dec. 16 under the threat of a strike by the city’s transit workers, but New York’s subway system remained open for morning rush hour. “A strike would be more than just illegal and inconvenient; it will threaten public safety and severely disrupt our City and its economy,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said previously. “Our contingency plan is designed to move as many people as possible using alternative means of transportation and to make sure that our streets remain passable for emergency vehicles.” City officials previously outlined a plan to address a transit disruption by reducing

NEW YORK – A strike on the city’s subway system was looming late Dec. 15. “The City is prepared for the worst case scenario with a robust contingency plan,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. “A strike would be more than just illegal and inconvenient; it will threaten public safety and severely disrupt our City and its economy,” Bloomberg said. “Our contingency plan is designed to move as many people as possible using alternative means of transportation and to make sure that our streets remain passable for emergency vehicles.” In the event of a labor action by New York City Transit unions TWU

WASHINGTON – Metro is proposing no fare increase as part of next fiscal year’s budget for the second year in a row. Metro General Manager-CEO Richard A. White in early December outlined the authority’s $1.8 billion fiscal 2007 operating and capital budget proposal today before the Metro Board Budget Committee, which includes new buses, rail cars for eight-car trains and other expanded services. The more than $1 billion operating budget would provide for a traditional 1 percent increase in bus service to relieve overcrowding and improve on time performance. Managers also would like to fund another 2 percent increase in

ANOKA, Minn. – After completing 60 percent of the design of the Northstar Commuter Rail required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) has found that updated capital cost estimates are consistent with preliminary cost estimates of $265 million, the group announced Nov. 29. The latest numbers are the result of an in-depth engineering of all project elements today compared to when estimates were developed during preliminary design. "We have always pursued a conservative and careful approach to ensure responsible financial management of this project," said Tim Yantos, executive director of the NCDA. "It’s gratifying