Brightline adds two new South Florida stations
Brightline has opened two new stations in South Florida, launching service in Aventura and Boca Raton. The rail network has existing stops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The Aventura station will allow commuters to travel to Miami Central in about 20 minutes. The 34,000 square-foot station features a pedestrian skybridge for train platform access. Brightline is planning a second pedestrian bridge to connect the platform with the nearby Aventura Mall. [rtands.com]
Grand Central Madison LIRR opening delayed
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has missed the planned late December opening of Long Island Rail Road service to its new station beneath Grand Central Terminal. The new east side station for Long Island Rail Road trains requires additional days to complete. Grand Central Madison will allow the estimated half of LIRR riders that work on Manhattan’s east side to bypass doubling back from Penn Station. A January opening date is possible. [ny1.com]
LA Metro/HSR ink Union Station Link agreement
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has approved a $423.34 million-dollar agreement with Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) to modernize L.A.’s historic Union Station through the Link Union Station (Link US) project. The Link US project will allow trains to enter and exit from both north and south of the station, to increase rail service capacity and reduce train idling times. The project will also improve transit connections and accommodate future high-speed rail service. [masstransitmag.com]
Toronto Bloor-Yonge station makeover funded
Funding has been finalized for a major expansion of Toronto’s Bloor-Yonge TTC station, the busiest on the Toronto metro network. The cost of the project, C$1.5 billion, will be split between city, provincial and federal governments. Plans call for subway platforms to be modified and expanded; station infrastructure to be replaced; and a new fully accessible entrance to be added. Construction is planned to begin in 2024. [railwaygazette.com]
Warren Buffett opposes Omaha streetcar proj
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett broke with his practice of staying out of local politics to urge his hometown of Omaha to abandon its planned streetcar project because he says it’s too expensive and not as flexible as buses. Buffett wrote a letter to the editor of the Omaha World-Herald and met with the mayor this week to lobby against the $306 million project and urge the city to let residents vote on it. But city officials are moving forward with the streetcar because they believe it will spur development. [apnews.com]
New Hampshire ditches commuter rail study
New Hampshire’s Republican-led Executive Council has terminated a $5.5 million engineering and financial study on restoring commuter rail service from Boston through Manchester. A council member said that stopping the work now would allow the Department of Transportation to divert $1.5 million that remains unspent to other mass transit services. The rejection came after the party conducting the study asked to extend the completion date for the study from the end of January to the end of September. [masstransitmag.com]
