Siemens

Transit Briefs: SEPTA, Brightline West, TTC

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) system-wide ridership for December 2025 decreases 1%. Also, work on Brightline West’s Las Vegas rail station is under way; and the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) Ontario Line subway system gets protective platform doors.

Amtrak’s twice-daily Mardi Gras between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., has served more than 46,000 riders since its Aug. 18 launch. (Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, SEPTA, TriMet, NJT, TTC, MBTA

Amtrak’s newest service, the Mardi Gras, is seeing strong demand. Also, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is taking delivery of 10 leased coaches from MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail); Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) promotes Alan Lehto to Executive Director of Planning, a newly created position; New Jersey Transit (NJT) earns the 2025 Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation Impact Award; Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) considers advertising installations in subway tunnels; and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis) release a year-in-review report.

SFMTA is saying “farewell” to an icon of San Francisco transit: Muni’s Breda-built LRVs. (Courtesy of SFMTA)

Transit Briefs: SFMTA, NJT, SJJPA, DART, Caltrain, Denver RTD, Alstom

After three decades of service and more than 10 million trips, the Breda light rail vehicles at San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) are being retired. Also, New Jersey Transit (NJT) marks a renovation milestone at Mahwah Station; San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) rebrands the Amtrak San Joaquins service in California; Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) extends discounted fare card benefits amid the government shutdown; California’s Caltrain releases its customer satisfaction survey results; Denver (Colo.) Regional Transportation District (RTD) is developing a comprehensive plan for additional, dedicated event service; and Alstom will hire more than 100 employees at its Plattsburgh, N.Y., plant to meet increased railcar demand.

A Siemens Mobility Venture trainset at the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission facility in Stockton, Calif. (Caltrans)
Commentary

California Starvin’ on the San Joaquin Line, Along With a Missed Connection

“California Dreamin’” was one of the iconic songs of the sixties. It was about an Angelino enduring a New York winter and dreaming about his warm hometown (the inverse of the scenario in Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”). Barry McGuire recorded the original version in 1963, and the 1966 version by The Mamas & the Papas with Bud Shank’s flute solo defined the song. Nostalgia aside, there seems to be a new custom in part of the Golden State: “California Starvin’” as practiced on Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains between Bakersfield at the south end and the Bay Area and Sacramento at the north end.

"We are pleased to have reached these tentative agreements with Unifor,” VIA Rail President and CEO Mario Péloquin said on June 20. (VIA Rail Photograph)

Transit Briefs: VIA Rail, EXO, CTDOT, SEPTA, TransLink

VIA Rail, Canada’s national passenger rail service, reaches tentative agreements with Unifor. Also, Siemens is delivering the second of 10 Charger locomotives for EXO commuter rail, which serves the Greater Montreal area; Connecticut Department of Transportation selects HNTB for major upgrades along Metro-North Railroad’s Waterbury Branch Line; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) extends its advertising partnership agreement; and stepped-up fare enforcement efforts are driving positive change at Metro Vancouver’s TransLink.

Rendering of Siemens Mobility S200 LRVs for GCRTA. (Courtesy of Siemens Mobility)

Siemens Mobility Lands Another GCRTA Order

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) now has a total of 48 Siemens Mobility S200 LRVs (light rail vehicles) on order to replace its current fleet operating on the Red, Blue and Green lines.

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