Amtrak

From left to right: INRD Director, Intermodal Operations Dan Corcoran; Director, Bridges and Real Estate Bernie Guerrettaz; and Supervisor, Maintenance of Way Doug Guyer.
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People News: INRD, TriMet

The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) has promoted Dan Corcoran to Director, Intermodal Operations and is realigning its Engineering Department. Also, Mark Dorn joins TriMet as Executive Director.

Amtrak, in conjunction with the Washington State DOT, Oregon DOT, VIA Rail Canada and other federal agencies, will restart service to Vancouver via Cascades on Sept. 26. (Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, CTA, Gateway, LACMTA, SFMTA/Muni, SMART, VIA Rail

Amtrak Cascades service to Vancouver, B.C., is resuming this month. Also, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has released a combined Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Record of Decision (ROD) for Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Red Line Extension Project; the Gateway rail tunnel project price tag has risen to $16.1 billion, with a new construction start-date of 2024; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has expanded its student fareless pass program; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has launched the MuniSafe campaign; Northern California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) marked its fifth anniversary last month; and VIA Rail Canada has released its second-quarter 2022 report.

SacRT has teamed with the Sacramento Public Library to launch the area’s first library train. (Photograph Courtesy of SacRT)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak/VPRA, DART/DCTA, Metrolinx, SacRT, Sound Transit

Amtrak’s Virginia route ridership hit record highs last month. Also, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) in Texas are launching a joint rail operations facility; Metrolinx is employing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design on its Finch West light rail transit (LRT) project in northwest Toronto; Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) riders can sit back and read on the new Library Train in California; and the Fare Ambassador program at Sound Transit in Seattle, Wash., is now permanent.

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner has signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, a CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. (Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, Broward Commuter Rail Link, LACMTA, MARTA

Amtrak has joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™. Also, Broward County, Fla., has approved planning for a proposed southern commuter rail link; the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board has approved a contract with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Union, and approved a $66 million construction management contract for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project; and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has earned an upgraded “AA” credit rating from Fitch Ratings.

Amtrak, CSX, NS, Port to STB: Extend Mediation

All parties in the Gulf Coast case are in agreement—on the extension of mediation. Amtrak on one side and CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), and the Alabama State Port Authority and its Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks division (collectively, the Port) on the other are jointly calling on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to order a 30-day extension.

Amtrak does not have a centralized and automated repository to store its procurement contracts, and instead stores them in multiple locations, “affecting its ability to determine the total number of contracts, suppliers, and other contract information,” according to an Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released Aug. 18. (Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak OIG, via Twitter)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, LAX

A new report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General finds that “America’s Railroad” lacks a centralized and automated repository for contracts, which “poses legal and financial risks.” Also, LINXS Constructors has topped out the sixth and final station with structural steel for Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) 2.25-mile Automated People Mover (APM) project.

On average, according to Amtrak, its service is 46% more energy efficient than travel by car and 34% more efficient than domestic air travel.

Amtrak Issues FY21 Sustainability Report

Amtrak has published a sustainability report for FY 2021, highlighting projects across its regions and operations, as well as measured progress against its annual and long-term goals encompassing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, diesel fuel and electricity usage.

(Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak)

FRA Awards $233MM in SOGR Grants

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Aug. 18 awarded more than $233 million to 11 projects in eight states that will upgrade intercity passenger rail service. The grants are provided under the FY 2021 Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair (SOGR) Program (Partnership Program).

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