New York MTA

The LACMTA Board of Directors on June 28 unanimously approved the establishment of the Transit Community Public Safety Department (TCPSD), whose objectives will be “increased visibility, accountability and consistent service delivery,” which LACMTA said will result in a safer transit system for employees and riders. (LACMTA Photograph)

Transit Briefs: LACMTA, LIRR, PATH, SEPTA, Sound Transit

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) is establishing an in-house transit police department. Also, MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) completes two station accessibility projects; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANY/NJ) PATH surpasses 5 million riders in May, the first time since the pandemic’s onset; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) Board approves a wayfinding signage contract; and Seattle’s Sound Transit advances the Link Operations and Maintenance Facility South project.

(FTA Image)

FTA Awards $343MM for Station Accessibility Projects

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on May 28 reported that eight transit systems in eight states will share $343 million to make their rail stations “more accessible and in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards” by installing elevators, renovating platforms for level boarding, improving signage, and improving visual and audio systems.

Amtrak recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of accessibility upgrades worth $3.5 million at the Newbern-Dyersburg Station in west Tennessee. (Amtrak Photograph)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, PANY/NJ, TriMet

Amtrak debuts station accessibility upgrades in west Tennessee and an updated Cafe Acela menu. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) marks progress on the reduction of subway fare evasion; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANY/NJ) PATH tap-and-go fare payment system is now available systemwide; and Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) adopts a $1.84 billion budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

The six-week closure of MARTA’s Airport Station for concourse and platform renovations reduced overall construction time by 17 months. (MARTA Photograph)

Transit Briefs: MARTA, NYMTA, Amtrak

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) reopens its Airport Station following a six-week renovation project. Also, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) highlights upcoming milestones in its transition from MetroCard to OMNY, the contactless fare payment system; and Amtrak seasonal service to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, resumes.

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials on May 10 celebrated the completion of the Harmon Yard “mega-project.” (Photo Credit: Emily Moser / Metro-North Railroad)

Watch: MNR Completes Harmon Shop Upgrades

MTA Metro-North Railroad (MNR) on May 10 reported completing a 23-year, five-phase upgrade project at its Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.-based maintenance and operations hub, which employs 1,200 people. With the opening of the 400,000

NYS Comptroller: MTA Capex ‘Faces Growing Risks’

A New York State Comptroller Report, Annual Update: Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Debt Profile (download below), says that the nation’s largest public transportation agency’s capital program for maintaining and upgrading the regional transit

Starting May 21, a second daily Amtrak train will be offered between St. Paul and Chicago, via Milwaukee, the state-sponsored Borealis, whose name “was determined in a collaborative process,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Railway Age. “It is a reference to the north direction, in Latin.” (Amtrak Map)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, SMART, WMATA

A second daily Amtrak train is launching between St. Paul, Minn., and Chicago, via Milwaukee, Wis., the state-supported Borealis. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) unveil the Fair Fares pilot program; Northern California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) logs record commuter rail ridership; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) announce a transit planning initiative for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

New York MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber joined New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban at Fulton Transit Center on March 28 to announce a pilot program of weapon detectors, manufactured by Evolv, that can be deployed at subway entrances. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Transit Briefs: MBTA, NCDOT, NYMTA, BART

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) plans a low-income fare program and graduates another large class of heavy rail (rapid transit) engineers. Also, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) revises the design for a new passenger railcar maintenance facility; New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will pilot firearm detection technology; and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) reports a surge in arrests.

“Metro-North is always looking for opportunities to innovate and be more efficient in how we maintain our systems and equipment and provide service to our customers,” Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said during the announcement of a federal grant the commuter railroad will use to test an automated railcar inspection system. (Photograph Courtesy of MTA)

Metro-North to Pilot Automated Railcar Inspection

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will use a $2 million federal grant to test an automated railcar inspection system on its commuter railroad in New York and Connecticut, which it said will provide “early detections of existing and future defects, allowing conditions to be addressed immediately, reducing repair and replacement time.”

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