The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has exercised an option with New Flyer to purchase 45 additional Xcelsior sixty-foot hybrid-electric buses (90 equivalent units or “EUs”). MBTA is one of the largest transit systems in the US, providing public transportation services in Greater Boston and carrying approximately 32 million passengers.
NJ Transit leads nation in mechanical railway failures, but does much better on per-mile basis by Todd DeFeo, The Center Square | January 27, 2021 01:00 PM Print this article
NJ Transit commuter rail trains had more total mechanical failures than other agencies nationwide, but the system ranks in the middle of the pack when evaluating the number of breakdowns based on passenger car miles.
According to commuter rail data from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), NJ Transit saw 351 total mechanical failures in 2019 while operating more than 61.6 million passenger car miles.
A passenger car mile measures the number of miles rail passenger cars travel while in revenue service, including deadhead miles. In NJ Transit’s case, that equates to a breakdown every 175,535 miles.
Community Content
WILMINGTON The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced that the Federal Highway Administration, in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration, has awarded $1 million to the MBTA for improvements to North Wilmington Station on the Haverhill Commuter Rail Line.
The $1 million grant will be used to relocate and reconstruct the existing Commuter Rail station platform along an area of single track adjacent to Route 62. This improvement will result in a new ADA-compliant boarding area and allow all train coaches to come to a stop outside the motor vehicle grade crossing area. The MBTA and its operating partner for Commuter Rail, Keolis Commuter Services, worked in collaboration on station design and configuration, and to develop and submit the application for this competitive federal grant.
New Transit-Oriented Development Requirements for Boston-Area Transit Stations
Cities with commuter rail stops will have to accommodate higher-density housing or risk losing access to state resources and housing grants. January 26, 2021, 5am PST | Diana Ionescu |
THONGCHAI.S
Massachusetts latest economic development bill includes a rule that requires municipalities served by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter trains to permit denser housing in at least one district within a half mile of a station. The measure is meant to create more housing near transit stations and alleviate greater Boston s growing housing crisis, according to an article Tim Logan. The biggest barrier to building in Massachusetts is zoning and the lack of zoning for multifamily housing. People want walkable neighborhoods, and this will help us produce them, said Rachel Heller, CEO of the advocacy group Citizens Housing and Planning Association, in the article.
Baker says Massachusetts âwill beat this virusâ in State of the Commonwealth
By Matt Stout Globe Staff,Updated January 26, 2021, 1:28 p.m.
Email to a Friend
Governor Charlie Baker delivered his State of The Commonwealth Address from his ceremonial State House office on Tuesday.Erin Clark/Globe Staff
Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday night sought to reassure Massachusetts residents whoâve weathered a tumultuous year that better days are coming, using his annual State of the Commonwealth address to tout his administrationâs plans to roll out COVID-19 vaccinations and navigate the crisis still ahead.
Devoid of the usual trappings, Baker addressed the stateâs nearly 7 million residents from behind a lectern in his ceremonial office, dedicating the vast majority of his 24-minute speech to recount sacrifices of front-line workers and residents and the steps he and lawmakers have taken to address the pandemic.