Severe winter conditions were blamed for Amtrak suspending a number of its long-distance and regional trains across the nation’s Northern Tier and Midwest during the Christmas holiday week. Then came West Coast cancellations in the wake of heavy rains and flooding during the first week of January.
Applications are now being accepted for Amtrak’s scholarship program. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveils a strategic action plan to improve bike, pedestrian, and micromobility access at and near its facilities; city of Montreal advances the Western Link Kirkland project, providing access to the Prairies River and a new Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train station; and metro Vancouver’s TransLink fully integrates contactless Interac Debit payments systemwide.
RAILWAY AGE, JANUARY 2023 ISSUE: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” So goes the opening of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens’s 1859 saga of the French Revolution. Amtrak and its riders have experienced the best of times in some respects, along with the worst of times in others, during the half-century since “America’s Railroad” was founded in 1971, but Amtrak’s prospects stand in stark contrast today.
Brightline reveals first look inside its Orlando Station. Also, Wisconsin mayors submit letter of interest to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to take part in a study that will look at building an Amtrak rail line connecting Green Bay and Milwaukee; construction of a new Coatsville, Pa., station, serving Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is now under way; and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority’s (SFMTA) Central Subway is now open seven days a week.
Construction on the Hudson River rail tunnels, part of the Gateway Program in New York and New Jersey, will advance with a $292 million Mega grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Also, MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Grand Central Madison will not open by the end of the year, as planned; and California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) will receive $1.8 million in Community Project Funding under the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23.
House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders on Dec. 23 approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) funding bill of $21.2 billion for public transit and $16.6 billion for passenger and freight rail, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and Ohio mayors work to advance Amtrak expansion plans. Also, Alstom’s automated people mover (APM) at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport carries first passengers across new extension.
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) announces Grand Central Direct service to Grand Central Madison. Also, Caltrain awards contracts for on-board Wi-Fi.
Amtrak’s long-distance Empire Builder trains originating in Seattle, Portland, and Chicago on 12/20 and 12/21 have been cancelled due to severe winter weather that is expected for large segments of the route.
Amtrak has released visuals of its upcoming new long-distance and corridor service single-level, semi-permanently-coupled push/pull trainsets—the Siemens Mobility-built Amtrak Airo™—which will replace aging Amtrak-owned Amfleet I equipment.
