Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Under an agreement with the university, the city is using the money to pay for installation of telecommunications fiber, sensors and electronic equipment, as well as some network support.

In addition to the funds, the agency also announced a flexible new policy, known as Safety Management Systems, which the U.S. DOT has officially adopted to help guide states and transit agencies alike in managing safety risks in a proactive, cost-effective way.

The FTA’s Environmental Management Systems program will provide assistance to VIA in the form of training workshops, on-site technical support visits, electronic materials and resources, and consultations.

The project is now allowed to move forward to the next phases of design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. This is the last approval step under the National Environmental Policy Act process.

The approval of project development allows for the completion of the environmental study and initiation the engineering phase.

The majority of the funds will go to the transit agencies that incurred the greatest expenses while preparing for and recovering from Hurricane Sandy — N.Y. MTA, PATH, NJ Transit and NYC DOT.

A total of $10.9 billion was appropriated for transportation emergency relief. However, this funding is now reduced by 5%, or $545 million, because of the mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration that took effect on March 1.

Monies are part of $255 million in federal funds currently available for the Honolulu rail transit project this fiscal year. The project to date has $320 million available in federal funds under the Full Funding Grant Agreement.

In response to an Amtrak collision and derailment last year, advised the FRA and FTA to provide railroad employees with best practices regarding the use of jumper wires when performing signal maintenance operations on active rails.

This step makes the first major expansion of the Baltimore region’s transit network since the early 1990’s eligible for future federal approvals and funding.