Amtrak’s board of directors has extended the contract of President and CEO Joe Boardman “for his achievements in improving operational and financial performance, and to provide continuity of leadership critical to the ongoing implementation of the company’s strategic plan.”
A shortage of qualified engineers is causing annulments of SEPTA regional rail service trains, with some SEPTA employees predicting the problem will become more acute.
The long-running political struggle over Maryland’s Purple Line light rail transit proposal became more complex as state officials pledged $280 million to the project, but said private funding would likely be required as well.
Axion International Holdings, Inc. said May 22 that it has received a purchase order for ECOTRAX specialty rail ties from Edmonton Transit System, to be applied on the Albertan capital’s light rail transit system.
Legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver etched his illustrious baseball career and winning record with the three-run homer. Were Amtrak a Major League Baseball team, its success would be measured, instead, by infield hits. But Amtrak may have hit one long ball this week when new House Rail Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) conceded that Amtrak passenger service on the Northeast Corridor and on state-supported corridors is profitable and efficient.
Figures released Tuesday, May 21, by the Surface Transportation Board show Class I railroads employed 163,775 people in mid-April, up 1.11% from April 2012, and up 716 people, or 0.44%, from the previous month of March.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has awarded the first of three-design-build contracts for the second phase of Washington Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Silver Line, which will extend the line from Wiehle Avenue in Reston, Va., to Washington Dulles International Airport, terminating in Ashburn, Va.
Expediting repairs on 2,000 feet of right-of-way, including track restoration, reinstalled signals, and catenary replacement, Metro-North said it expects to restore full service on its New Haven Line on Wednesday, May 22. Amtrak Northeast Corridor service between Boston and New York also is expected to resume Wednesday.
A judge has rejected the environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposed Metrolink line from Riverside to Perris, ruling that the Riverside County (Calif.) Transportation Commission failed to address such issues as train wheel noise and pedestrian safety.
Updated Monday, May 20, 2013
At the height of the Friday, May 17 evening rush hour, an outbound MTA Metro-North Railroad M8 electric multiple-unit train carrying 300 passengers derailed, sideswiping an inbound M8 trainset carrying 400 passengers.
Maryland MARC train weekend service on the agency’s Penn Line (Northeast Corridor) could begin this summer, funded by a new transportation law boosting revenue from the state’s gas tax, state officials said Thursday, May 16.
