Author: Carolina Worrell

Transit Briefs: Caltrain, SFMTA, MassDOT, Brightline, Metro-North, GCRTA

Caltrain celebrates the first anniversary of its electrified service. Also, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) celebrates the 30th anniversary of the F Market Line; the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) celebrates the 10th anniversary of the state’s purchase and rehabilitation of the “Knowledge Corridor”; Brightline announces network enhancements; new locomotives begin passenger service on Metro-North Railroad; and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) approves a request to purchase six more new railcars.

Fuchs Updates Outstanding STB Proceedings

Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Patrick Fuchs on Sept. 22 provided an update on recent actions to “facilitate and expedite the resolution of several outstanding Board proceedings.”

Class I Briefs: UP, CSX, NS

Union Pacific’s (UP) Big Boy 4014 will make two whistle-stops in Colorado this fall. Also, CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs is recognized with the Champion of Change Award from the Association of Corporate Citizen Professionals (ACCP); and Norfolk Southern (NS) supports the Alabama Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) grant to help speed the development of an industrial site in Limestone County.

NCRR Opens Fall 2025 Build Ready Sites Grant Round

The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) recently announced that it is now accepting applications for the Fall 2025 round of its Build Ready Sites Program (BRS). The competitive grant initiative helps communities prepare rail-served industrial sites for future development and job creation. Applications are being accepted until Monday, Oct. 17.

STB Sets 4Q25 Rail Cost Adjustment Factor

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has adopted for fourth-quarter 2025 the rail cost adjustment factor (RCAF), which is defined as “an index formulated to represent changes in railroad costs incurred by the nation’s largest railroads over a specified period of time.”

Transit Briefs: NYMTA/SIR, BART, DART, MBTA, Bay Area Transit Systems, LA Metro

The Staten Island Railway (SIR) fleet is now entirely made up of the standard R211 subway cars. Also, August Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ridership sees steady growth; Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) Silver Line will launch on Oct. 25; the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) CapeFLYER train reaches record ticket sales for the 2025 summer season; California legislature passes an authorizing ballot measure to address the Bay Area transit emergency; and LA Metro’s A Line Extension officially opens on Sept. 19.

  • News

NCCC Reaches Tentative Agreements With SMART-TD, Yardmasters

The National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) on Sept. 16 announced that it has reached a national tentative agreement with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the nation’s largest rail union, as well as a separate tentative agreement with the union’s Yardmasters, “representing a major step forward in both wages and quality of life improvements.”