VTA
The California Transportation Commission on June 27 approved a $100 million award to VTA for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Silicon Valley Phase II, according to VTA.
The six-mile extension project—which includes three underground stations (28th Street/Little Portugal, Downtown San José, and Diridon), one at-grade station (Santa Clara), a maintenance facility, and five miles of subway tunnel—will expand BART service from the Berryessa Transit Center in northeast San José through downtown San José into the city of Santa Clara (see map below). VTA is the funding agency and will manage the delivery of the project, while BART is system operator and maintainer. (The 10-mile BART Phase I Berryessa Extension opened in 2020; it begins south of BART’s Warm Springs Station in Fremont, proceeds through Milpitas and ends in the Berryessa area of north San José.)
The estimated $12.7 billion project is being funded through a combination of local, state, and federal sources, including a planned nearly $5.1 billion contribution from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program.
“Santa Clara County residents have strongly supported the project through multiple voter-approved sales tax measures,” VTA said. “In response to evolving funding challenges, VTA has identified $400 million in cost savings and continues pursuing additional efficiencies to close a funding gap of $700 million to $1.2 billion.”
The new funding from the state of California, VTA noted, “is a significant contribution to filling VTA’s remaining funding gap for the project.” It includes:
- $25 million from the 2025 Local Partnership Competitive Program (LPP), which supports infrastructure projects that address mobility and transportation challenges through strong local investment. VTA submitted this application directly.
- $75 million from the 2025 Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP), a competitive grant nominated by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) with VTA as the implementing agency. This program focuses on projects that relieve congestion and promote sustainable, equitable transportation solutions.
“These grants are a critical milestone in delivering BART Silicon Valley Phase II,” VTA General Manager/CEO Carolyn Gonot said. “This investment reflects our region’s long-standing commitment to sustainable transit and the collective determination to bring BART farther into the heart of Silicon Valley. We are also working to set the standard for efficiency and fiscal responsibility in the transit industry by ensuring every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely and strategically.”
Further Reading:
- VTA Recommends Change in Contractor for BART Tunnel as Cost-Saving Measure
- Independent Study OKs Single Bore Tunnel for BART Silicon Valley Phase II
APTA
APTA on July 1 presented seven public transportation agencies from California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., with 2025 Rail Safety, Security and Emergency Management Awards at its Rail Conference in San Francisco.
Nominations were evaluated on four criteria: effectiveness, benefit level, innovation, and transferability. The top honor is the Gold Award, which is presented to organizations with “the best example of a safety, security, or emergency management program.” A Certificate of Merit is given to organizations in recognition of “exceptional achievement in safety, security, or emergency management.” The Rail Safety, Security and Emergency Management Award winners are honored in the categories of Commuter/Intercity Rail, Light Rail/Streetcar, and Heavy Rail (a.k.a., rapid transit).
And the 2025 honorees are:
Rail Safety Award, Gold
- The Maryland Transit Administration (MD MTA), Baltimore, Md.: Light Rail/Streetcar
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit, New York, N.Y.: Heavy Rail
- Caltrain, San Carlos, Calif.: Commuter Rail
Rail Safety Award, Certificate of Merit
- MTA Metro-North Railroad, New York, N.Y.: Commuter Rail
- MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), New York, N.Y.: Commuter Rail
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Santa Clara, Calif.: Light Rail/Streetcar
Rail Security Award, Gold
- MTA LIRR, New York, N.Y.: Commuter Rail
- Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), Portland, Ore.: Light Rail/Streetcar
- Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, D.C.: Heavy Rail
Rail Security Award, Certificate of Merit
- MTA Metro-North Railroad, New York, N.Y.: Commuter Rail
- Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT), Newington, Conn.: Commuter/Intercity Rail
Rail Emergency Management Award, Gold
- MTA Metro-North Railroad, New York, N.Y.: Commuter Rail
“These awards celebrate the innovation and dedication of public transit agencies and their employees who work daily to protect their passengers, colleagues and communities they serve,” APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said. “I congratulate the public transit agencies honored today for their strong performance in safety, security and emergency management. Their commitment to excellence sets a positive example for the entire industry.”
“Thank you APTA, for recognizing the LIRR’s commitment to safety and security,” LIRR President Rob Free said. “OSCAR [LIRR’s Operations Security Console] offers our security team a wealth of information in one convenient dashboard providing tremendous value and time savings, while ensuring the LIRR is a safe system for employees and customers.”
“Code Silver [, a dedicated procedure for train crews and Metro-North’s Operations Control Center to follow when a situation requires it,] is about readiness and coordination,” noted Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek. “We thank APTA for recognizing this initiative with the Rail Emergency Management Gold Award. I also want to thank the employees who trained, prepared and stand ready. Your work makes Metro-North, and our region, safer.”
“I’m proud of the hard work NYC Transit has done to keep workers safe and I want to thank APTA for honoring that dedication to employee safety,” NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said. “I look forward to working with APTA to share this [Joint Track Safety Audit] program’s success [at NYC Transit] with other transit agencies to advance industry-wide safety measures.”
“Safety is paramount at Caltrain, and the culture of safety we practice permeates every aspect of our service,” Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said. “Caltrain depends on both the riding public and its employees, and ensuring the safety of the people who ride our trains and keep them running is always our top priority.”
Valley Metro
Valley Metro reported that it will introduce fares for using the Tempe streetcar system starting Aug. 4 to help keep service “reliable and efficient.” The regular fare will be $1, with a reduced fare of $0.50. Youth (age 5 and under) ride free when accompanied by a fare-paying caretaker or guardian, defined as one who can directly supervise the child.
Riders can purchase a 1-Ride fare at fare machines located at streetcar stops or pay using a Copper card or the Valley Metro app. Streetcar trips count toward a rider’s Smart Fare progress and a rider will never pay more than $4 per day, $20 per week, or $64 per month, according to Valley Metro.
The streetcar system offers 14 stops along its three-mile route (see map, right, or download below). It operates Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. until midnight, and on Sunday from 8 a.m. until midnight. Streetcars arrive at stops every 15-20 minutes.
Valley Metro in 2024 was awarded a $16 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Rio East-Dobson Streetcar Study. The 4.4-mile extension—from Rio Salado Parkway and Marina Heights in Tempe to Dobson Road in Mesa and south on Dobson Road to Main Street—would build on the success of the streetcar system, which opened in 2022.
VPRA
VPRA on July 1 marked five years of “promoting, sustaining, and expanding the availability of passenger and commuter rail service in the Commonwealth” by commemorating its top five milestones. Since its creation by the Virginia General Assembly on July 1, 2020, VPRA said it has worked to expand passenger rail service while “laying the groundwork for future transformative projects.”
VPRA’s top five milestones are:
- “Launch of Transforming Rail in Virginia: VPRA was created to implement the state’s forward-thinking rail plan, Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV). Designed to address the state’s ever-growing traffic problem, TRV is changing the future of rail transportation in Virginia by acquiring railroad right-of-way, increasing rail capacity, and reworking passenger and freight operations to improve reliability and increase rail service. The long-term goal is to separate freight and passenger rail to improve the service of both while developing an attractive solution for citizens eager for an alternative to driving on consistently congested highways and interstates.
- “Launch of New Roundtrips to Roanoke and Norfolk: In July 2022, VPRA launched two new roundtrips, a second daily roundtrip between Roanoke and Washington, D.C., and a third between Norfolk and Washington. These service launches brought the total number of state-supported roundtrips to eight daily and have contributed to Amtrak Virginia’s record ridership.
- “CSX and Norfolk Southern Agreements: VPRA worked with freight partners CSX and Norfolk Southern on innovative agreements, which allowed the Authority to purchase railroad right-of-way and gain access to existing lines for the expansion of passenger rail service. The partnership with CSX will allow VPRA to build necessary infrastructure for expansion in Northern Virginia, while the partnership with Norfolk Southern will allow for the extension of rail service to Virginia’s New River Valley.
- “Long Bridge and New River Valley Groundbreakings: Within the past year, ground has been broken on two major projects. The Long Bridge Project will create a passenger-only corridor across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., into Virginia to relieve one of the largest rail traffic bottlenecks on the East Coast. The construction of a new station stop to extend VPRA’s current Roanoke service to Christiansburg will bring passenger rail back to the New River Valley for the first time since 1979 with two daily roundtrips. In addition, VPRA recently authorized the start of construction for the Franconia-Springfield Bypass Project, which will significantly improve rail service through that area with a rail bridge that will allow passenger trains to cross over freight trains.
- “Amtrak Virginia Record Ridership: Under VPRA’s guidance, Amtrak Virginia set a ridership record during calendar year 2024 with 1.389 million passengers traveling. In addition, December 2024 marked the highest monthly ridership for Amtrak Virginia–136,433—since the launch of state-supported service in 2009. These increases occurred along all four corridors with three roundtrips between Norfolk and Washington, D.C., two between both Roanoke and Washington, and Newport News and Washington, and one between Richmond and the nation’s capital. The service offers a one-seat ride from Virginia to Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, as well as intermediate stops on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.”
“Thanks to the vision of the General Assembly, the steadfast support of Gov. Youngkin’s administration, and the extraordinary dedication of the VPRA team, Virginia is delivering real solutions to one of our most pressing challenges—traffic congestion,” said Tiffany Robinson, Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and Chair of the VPRA Board. “VPRA has proven that bold, strategic investment in passenger rail can enhance mobility, strengthen our economy, and connect communities across the Commonwealth. I’m proud to stand alongside this team as we build a transportation legacy that will serve Virginians for generations to come.”
“The Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative is just that—transformative,” added DJ Stadtler, Executive Director of VPRA. “Our team has the unique opportunity to create something that will improve the quality of life in our communities in a meaningful way. The progress we have made during our first five years is astounding. We have grown from thought-provoking legislation to a real-world solution in a very short time. We look forward to completing these projects so more Virginians can choose to travel by rail.”
Separately, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation now has a Fiscal Year 2026–2031 Six-Year Improvement Program with investments of $7 billion in public transportation and freight and passenger rail across the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the measure on June 24.
