The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, noted that for the sixth consecutive year, it “has been ranked No. 1 among small federal agencies by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS),” through the latter’s 2014 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.
The Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 it intends to grant both Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority waivers from its “Buy America” requirement for the non-domestic final assembly of up to four prototype Tier III high speed rail train sets.
Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Dan Elliott, recently remarried and frantic over pending Senate confirmation to a second five-year term, is proving to have more lives than Warner Brothers cartoon character Wile E. Coyote.
Amtrak has established the Chicago Gateway Initiative, described as “a blue ribbon panel of rail and transportation leaders that will identify infrastructure and operational improvements to address the rail traffic gridlock in Chicago,” because “an unprecedented level of rail congestion is causing major delays for Amtrak passengers and freight shipments that are damaging to the U.S. economy.”
The National Transporation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, publicly identified several recurring safety issues plaguing Metro-North Railroad in past years, including inadequate and ineffective track inspection and maintenance, extensive deferred maintenance issues, inadequate safety oversight, and deficiencies in passenger car crashworthiness, roadway worker protection procedures, and organizational safety culture.
Unveiling a new logo for regional rail service 12 days before Election Day, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state Department of Transportation announced capital adjustments to the newly named “Hartford Line,” linking the state capital with Springfield, Mass. to the north, and New Haven, Conn., to the south.
Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) says its $130 million smart-card payment system, now dubbed “SEPTA Key,” will be implemented on Philadelphia-area buses and subways beginning early next year, with implementation on light rail transit operations to follow.
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to build an extension of PATH rapid transit service south of Newark-Penn Station toward – though not all the way to – Newark Liberty International Airport.