Congress passes massive bill, including COVID relief for Amtrak
Congress has passed a $2.3 trillion package that includes $1.4 trillion to fund the government and $900 billion in coronavirus relief aid. The bill provides $14 billion in emergency funding for public transit and $1 billion for Amtrak, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Amtrak will receive $1 billion in grants to prevent, prepare for and respond to the pandemic, including $655 million for the Northeast Corridor and $345 million for the national network. [politico.com]
Brightline reveals details of Miami-Broward commuter rail service
Miami-Dade County and Brightline are moving forward with a plan for commuter rail service from downtown Miami to the north (known as the northeast corridor). Brightline has also signed a letter of intent with Broward to extend the service into that county. The commuter line, which will be separate from Brightline’s existing inter-city rail service, will require additional track and rail infrastructure. New stock provider options have been selected. [thenextmiami.com]
CN to sell Ontario’s Algoma Central Railway
Canadian National is in the process of selling Ontario’s Algoma Central Railway. When CN acquired the 296-mile line between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario in 2001, it inherited a remote-service passenger train. That service ceased in May 2015 and subsequent efforts to revive passenger train have not been successful. The Agawa Canyon Tour Train continues to operate over part of the line, although it did not operate in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [trains.com]
For public transit the stimulus is a lifeline – but a short one
The $900 billion pandemic stimulus package that the U.S. Congress passed includes $14 billion of aid for public transit — enough to halt the sweeping service and staffing cuts that several of the nation’s largest transit agencies had said could be imminent. But it’s not enough to close the pandemic-sized holes blown through agency budgets. “This will buy agencies critical time and should stave off transit cuts for the immediate future,” states an independent analysis which notes that further rounds of funding will be needed. [bloomberg.com]
The US can afford to build more rail
The belief that it just costs more to build train lines in the U.S. than it does abroad is mostly bunk, a new analysis finds — but costs quickly balloon when we start building them underground, for reasons that researchers can’t yet fully explain. In a preliminary analysis of more than 171 intracity rail projects, the Eno Center for Transportation found that the average U.S. rail projects cost about 22 percent less than comparable international projects. [streetsblog.org]
Taiwan railway system goes fully electric
Electric trains have begun running on Taiwan’s South Link, allowing them to completely circle the entire island. The 98.2-kilometer line between Taitung Station and Fangliao Station in Pingtung had been the last in Taiwan to be served by diesel locomotives. The new service shortens the travel time from two hours to 90 minutes. With the current upgrades being made and possible extensions of high speed rail service, Taiwan could be fully circled by train in six hours by 2030. [focustaiwan.tw]
