Amtrak’s Adirondack service between New York City and Montreal will resume April 3. It had been suspended for three years due to the pandemic.

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, CATS, MBTA, Metrolinx, NYCT, TransLink

Amtrak, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and VIA Rail Canada are fully restoring Adirondack service. Also, a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) derailment report raises light rail vehicle safety concerns; Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) lifts Green Line speed restrictions; Metrolinx, the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area transit authority, launches the #GOTransitReads by Legible Book Club; MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) logs more “Station Re-NEW-vation Program” work; and the government of British Columbia provides C$479 million in emergency funding for metro Vancouver’s TransLink.

Brightline West has inked a commitment with the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition, which comprises 13 rail unions representing more than 160,000 freight, regional, commuter and passenger railroad workers in the United States. (Photograph Courtesy of Brightline West)

Transit Briefs: Brightline West, Metrolinx, NYMTA

Brightline West supports using union labor for its planned 218-mile high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas and Southern California. Also, Metrolinx provides updates the Finch West LRT’s Humber College Station and Toronto Union Station projects in Canada; and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will test “wide-aisle” fare gates.

Siemens Mobility Lands Metrolinx M/W Contract

Metrolinx has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract for track, signal and right-of-way maintenance services for the agency’s GO Transit regional/commutert rail infrastructure system in Toronto’s West Region.

The province of Alberta is where the most collisions at rail crossings happen in Canada.

Authorities Call for Better Oversight Along Canada’s Provincially Regulated Railways

With the release of investigation documents surrounding a 2019 accident in which a GO Transit train struck two people at a public crossing in Ontario, officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are expressing concerns about the safety oversight of provincially regulated railways.

Transit Briefs: Metrolinx, SEPTA, Northern Lights Express

Local transit systems join Metrolinx’s GO Transit in accepting credit card taps to pay transit fees. Also, countdown clocks are coming to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) platforms this spring; and Minnesota legislators propose $99 million to kick-start the Northern Lights Express (NLX), which would connect downtown Minneapolis to the St. Louis County in Duluth.

The Georgia Department of Transportation’s recent safety audit of MARTA has found “a strong commitment to safety and no major safety gaps or concerns,” the transit authority reported on Dec. 8.

Transit Briefs: MARTA, MBTA, Metrolinx, NYMTA, RTA, Sound Transit

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) undergoes the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) 2022 Triennial Safety Audit. Also, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) celebrates “substantial completion” of the first of two construction contracts for its South Coast Rail Phase I project; a contractor-targeted opening date for the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT, one of four light rail projects in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, may be “overly ambitious,” according to a Metrolinx report obtained by the Toronto Star; New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in early 2023 will begin phasing in a new role for subway station agents; Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois (RTA) releases a draft strategic plan; and Sound Transit’s Downtown Redmond (Wash.) Link Extension has earned an award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

RailVision Founder and CEO Dev Jain. (Photo: Business Wire)

RailVision Secures $4MM in Seed Funding

Canada-based RailVision Analytics, which was launched in 2020 with the objective of “helping the railway industry reduce its fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” announced Nov. 30 that it has closed a $4 million seed funding round from investors to be used for technical hiring, growing the company’s development team, and expanding its product line and customer base.

The Scarborough Subway Extension project will bring Toronto Transit Commission’s Line 2 subway 4.8 miles (7.8 kilometers) further into Scarborough, with stations at Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road; Scarborough Center; and Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road.

Development Partner Selected for Scarborough Subway Extension’s SRS Contract

Canada’s Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx reported on Nov. 30 that Scarborough Transit Connect has been selected as the development partner to enter the development phase of the Scarborough Subway Extension project’s Stations, Rail and Systems (SRS) contract.

Pictured: CN’s Senior Director Operational Technology Luc Fiset and Chief, Technology and Supply Chain Rahim Karmali accepting the RAC 2022 Safety Award from RAC President and CEO Marc Brazeau. (Photograph Courtesy of CN, via Twitter)

RAC Recognizes Members for Safety

Five Railway Association of Canada (RAC) members have earned awards for their commitment to safety.

Connect 6ix rendering showing early-concept designs for the planned 9.7-mile Ontario Line in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto’s Ontario Line Project Advances

Connect 6ix has landed the C$9 billion contract for the Ontario Line Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) package, Canada’s Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx reported on Nov. 17.

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