Public Transportation
APTA - April 29, 2014
Today, USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx sent to Congress the Administration's surface transportation authorization legislative proposal. Expanding upon information gleaned from the President's Budget Request, the transportation bill known as the GROW AMERICA Act is a four-year, $302 billion bill that authorizes highway, public transportation and passenger rail programs from Fiscal Years (FY) 2015 through 2018. A one-time infusion of $150 billion into the Highway Trust Fund would eliminate the shortfall during the authorization period.
Progressive Railroading - April 24, 2014
A large majority of millennials would consider moving for better transit options and aspire to be less reliant on cars, according to a new survey by The Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation America.  Fifty-four percent of millennials - defined as those born between 1980 and 2000 - surveyed in 10 major U.S. cities said they would consider moving to another city if it had more and better options for getting around.
Rail Engineer - April 24, 2014
The advent of fibre optics some 30 years ago revolutionized telecommunications transmission technology. Since then, other applications of light source emission have emerged which could have a similar impact on aspects of everyday life. One such by-product is the measurement of acoustic energy, which sounds complex but, in real terms, is simply the recognition of noise and vibration near to a fibre optic cable.
Transit System/Partners
Progressive Railroading - April 23, 2014
MTA Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti recently announced the appointments of three railroad industry veterans to Metro-North's leadership team: Glen Hayden as vice president of engineering, Michael Yaeger as chief mechanical officer and Kevin O'Connor as chief transportation officer.   
Railway Track and Signal - April 23, 2014
Several long-needed Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) rail infrastructure improvements in Delaware County will move forward this year thanks to newly available transportation funding from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Bloomberg Business Week  - April 28, 2014
New Jersey Transit has opened two train storage yards, more than a year after Hurricane Sandy destroyed dozens of rail cars stored in low-lying facilities, the agency's executive director said.  The new facilities are in Linden and Garwood, Veronique Hakim, executive director of the agency since March, told lawmakers in Trenton today. New Jersey Transit's rail yards in Kearny and Hoboken were flooded during the October 2012 storm, leaving 261 of 1,162 rail cars in need of repair
Railway Age - April 29, 2014
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said Monday, April 28, 2014 its rail customers on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad "are one step closer to buying and getting tickets scanned right on their smart phones and tablets."
The Washington Times - April 26, 2014
At a time when technological innovation is driving the evolution of personal transportation - when all your options for getting around town can be accessed from a smartphone in the palm of your hand - a tech startup is striving to provide real-time transit information just about anywhere you look in Washington.  
Safety
Oregon Live - April 28, 2014
It was the ultimate nightmare scenario for TriMet and its 300,000 daily commuters: A gunman opening fire on passengers at a hard-to-access MAX station some 260 feet underground on Monday morning.  Fortunately, it happened while most transit riders were sleeping. And it was just a drill.
The Hill  - April 28, 2014
A coalition of safety groups are encouraging the Department of Transportation (DOT) to speed up a series of bus trip regulations that are currently stuck in place after a recent high-profile crash involving high school student who were on a college bus tour.   
Railway Track and Signal - April 24, 2014
As part of an ongoing effort to secure a law mandating a minimum of two crew members in the cab of all locomotives, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (UTU-SMART) have provided their state legislative boards with model legislation to secure minimum crew size laws on the state level.
Labor News
The Gazette - April 30, 2014
More than 100 graduates participated in the National Labor College's final commencement ceremony Saturday at the Silver Spring campus.  It was the college's largest graduating class, and even standing room only tickets were sold out, said college President Paula E. Peinovich.  The AFL-CIO-affiliated college, which dates to 1974, is closing on Wednesday due to financial difficulties. Officials have reached a tentative agreement to sell the campus to Washington, D.C., real estate development firm Monument Realty.
Green News
Progressive Railroading - April 23, 2014
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday unveiled a new initiative aimed at enhancing regional sustainability efforts through performance-based targets for ridership, travel mode share and regional greenhouse gas emissions.   
Metro Magazine - April 23, 2014
The MTA, Metro-North Railroad and New York City Transit are testing the performance and reliability of solar-powered kiosks that allow customers to access real-time train, subway and bus arrival information without connection to the electrical grid. 
Building Transportation Infrastructure
Railway Track &  Signal - April 25, 20144
The Sound Transit Board has agreed to help implement improvements to Amtrak passenger rail service between Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, BC, Canada.  Under the contract, Sound Transit will manage construction activities that enable Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to improve speed and reliability by moving Amtrak service through Pierce County to a more direct and less congested track that Sound Transit owns near I-5 rather than along the Puget Sound shoreline.
The Washington Post - April 24, 2014
After seven months of delays and tens of millions of dollars in cost overruns, there is finally some good news: Passengers could be boarding Metro Silver Line trains this summer.  The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Metro announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement that will allow MWAA additional time to complete its work on the $5.6 billion rail line even after the project is turned over to the transit authority. 
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