Commuter Rail
FTA
Commuter Rail
U.S. Transportation Secretary Announces $280 Million for Streetcars
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the availability of $280 million for urban circulator projects such as streetcars, buses, and bus facilities to support communities, expand business opportunities and improve people’s quality of life while also creating jobs. The money represents the first batch of taxpayers’ money by the Obama Administration for its Livability Initiative, a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “This represents a significant effort to promote livable communities, improve the quality of life for more Americans and create
Commuter Rail
WMATA Officials Brief Safety Groups About Rail Yard Collision
WASHINGTON — Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials met with members of the Federal Transit Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the Tri-State Oversight Committee and walked them through preliminary information related to a Nv. 29 collision of two trains in the West Falls Church Rail Yard. The meeting was called by Metro and was a follow-up to personal contact that Metro’s General Manager John Catoe and safety officials made in reaching out to inform officials of the FTA, NTSB and TOC about the accident, WMATA said. The general manager also briefed members of the Metro Board of Directors about
Commuter Rail
NTSB Identifies Signal Failure in DC Crash
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued nine safety recommendations, six of which are urgent, as part of its investigation into the collision between two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains on June 22, 2009. The trains crashed on the Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington. The NTSB’s recommendations address concerns about the safety of train control systems that use audio frequency track circuits, authorities said. As part of its investigation, the NTSB said it discovered that a failure occurred in which a spurious signal generated by a track circuit module transmitter mimicked
Commuter Rail
NTSB: Fatigue Played Role in 2008 MBTA Trolley Wreck
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the two-train collision on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line last year occurred as a result of the trolley operator’s failure to obey a signal indication likely because she became disengaged from her environment consistent with experiencing an episode of micro-sleep. The lack of a positive train control system, which would have intervened to stop the train and prevented the collision, was cited as a contributing factor. At 5:51 PM EDT, on May 28, 2008, an MBTA Green Line train, traveling westbound at about 38 mph, struck the rear
Commuter Rail
NTSB Issues ‘Urgent Safety Recommendation’ to Washington Metro
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued an “urgent safety recommendation” to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) calling for enhanced safety redundancy of its train control system. “A recent accident on the Metrorail’s Red Line between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations has shown that WMATA’s train control system is susceptible to a single point failure because it did not fail safe and stop a train when detection of a preceding train was lost,” they NTSB said in a statement. “The urgent safety recommendation issued today calls for WMATA to evaluate track occupancy data on a real-time
FTA
$36 Million to Pay for Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Valley Metro Rail officials and local leaders announced $36 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds for the Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project. “This light rail project has been an engine for growth in the Phoenix area,” LaHood said. “And these recovery funds will ensure that transit continues to stimulate Arizona’s economy.” The ARRA funds will help to complete the rail line and allow Valley Metro to begin work on the extension, which is expected to create 10,000 jobs over the life of the project. Funds will be used
Commuter Rail
Newark Light Rail Gets Communications Upgrade
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
Commuter Rail
Federal Transit Administration Signs Agreement to Provide $428.3 Million to Fund Mid-Jordan Extension of TRAX Light Rail System
MIDVALE, Utah — Residents in the growing cities of Murray, Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan will soon have more options for traveling to and from downtown Salt Lake, thanks to $428.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Acting FTA Administrator Sherry Little was joined by Utah Transit Authority (UTA) officials and local leaders this morning to sign the “full funding grant agreement” which commits the federal funds toward the project. “The Mid-Jordan extension is the latest federal down payment to support Utah’s visionary and ambitious effort to develop a world-class public transportation ‘backbone’ by 2015,” Little said. “This
Commuter Rail
Metrorail Extension to Tyson’s Corner, Dulles International Airport Moving Forward
WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has substantially improved its proposal to extend Metrorail, responding various concerns the Department of Transportation raised in January, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced. “Consequently, we have sent the required 10-day notification to Congress that we intend to move the project into the Final Design stage of FTA’s New Starts Process,” Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson said in a statement. “FTA will commit $158.7 million to use toward completion of a financial plan, construction plans, detailed engineering specifications and cost estimates, and other technical requirements. “However, there are still hurdles facing