Amtrak’s Flynn: CSX-Pan Am merger would hurt passenger service
CSX’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways “represents a significant threat” to passenger service, according to Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Bill Flynn. Flynn states that the proposed merger would negatively impact current and planned routes in Massachusetts and northern New England and that any merger’s impacts on Amtrak’s vision should be considered by the Surface Transportation Board during its review. Last month, the STB rejected the acquisition calling CSX’s application “incomplete.” CSX intends to submit a more detailed application this summer.[progressiverailroading.com]
Amtrak eyeing Heartland Flyer extension north into Kansas
Amtrak is proposing an expansion of the Heartland Flyer line, the passenger rail service running between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, since 1999. The proposal would increase the number of daily round trips between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth from one to three. It would also extend the line north to Newton, Kansas, with one round trip per day. Taking the Heartland Flyer to Newton would also connect it to the Southwest Chief line, which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles. A timeline and costs for Heartland Flyer expansion are still being worked out. [publicradiotulsa.org]
Boston subway link proj could cost $850 million over nearly 10 years
A rail extension linking the MBTA’s Red and Blue Lines could cost $850 million and require a design and construction period of nearly a decade, according to the latest estimates. The project would feature a more than 2,000-foot tunnel underneath Cambridge Street to lengthen the Blue Line from its current endpoint to the Charles/MGH Red Line station. While project funding sources have not been secured yet, the T could start procurement this year, spend about four years on the design, then run construction from late 2025 until completion around 2030. [wbur.org]
Tel Aviv light rail train undergoes first test run
Government-owned NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System has conducted the first official test run of a train on the Red Line of Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area light rail (Dankal). The project has encountered many delays but is scheduled to begin operating in November 2022. The Red Line will have 34 stations along 24 km from Petah Tikva via Tel Aviv to Bat Yam, of which 11 km between the Geha Interchange and Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv will be underground. The 500-capacity trains are expected to runat three and a half minute intervals. [globes.co.il]
