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4/11/2024
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today it will award the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a $33.2 million grant to install a stormwater drainage system at a rail yard in the Bronx, New York.
The MTA project is one of 80 nationwide that will receive nearly $830 million in grant awards to help states and local communities strengthen surface transportation systems so that they are more resilient to extreme weather events worsened by climate change. The awards are issued through the USDOT's new Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program, which complements PROTECT formula funding that is already flowing to states for these types of projects, according to a USDOT press release.
The grant program was created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
MTA will use the grant to complete the stormwater drainage system at the Westchester Yard in the Bronx, where New York City Transit subway trains are stored for the Pelham Bay 6 Line. The NYCT's busiest, the subway line serves abut 500,000 people on a typical weekday and is prone to ponding during heavy rains and flash flooding.
Meanwhile, the USDOT awarded a $1.3 million grant to Metrolink, Southern California's regional passenger-rail operator, for the the development and demonstration of a pioneering track intrusion detection system. The grant is being awarded through the federal Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program.
Last month, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) secured an additional $1 million in congressionally directed spending in fiscal year 2024 appropriations to support the innovative rail safety project, Metrolink officials said in a press release.
During the project's initial phase, the new intruder detection system will be concentrated within a 1.5-mile stretch of Metrolink’s Ventura County Line between Haskell Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The prototype will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped cameras and radar or light detection and ranging sensors in connection with Metrolink’s existing positive train control system to identify and validate track intrusions, including individuals trespassing on the right of way, vehicles or large objects and debris, and automatically slow or stop trains approaching that section of the rail line.
"If it succeeds, this project will not only improve the safety of our passengers and crew, it will directly benefit pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and everyone else who interacts with our system," said Paul Krekorian, a Metrolink board member.
Between July and December 2023, passenger and freight trains operating on Metrolink service lines were involved in 53 vehicle and pedestrian strikes, a 39% increase compared to the same period in 2022, with nearly half of all strikes in 2023 ruled as suicides.