“In 2021, the MTA was looking at a $2.5 billion annual deficit, but we have been able to get back on track thanks to the amazing support from Albany,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Nov. 19 upon release of the agency’s final 2026 operating budget and four-year financial plan. “That support allowed us to stay afloat without cutting service, without any layoffs—and another major factor in this agency’s fiscal stability has been the cost savings that we’ve achieved in recent years.” (MTA Photograph)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, KC Streetcar, NCTD, WMATA, DART

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) releases its final 2026 operating budget and four-year financial plan. Also, KC Streetcar will soon reveal plans for the new northern terminus and CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City) Pavilion; North County Transit–San Diego Railroad (NCTD) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) move forward on transit-oriented development projects; and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board approves contracts to improve security and cleanliness systemwide.

Commentary

APTA Lauds NYMTA CRZ Tolling

SECDOT Duffy will not appreciate this: The American Public Transportation Association awarded its 2025 Innovation Award to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for the agency’s controversial—but effective and sensible—Congestion Relief

Pictured, Left to Right: David Malinas, OPW; Binu Panicker, RPM; and Matt Tucker, HDR. (Photographs courtesy of the respective organizations)

People News: MTA, OPW, RPM, HDR

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) appoints Tina Vaz as Director of MTA Arts & Design. Also, OPW, a Dover Company, names David Malinas as President; RPM hires Binu Panicker as Chief Technology Officer; and HDR Global Transit Director Matt Tucker joins the Board of Trustees at the Mineta Transportation Institute.

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings has upgraded the New York MTA’s Transportation Revenue Bonds rating from “A-” to “A” with a “stable” rating outlook. (NYMTA Photograph)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, MDOT, NC By Train, MBTA

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings upgrades New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) credit rating. Also, Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) awards $500,000 in Purple Line small business grants; NC (North Carolina) By Train ridership rises in first-half 2025; and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) encourages riders to take advantage of extended service this fall by offering free fares after 9 p.m. on five Fridays and Saturdays.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced that the Interborough Express (IBX) project is moving from the planning to active phase during a press conference at 61st St. & 14th Av. on Aug 1. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, Tri-Rail, FTA

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) begins the engineering and design phase for Interborough Express (IBX) and awards an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Implementation System contract for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). Also, South Florida’s Tri-Rail achieves a new all-time fiscal year ridership record; and the Federal Transit Administration rolls out guidance for host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

MTA’s July Financial Plan forecasts approximately $50 million less in deficits for Fiscal Year 2027 and 2028, totaling $98 million. This is in addition to the $100 million announced in November, totaling $198 million less in deficits than this time last year, according to MTA. The projected deficit for Fiscal Year 2029 is $428 million. These funding shortfalls, MTA said, are in large part due trip growth in Paratransit. (Courtesy of MTA)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, Denver RTD

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) releases its July Financial Plan, showing balanced operating budgets for 2025 and 2026 and narrowed deficits in 2027 and 2028, and announces a TOD (transit-oriented development) project near Metro-North’s Beacon, N.Y., station. Also, Denver (Colo.) Regional Transportation District (RTD) authorizes a successor contract for two-thirds of its workforce.

Amtrak Virginia, the commonwealth’s state-supported passenger rail service, closed the state fiscal year by setting another ridership record. (Photograph Courtesy of VPRA)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak Virginia, NYMTA, Trinity Metro, LACMTA

Amtrak Virginia closes the state’s fiscal year with record ridership. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) releases rider survey results, showing improvements in overall satisfaction across subway, commuter rail and bus service, and is adding customer service centers to 15 subway locations; Trinity Metro in Texas is offering one week of free rides on all local services; and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) “care-based outreach model” is paying off.

Now in service on NYCT’s B Line: an RS11A/S trainset from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. (Photograph at the Brighton Beach station; Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Transit Briefs: NYCT, MDOT MTA

The first trainset of R211A/S (traditional closed-end) cars to operate on the MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) B Line enters service. Also, Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) releases its inaugural customer experience action plan.

A map of the proposed route for Northlander passenger rail service showing stops at Union Station (Toronto), Langstaff, Gormley, Washago, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Huntsville, South River, North Bay, Temagami, Timiskaming Shores, Englehart, Kirkland Lake, Matheson, and Timmins (South Porcupine), with a rail connection to Cochrane. (Courtesy of Ontario Government)

Transit Briefs: Northlander, NYMTA, APTA

Construction is under way at the Timmins-Porcupine Station in Ontario, Canada, part of the Northlander passenger-rail revival project. Also, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) posts ridership, performance and safety improvements in first-half 2025; and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recognizes two members’ outstanding sustainability achievements.

REM’s South Shore-to-Central Station automated urban rail system service (Part 1) will be closed completely from July 5 through Aug. 17, to allow for service testing on Part 2, the new REM lines linking Montreal’s West Island and the North Shore to downtown, which are due for launch in fall 2025. (First trip across the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge | July 2022. Photo ©Thierry Du Bois)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, REM

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) offers a congestion-pricing progress report. Also, Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will shut down temporarily this summer.

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