Congress delayed for years the deadline for implementing a train safety system and passed a two-year budget that will help Connecticut defense contractors and Medicare recipients. Connecticut students received a mixed report card from the U.S. Department of Education, and whether Pratt & Whitney won a big engine contract remained a military secret.
Amtrak
Posted inPolitics
Malloy, Amtrak, feds vow progress, cooperation on Hartford Line
Washington – Gov. Dannel Malloy met with to Amtrak and federal transportation officials Thursday, and agreed to keep talking about key issues that have delayed completion of a New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line, but this time with less rancor.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal: Rail safety violators must be fined, but not Connecticut
Sen. Richard Blumenthal wants the Federal Railroad Administration to fine those who fail to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to implement rail safety technology called Positive Train Control — but he would spare Connecticut from punishment.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Climate change poses risks for Amtrak’s already vulnerable eastern CT rail line
The section of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor from New Haven to the Rhode Island border, which has hugged the state’s shoreline for more than 100 years, includes stretches of rail already vulnerable to storms and flooding. As climate change exacerbates the risks, just about that entire line is believed to be in some level of jeopardy. The second of two stories.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Climate change threatens Connecticut’s vital shoreline rail
As the state invests in a multi-billion-dollar plan to upgrade the rail line, there are those who say the impact of climate change isn’t being considered carefully enough. They worry the plan will entrench the line in locations vulnerable to storms and flooding. But others say it’s too expensive to move the line, and there are other ways to mitigate the impact. First of two stories.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut risks federal fines for slow adoption of rail-safety system
The Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday it would fine railroad companies and railroad track owners, like the state of Connecticut, if they don’t implement a safety technology known as positive train control by a Dec. 31 deadline.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy, Blumenthal, other Dems seek boost in Amtrak funding
WASHINGTON — Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are among a group of nearly a dozen Democratic senators trying to derail a proposed cut in Amtrak funding and instead help the passenger rail company tackle billions of dollars worth of backlogged repairs and capital improvements.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut yet to implement train-crash preventive technology
WASHINGTON – In the wake of the fatal Amtrak crash in Philadelphia, railroad experts and lawmakers like Sen. Richard Blumenthal are touting safety technology that’s been slow to come to Connecticut. The state hopes to install Positive Train Control technology by 2018.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT senators vow to block high-speed rail that bypasses state
Updated 5:48 p.m. March 6
WASHINGTON – Both of Connecticut’s U.S. senators on Friday vowed to stop a proposal approved in the House of Representatives this week that would require Amtrak to study the feasibility of a new high-speed train from Washington, D.C., to Boston — with no stops in Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
House approves Amtrak subsidy, study of high-speed service skipping CT
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that would authorize the spending of billions of dollars to shore up Amtrak and require the passenger rail company to study the feasibility of a high-speed service from Washington, D.C., to Boston that would make no stops in Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
Amtrak may study high-speed service that would skip CT
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives will vote on legislation Wednesday that would require Amtrak to determine the feasibility of a new high-speed service from New York City to Boston that would likely cross Connecticut but make no stops in the state.
Posted inNews
CT defense industry wins big in U.S. budget bill
Washington – The massive omnibus spending bill creates winners and losers – and at first blush it seems that Connecticut is chiefly in the winner’s column.