US national passenger rail operator Amtrak says ridership on its services continued to increase steadily in the first half of the 2013 financial year (October 2012 – March 2013), despite the disruption to the network in the northeast caused by Hurricane Sandy last October.

A new study for New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has concluded that extending the 7 Subway beneath the Hudson River from Manhattan to New Jersey is viable, less than a year after the project was dismissed by the then MTA chairman Mr Joe Lhota.

THE PCM Group, India, has acquired Rail.One, Germany, bringing to an end the latter's search for a strategic investor.

THE United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has selected the Illinois Department of Transportation (Idot) to lead the multi-state procurement of at least 35 200km/h diesel locomotives for passenger operations, Illinois governor Mr Pat Quinn announced on March 21.

THE United States House of Representatives approved the 2013 Financial Year Budget Bill on March 21, which will maintain Amtrak's budget for the remainder of the 2013 financial year at slightly below current levels despite the threat of cuts.

THE United States Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) are awarding New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) $US 193m in Hurricane Sandy recovery funds.

THE government of Monterey County, California, is considering a proposal to extend the state's successful Capitol Corridor inter-city passenger service south from San Jose to serve the town of Salinas.

REPRESENTATIVES from the United States' leading freight railways told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during a conference in Washington, DC, this week that a full implementation of Positive Train Control on around 96,500km of track will not be possible by the federally-mandated deadline of 2015.

THE LENGTH of Salt Lake City's commuter rail network almost doubled on February 22, when Utah Transit Authority (UTA) opened its FrontRunner South extension from Salt Lake Central to Provo.

THE Association of American Railroads (AAR) says the major freight railways in the United States plan to spend an estimated $US 24.5bn in 2013 on motive power, rolling stock and infrastructure improvements.