The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded NJ Transit $71.4 million through the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program for repair, recovery and resiliency projects associated with Superstorm Sandy.
Hugely popular Pope Francis is visiting the U.S. in September, and Amtrak says its Northeast Corridor services are “uniquely suited” to carry passengers to and from various locations the Pope will be visiting in New York, Philadelphia and Washington and “is taking steps to prepare for an influx of rail passengers” by providing extra trains with added capacity to meet the anticipated demand.
Railway Age has selected noted railway industry industrial designer Cesar A. Vergara as recipient of the 2015 W. Graham Claytor Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to Passenger Transportation. Vergara will accept the award at the 22nd Annual Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads Conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2015.
Veteran railroad civil engineer and operating officer Alfred E. Fazio, P.E., has joined the staff of Railway Age as a contributing editor.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for its Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) located at the Harry Schnabel, Jr., Lab.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) General Manager Joseph M. Casey, who has led the Authority since 2008, will retire effective Sept. 30, 2015, after 34 years of service.
Assemblymember Adam C. Gray, who represents California’s 21st Assembly District (Merced County and portions of Stanislaus County) and serves as the Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Rail, will be hosting a public hearing on passenger rail services in the San Joaquin Valley on Friday, August 21, 2015 at 10 a.m. at the Modesto City Council/Stanislaus County Chambers in downtown Modesto. The focus of this hearing will be on “promoting the near-term improvement and expansion of the successful San Joaquin and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) rail services,” according to a statement released by Gray’s office.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has decided to phase out its 10-unit fleet of AEM7 and HHP8 electric locomotives used for MARC regional/commuter rail service and replace them with eight new 125-mph “Charger” diesel-electric locomotives from Siemens Industry.
APTA (American Public Transportation Association) has named HART (Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation) Executive Director and CEO Daniel A. Grabauskas as U.S./North America representative to the policy board of the UITP (International Association of Public Transport) for the 2015-2017 term.
National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) President and CEO Jim Mathews issued a statement responding to the recent incidents that have affected intercity and commuter rail operations in the New York/New Jersey region of the Northeast Corridor. We reprint it here in its entirety, unedited: