First streetcar delivered for Phoenix’s Tempe Streetcar System
The first of six all new Liberty NXT Streetcar vehicles from Brookville Equipment Corporation has been delivered to Phoenix’s Valley Metro for its Tempe Streetcar System, which is slated to open later this year. The 72-foot vehicles are part of a $33 million contract for the design, build and test of six streetcar vehicles for the three-mile system, The new system will connect Tempe residents and visitors, as well as Arizona State University (ASU) students, with current and emerging local destinations. [railwaygazette.com]
Amtrak seeks enforcement of Gulf Coast access
Amtrak has called on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) to require CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway to allow two daily Amtrak trains between Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana beginning in 2022. The trains would operate under the Southern Rail Commission, a federal entity representing the railroads in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Amtrak has legal precedence to use this route where it ran three services before Hurricane Katrina. [travelpulse.com]
Ontario Northland runs test train between North Bay and Cochrane
Northeastern Ontario may be one step closer to having passenger rail service reinstated. Ontario Northland has completed an initial track audit by running a test train between North Bay and Cochrane to see what safety and infrastructure improvements are needed. A spokesperson with Ontario Northland said the test run has generated buzz on Facebook and from rail fans. The Northlander, which in its heyday ran six times a week from Toronto to Cochrane, was discontinued in 2012. [cbc.ca]
The CEO of Amtrak thinks Americans are ready for trains again
William J. Flynn took over as CEO of Amtrak at the worst possible time. It was April 2020—one month after the country locked down—and ridership on the quasi-public passenger rail network was down by 97 percent. Two recovery bills later, Amtrak’s finances have been shored up. Though business remains way down, vaccines are rolling out, and Flynn aims to double Amtrak’s pre-pandemic ridership in the next two decades. [slate.com]
