Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NJ Transit
Amtrak to restore full service on the Cascade line to pre-pandemic levels. Also, NJ Transit expands Student Discount Program to include part-time students.
Amtrak to restore full service on the Cascade line to pre-pandemic levels. Also, NJ Transit expands Student Discount Program to include part-time students.
“We didn’t meet your expectations and for that we apologize,” Martin R. Landry, interim President and CEO of VIA Rail Canada said in a Jan. 10 statement to riders regarding travel disruptions between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 that he attributed to a “severe winter storm along with the derailment of a freight train” on host freight railroad CN.
During the week of Dec. 5 2022, Union Pacific and CN operated a dedicated train of a single Siemens Mobility “Venture” car from the Amtrak fleet from California to Canada. The coach
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has released its proposed 2023 budget and four-year financial plan. Also, live-wire testing continues for Sound Transit’s East Link light rail line, which will extend 14 miles from downtown Seattle to Redmond, Wash.; and VIA Rail Canada has released a third-quarter 2022 report and entered into a long-term agreement with CGI for work on its new online reservation system.
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.
Five Railway Association of Canada (RAC) members have earned awards for their commitment to safety.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) announces graduation of 84 new train operators and 10 new conductors and continues its annual tradition of Holiday Nostalgia Rides. Also, new illuminated artwork brings the sky to Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) Powell St. Station; the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) launches new gate prototype to prevent fare evasion; and VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) extends pilot project to reduce fuel consumption.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) in Texas launches a Clean Team Initiative pilot program. Also, VIA Rail Canada awards contracts to upgrade its Toronto and Montréal maintenance centers; and the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage has closed for the second Advance Tunnel Contract on the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension in Toronto.
Transport Canada confirmed Oct. 31 that state corporation VIA Rail Canada has been shunted aside from its own project to construct and operate an electrified “High Frequency Rail” (HFR) service along the Corridor linking Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto—the only profitable route VIA currently covers.
![VIA Rail is adding “buffer cars at the front and back end of all trains with [older] stainless steel equipment to reduce the consequences in the unlikely event of a train-to-train collision,” Canada’s government-owned passenger railroad told The Globe and Mail. This safety measure will remain until older cars can be reinforced and new Siemens trainsets (pictured) enter service. (Photograph Courtesy of VIA Rail Canada)](https://www.old.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VIA-Rail-Exterior-shot-5_Plan-Extérieur-5-1-315x168.jpg)
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) selects AECOM as owner’s engineer for the Bloor-Yonge Station Capacity Improvements project. Also, VIA Rail Canada is adding “buffer” cars to some trains to improve safety; Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA/Metro) reports that next month the Silver Line extension will be operationally ready to open, but it’s unclear if more 7000-series railcars will be approved for release to support it; and San Francisco Bay Rapid Transit District (BART) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) report a plastic Clipper® fare-card shortage.