LA Metrolink tests use of quake alerts to stop trains
Los Angeles’s Metrolink is testing technology that will use the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system to automatically slow or stop trains before shaking begins. The technology is an advancement of a version deployed in 2021 that alerted train crews to slow or stop but lacked automated braking. The new technology is an interface between ShakeAlert earthquake warnings and a rail traffic management system called Positive Train Control. [apnews.com]
Biggest rail strike in 30 years brings Britain to standstill
Tens of thousands of workers have walked out on the first day of Britain’s biggest rail strike in 30 years with passengers facing further chaos as both the unions and government vowed to stick to their guns in a row over pay. Some of the more than 40,000 rail staff who are due to strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday gathered at picket lines from dawn, causing major disruption across the network and leaving major stations deserted. The London Underground metro was also mostly closed due to a separate strike. [reuters.com]
Montreal REM light-rail station openings put off till 2024
Initially, the island’s 67 km (42 mi) light-rail network was scheduled to open in three phases, the first of which was slated between the fall of 2023 and 2024. On Monday morning, the project’s promoter CDPQ Infra said the opening will be delayed until “late 2024.” CDPQ Infra cited problems with the Mount Royal Tunnel as the major reason and acknowledged that the project’s nearly $7 billion budget estimate will not be met. The Quebec-based promoter says 18 of the project’s 26 stations will be delayed until the end of 2024, almost a full year late than expected. [globalnews.ca]
Amtrak to begin Burlington, Vermont runs on July 29
The long-awaited return of passenger rail service to Vermont’s largest city for the first time in nearly 70 years is set for July 29, state transportation officials announced Thursday. That’s the date Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express will begin offering service to New York City from downtown Burlington. The train will make stops in Vergennes and Middlebury before it reaches Rutland, the current northern terminus of the Ethan Allen Express, which travels to New York via Albany, with stops along the way. The last regularly scheduled passenger rail service to Vermont’s largest city ended in 1953. [vermontbiz.com]
