Ottawa LRT plan gets federal nod
Canada’s capital city on Monday said it “has received Federal Environmental Assessment approval for the Ottawa Light Rail Transit (OLRT) project.”
Commuter Regional
MBTA taps MotivePower for new locomotives
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors has committed $38 million to acquire seven new locomotives from MotivePower, Inc., with 80% of the purchase price funded by federal sources.
Metro-North plans smartphone ticketing
MTA Metro-North announced Wednesday that it is working with Masabi US Ltd. to test a smartphone app “that will let people buy their train tickets anywhere, anytime and never have to hold a piece of paper.”
NJT RiverLINE resumes regular service
New Jersey Transit Monday said its RiverLINE passenger rail service has resumed regular service, more than 10 months after Hurricane Irene savaged large swaths of the Northeast.
California legislature OKs state HSR effort
California’s state Senate Friday afternoon, in a close vote, approved $5.8 billion to initiate the state’s high speed rail network, following a less contentious vote by the California state Assembly Thursday to approve (or retain) initial funding for the state’s 700-mile high speed rail project.
Santa Ana streetcar funding options weighed
Orange County, Calif., transportation officials are weighing the practicality of expanding Interstate 405 capacity, while also considering a proposed streetcar system for Santa Ana, the county seat.
Caltrain testing real-time info system
Caltrain said Tuesday it will begin testing a Predictive Arrival/Departure System that will tell riders in real time when their train will arrive at the station and whether the train is on time.
Pro-passenger rail voices lament transport bill
Pro-passenger rail and environmental groups Friday lamented the House-Senate compromise on federal transportation funding, citing various examples of punishment or disincentives levied against the mode.
Wabtec lands Denver component contract
Wabtec Corp. Friday said it has signed contracts worth about $25 million to provide components, including on-board Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment, for 50 new transit cars being built by Hyundai-Rotem for Denver’s Regional Transit District (RTD).
Alstom, Bombardier tout RATP/STIF order
Bombardier Transportation on Friday said as part of the Alstom-Bombardier consortium, it will supply 210 double-deck commuter train cars for line A of the RER, the Greater Paris regional rail network. Separately, Alstom on Friday identified the order as “70 additional duplex trainsets, known as MI09s.”