• Kyle Fields has moved from FRA chief counsel to Deputy General Counsel at USDOT. Before joining the administration, Fields was counsel to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

• Reacting to a letter from USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy, Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has said she is not in support of some of the Trump administration’s asks for surface transportation.

  The EPW Chair is not inclined to include then-Senator JD Vance’s post-East Palestine rail safety act, nor is she in favor of eliminating the mass transit account in the Highway Trust Fund. For his part, Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was quoted as saying “ain’t gonna happen — not if they want a highway bill.”

  Duffy’s letter also suggested renaming New York’s Penn Station, a bustling hub for LIRR, NYCT, NJ Transit, and Amtrak service; previous reports have noted the administration’s preference for naming the station after President Trump.  New York Senator and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said, “It ain’t happening, Donald Trump, forget about it.”

• In DC, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation will receive a USDOT grant of $24 million toward establishing a public-private partnership to improve Washington Union Station, where VRE, MARC, Amtrak, and WMATA all operate.

Virginia Railway Express hosted the Fredericksburg SWAT team for a Passenger Train Emergency Response Training July 20. The training began with a classroom presentation covering the VRE system, rail equipment, the railroad operating environment, emergency response procedures, and common railroad incidents involving trespassers, vehicle collisions, and derailments. Following the presentation, VRE Director of Mechanical Operations Sarah Higgins led a hands-on mechanical tour of the rail yard and equipment.

TRANSITIONS

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WHAT WE’RE READING

• Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (The New York Times)

• Metra Celebrates 100 Years of Electric Rail, Looks to the Future (METRO)

• Mass transit, bike lanes, EV infrastructure face substantial cuts in DOT proposal (Smart Cities Dive)

• Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It. (The New York Times)

• UP, NS Meet STB Deadline With ‘Unprecedented Assurances’ (Updated with STB Filings) (Railway Age)

• It’s Just Unhinged: A Federal Transportation Policy Update (America Walks)

• Washington Union Station renovation seeks private investment (Smart Cities Dive)

• Governor Healey announces new MBTA affordability initiatives, extends commuter rail savings through fall (Massachusetts News)

• Governor Lamont Announces Start of Major Infrastructure Project To Deliver Faster, More Frequent, and More Reliable Service on the New Haven Line (Governor Ned Lamont)

• An M.T.A. Project Is Under Budget and Finished Early. No, Really. (The New York Times)

• USDOT Seeks Changes to Passenger Rail Funding, Grant Programs (Railway Age)

• Tri-Rail board names Kubicek as new executive director (TrainsPro)

• Walk through vintage Pullman electric elicits memories for former conductor Szabo (TrainsPro)

• 25+ Transport Groups Urge Congress to Maintain Funding for IIJA’s Division J Programs (TTD)

• CA: Trains delayed by high surf, erosion between San Diego and Orange County (Mass Transit)

• RTD board votes to move forward with bus and rail service cuts in 2027 (Denverite)

• Federal transit funding process would get revamp under newly introduced measure (Transportation Today News)

• USDOT launches AI initiative to modernize transportation infrastructure (Transportation Today News)

• $530M from state millionaire tax will go to Boston-area transit agency (Smart Cities Dive)

• NY: Penn Station funding bill DOA in Senate if renaming it ‘Trump Station’ is in the plan: Schumer (Mass Transit)