Porcari joins PB in executive role

John D. Porcari, former Deputy Secretary, United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), has been named Senior Vice President and National Director of Strategic Consulting at Parsons Brinckerhoff. He will be based in Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Washington, D.C. office.

Perris Valley Line groundbreaking looms

Construction of Metrolink’s 24-mile Perris Valley Line extension in southern California is expected to begin next month, backed by $75 million in additional federal funding announced Monday, Dec. 9, 2013.

Commentary

Emergency Order 29: Where’s the consistency?

When we investigate accidents and injuries, when we analyze failures of any sort on any railroad, we are searching for a root cause—that determining factor, or factors, that drive the accident from a potential condition to a manifest event.

NJT offers SUPER PASS for Super Bowl XLVIII

New Jersey Transit on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, launched “a commemorative, unlimited ride SUPER PASS that will speed travel for customers utilizing the agency’s transit system throughout Super Bowl Week.”

FRA issues emergency order to Metro-North

In the wake of the Dec. 1, 2013 wreck of an MTA Metro-North Railroad train that was apparently caused by an overspeed condition and that resulted in four deaths and 63 injuries, the Federal Railroad Administration on Friday, Dec. 6 issued an Emergency Order (EO 29) to Metro-North “to take specific, immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limitations.”
Commentary

Spuyten Duyvil: Why? A safety expert weighs in

Pearl Harbor. Dallas. 9-11. Lac Mégantic. Now we have “Spuyten Duyvil” to add to the collection of names that, before they became linked to tragedy and loss of life, were simply locations, or dates. You’ve probably read many of the press reports (including what Railway Age has covered) and seen the videos 

on Metro-North’s horrific Dec. 1 wreck. The accident, which now appears to be caused by human error, has turned into a media circus involving politicians and rail union reps, the latter now censured by the National Transportation Safety Board for compromising “confidentiality of investigative information” and being removed from participation in the investigation.

Gotham’s robust rail growth

MTA is readying infrastructure additions; continuing to repair, upgrade, and harden existing facilities; and acquiring new rolling stock, all in order to meet increasing passenger demand.

Metro-North wreck kills four, injures 63

Four people were killed and 63 were injured, 11 critically, when a seven-car Metro-North train derailed on a curve and rolled over at 7:20 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1. The train, which had originated in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at 5:54 a.m., was headed southbound toward Grand Central Terminal. It was a diesel-powered push-pull consist operating in push mode, as is standard practice on southbound Metro-North diesel trains. It appears now that human error, rather than mechanical or electrical failure, caused the accident.

Denver RTD OKs electric rail line contract

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 awarded a $343 million contract to Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Constructors for construction of the region’s first electrified regional/commuter passenger rail line.

Pennsylvania passes transport funding measure

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has passed a $2.3 billion transportation package that raises the state gas tax and provides funding for rail operations in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and on Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor linking Philadelphia and Harrisburg, the state capital.

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