LIRR’s Cannonball moving to Penn Station

New York media late Wednesday marveled over the planned return this summer of the sole “name” train on the Long Island Rail Road: The Cannnonball. More relevant to potential passengers is the venerable train’s reassigned western origin point: New York-Penn Station.

FDOT taps Bombardier for SunRail services

Bombardier Transportation said Monday it has signed a contract with the Florida Department of Transportation to provide operations and maintenance services for the Central Florida Commuter Rail Transit project, commonly called SunRail, worth about $195 million.

Prendergast named New York MTA chief

In a move largely anticipated by observers of the New York City metropolitan area’s public transportation system, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has named veteran transit executive Thomas F. Prendergast as the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Chairman and Executive Director.

Obama backs rail in FY14 transport budget

Continuing to back up his political position established in his first term, President Obama Wednesday included considerable funding for rail and rail transit projects in his proposed fiscal year 2014 budget. Longer-term, the President also is advocating investment of $40 billion in passenger rail projects in the next five years. But the proposal, while a good placeholder and a rallying marker for pro-rail forces, is unlikely to survive intact.

Study: NYCT No. 7 Line to New Jersey feasible

Countering a blanket dismissal one year ago from the then-chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a 61-page study prepared for the City of New York asserts a No. 7 subway line extension under the Hudson River, linking Manhattan with New Jersey points, is worth pursuing.

All’s quiet (sort of) beneath Grand Central

After two years and one month of blasting, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday that sandhogs working on the East Side Access project have concluded more than 2,400 controlled explosions under Grand Central Terminal in the building of two caverns 160 feet below the streets where eight tracks for Long Island Rail Road trains will be laid.

Study: Extend Ottawa O-Train, boost LRT use

An interagency report released Tuesday recommends Ottawa’s existing O-Train diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service be extended across the Ottawa River “to better integrate transit between the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau.”

Boston South Station expansion focus faulted

Criticism of a proposed $850 million expansion plan for Boston’s South Station is coming not just from fiscal conservatives and anti-rail partisans, but now also from those arguing current plans ignore a long-sought link with the city’s North Station.

Operation Lifesaver releases 2012 annual report

Operation Lifesaver, Inc. on Tuesday released its 2012 Annual Report, which reviews the organization’s accomplishments, according to President and CEO Joyce Rose.

NCTD alerts customers on PTC installation

Southern California’s North County Transit District, which oversees operations of Coaster regional rail service serving San Diego County, says it has begun installing Positive Train Control on right-of-way in and around Carlsbad and Del Mar, Calif.

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