Author: Douglas John Bowen

Virginia Beach continues LRT flirtation

Fifteen years after rejecting light rail transit, Virginia Beach, Va., officials are slowly but steadily warming up to the mode, with current Mayor Will Sessoms saying he hopes to have a plan in place within a month to extend The Tide service east from its current terminus in neighboring Norfolk.

City objects to funding (and not getting) LRT

Light rail transit destined to serve Ontario’s Waterloo Region will include financial contributions from Cambridge, Ont., even though that municipality won’t benefit from any LRT service at the onset.

Bergen County, N.J. reps seek LRT

Support for actually extending Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) into Bergen County, N.J., simmering for more than a decade, appears to be ratcheting up, coincidentally as New Jersey Transit’s new executive director, Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim, takes charge.

Ontario premier affirms transit fund

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has pledged that the province’s upcoming fiscal budget will include a dedicated transit fund, though sources for such a fund remain unclear, given that Wynne has said no taxes will be raised for such a purpose.

FRA slams lax Metro-North safety concerns

Stressing to the hilt its longstanding public emphasis on safety as a pinnacle industry goal, the Federal Railroad Administration slammed Metro-North Railroad Thursday, March 13, 2014 for a “deficient safety culture” that favored on-time performance to operational safety procedures.

Testing continues for St. Paul Green Line

Minnesota’s Metropolitan Council alerted residents of St. Paul Thursday, March 13, 2014 of more testing along the soon-to-open Green Line light rail transit project, this time involving tests of audio announcements on Friday, March 14.