The first phase of Denver’s Eagle PPP commuter rail project was completed on April 22, 2016, when Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock inaugurated the 23.5-mile University of Colorado A Line from Union Station to Denver International Airport.
The first two vehicles from a fleet of 20 four-car driverless trains being built by Hitachi Rail Italy (HRI) for the Honolulu Metro arrived in Hawaii on March 24, 2016.
Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced details of phase 1 of the federal government’s new infrastructure plan, which was unveiled as part of the 2016 budget on March 22, 2016.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff officially inaugurated the city’s University Link light rail extension on March 18, 2016, when hundreds of guests took their first trip on the 3.2-mile underground line from Westlake Station in the city center to the University of Washington (Husky Stadium).
Hitachi Rail USA on March 17, 2016 officially opened its new 140,400-square-foot rail vehicle assembly plant in Medley, Fla., when the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez, inaugurated the facility with the unveiling of a full-size mockup of a new railcar for Miami Metrorail.
GTA (Greater Toronto Area) region public transportation agency Metrolinx outlined the four options being considered for the core of the Toronto Regional Express Rail (RER) network at a board meeting on Feb. 10, 2016.
All Aboard Florida, the intercity passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), announced on Nov. 9, 2015 that its Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Orlando service will be branded Brightline and also revealed the first artist’s impressions of the fleet of Siemens-supplied trainsets that will enter service when the first phase of the project is launched in mid-2017.
Toronto and Hamilton transport authority Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have signed a $C 9.1 billion ($US 7 billion) 30-year alternative financing and procurement (AFP) contract with Crosslinx Transit Solutions to finance, build, and maintain Toronto’s 12-mile Eglinton Crosstown light rail line, which is due to open in 2021.
The Ontario, Canada, Ministry of Transportation on Oct. 30, 2015 appointed former Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette as its special advisor to develop high-speed rail options on the Toronto-London-Windsor corridor.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Council Environmental Services has published a tender notice for a contract to supply 27 low-floor LRVs with an option for 50 more, even though Metro Transit still has options remaining on an existing contract with Siemens.
