President Barack Obama on Nov. 12, 2015 signed an Executive Order creating a second Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between New Jersey Transit Rail (NJT) and some of its employees represented by labor unions.
Federal and Amtrak officials and state officials from New York and New Jersey announced Nov. 11, 2015 that they have reached an agreement on funding commitments and a governance structure that will allow the long-awaited, critically important $20 billion Gateway Tunnel Project to construct two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River to move forward.
Siemens has been awarded a $118 million USD contract to build 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), operator of regional and mass transit in Philadelphia, Pa., the company announced Nov. 11, 2015. The contract includes the supply of spare parts and operation and maintenance training. An option to deliver up to an additional five locomotives is also part of the contract.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for NEC FUTURE, FRA’s long-term investment framework for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Mass.
Wabtec Corporation has signed a $27 million contract with Regional Rail Partners to provide Phase I signaling and communications systems, including Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment, for the new North Metro Rail Line in Denver, the company announced Nov. 9, 2015. The line will eventually be integrated into Regional Transit District (RTD) commuter rail services.
California, Illinois and Maryland have ordered a combined 34 Charger diesel-electric passenger locomotives from Siemens Mobility, bringing the number of state Departments of Transportation procuring these units to six and the total number of units to 69. The locomotives will be built at the Siemens rail manufacturing plant in Sacramento, Calif.
Ottawa’s O-Train has grown from an experiment into an expanding system, with state-of-the-art equipment.
In this series published in Railway Age‘s September, October and November 2015 issues, Contributing Editor Alfred E. Fazio examines the possibilities and engineering requirements for high- or higher-speed rail in the U.S., with emphasis on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, including an improvement project in New Jersey.
It takes tenacity—and lots of capital—to keep one of the nation’s largest rail transit systems rolling.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board has approved its 2015-19 Capital Program, the MTA reported on Oct. 30, 2015.