North America – Page 45
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NewsAmtrak welcomes FRA rule on passenger train performance
USA: After a hotly contested process lasting more than a decade, the Federal Railroad Administration published a Final Rule on November 16 establishing metrics and minimum standards to measure the performance and service quality of inter-city passenger trains.
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Metro Report InternationalFirst REM light metro trainset unveiled in Montréal
CANADA: The first cars to be supplied by Alstom for the Réseau Express Métropolitain automated metro network in Montréal were formally unveiled by Groupe PMM on November 16.
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NewsPacific Harbor Line to test EMD Joule battery locomotive
USA: Pacific Harbor Line is to test progress Rail’s 3 200 hp EMD Joule lithium-ion battery shunting locomotive in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from the second half of 2021. Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary PHL provides shunting services and dispatches all BNSF Railway ...
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NewsJaguar buys short lines
USA: Jaguar Transport Holdings has acquired five short line railways and a construction and maintenance company from The Western Group. The acquisitions which came into effect on November 1 cover the: Cimarron Valley Railroad in southwest Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and eastern Colorado; Washington Eastern Railroad ...
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Metro Report InternationalMTA uses WhatsApp to reach more New Yorkers
USA: New York subway and bus users can now communicate with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in real time using the WhatsApp messaging platform. MTA expects this to prove especially helpful for non-native English speakers, with frontline personnel from the Digital Communications Unit using Google Translate to ...
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Metro Report InternationalEight Covid-19 mitigation technologies to be tested by transport operators
USA: Eight finalists have been selected for the Transit Innovation Partnership Covid-19 Response Challenge, a global competition seeking to evaluate technologies to increase public transport safety and responsiveness during the coronavirus pandemic.
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NewsAmtrak quick to welcome Biden win
USA: National passenger rail corporation Amtrak was one of the first organisations to welcome the news on November 7 that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election.
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NewsBrightline West construction delayed as bond sale fails
USA: Construction of the privately-funded Brightline West passenger line between Southern California and Las Vegas in Nevada has been delayed indefinitely after a $2·4bn bond offering failed to attract buyers. It had been hoped that construction of the electrified line designed for 200 km/h operation could start ...
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Metro Report InternationalValley Line West PPP partner selected
CANADA: The City of Edmonton has selected Marigold Infrastructure Partners as ‘preferred proponent’ for a PPP contract to design, build and partially finance the 14 km Valley Line West light rail extension. Following final discussions, the contract is expected to be signed off by the end of ...
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Metro Report InternationalMonterrey metro train unveiled
MEXICO: Chinese manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou has unveiled the first of 26 two-car articulated light metro trainsets ordered by Monterey operator Metrorrey. The trainsets are intended for use on the existing lines 1 and 2 as well as Line 3 which is under construction for opening in ...
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Metro Report InternationalTicket validators give operator multiple options
CANADA: Software-agnostic ticket validator supplier Access-IS is supplying more than 1 000 of its VAL1000 devices for the roll-out of Masabi’s MyFare contactless mobile ticketing at Calgary Transit. The validation units are powered by Masabi’s Justride Inspect software. Passengers scan dynamic and encrypted mobile passes when boarding ...
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In depthNorth America: Pandemic undermines Amtrak revival
Service reductions and staff layoffs are in prospect as Amtrak seeks to cut costs in the face of a coronavirus-led collapse in ridership, reports Joseph M Calisi.
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NewsPatriot Rail to acquire the Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway
USA: Short line and regional freight railway group Patriot Rail is to acquire the privately-owned Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway in Utah, along with storage and transload service providers Caballero and Caballero 2. The transaction announced on October 28 is subject to customary closing conditions and ...
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NewsSan Diego NCTD orders more Charger locomotives
USA: San Diego’s North County Transit District has ordered a further two Siemens Mobility Charger locomotives, taking its total order to nine. The latest order announced on October 26 will complete NCTD’s project to replace the locomotives currently used on Coaster commuter services with a more ...
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Metro Report InternationalUpdating information for the ‘less-stressed traveller’
USA: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a contract to supply a real-time passenger information system for the Muni light rail and bus network. This will include upgraded software for more accurate prediction of vehicle arrival times, multimedia LCD signs at rail platforms ...
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NewsTelematics joint venture to boost US rail freight
USA: Operators Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming and Watco have joined wagon manufacturer TrinityRail and leasing company GATX Corp in a joint venture intended to accelerate the adoption of GPS location tracking and other telematics across the North American freight wagon fleet.
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In depthNorth America: Rethinking rail in uncertain times
With the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn hitting traffic volumes, North America’s railroads are looking to the future and how to achieve profitable growth following the Precision Scheduled Railroading reforms. Dave Lustig investigates.
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NewsVIA Rail to increase self-service ticketing functions
CANADA: Sqills has begun work to implement an inventory management, reservation and ticketing platform for national passenger operator VIA Rail. This marks the Dutch software-as-a-service company’s entry into the North American market, as part of its ambition to become a leading global provider of reservation and ticket ...
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Metro Report InternationalBoston commuter operator hit by ransomware attack
USA: Boston commuter rail operator Keolis Commuter Services was subjected to a ransomware attack on its computer systems on the morning of October 10. The company’s threat detection systems alerted the operator, which deactivated its network within a few hours. Employee data may have been stolen, but ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation to sell Mexican wiring activities
MEXICO: Bombardier Transportation has signed an agreement to sell the electrical wiring interconnection systems activities at its Huehuetoca site to the Motherson Rolling Stocks subsidiary of Motherson Sumi Systems. ‘This divestiture is in alignment with our global transformation strategy of reducing the activities to our core and ...