August 11, 2025 (BOSTON) – Keolis has appointed global transportation leader John Killeen as Chief Executive Officer of Keolis Commuter Services (KCS), the MBTA’s operations and maintenance partner for their Commuter Rail system. Killeen has more than 25 years of leadership experience driving safety, reliability, operational excellence and transformation across major commuter rail networks in North America and Europe. He also has deep knowledge of MBTA Commuter Rail network operations and assets, having served as the Vice President of Asset Management at KCS since 2017.

Killen replaces Abdella Chajai, who has been appointed Executive Director of Marketing, Innovation, Sustainable Development and Engagement at Keolis Group. In this role, Chajai joins the Group’s Executive Committee, effective September 1, 2025.

RSAC UNDONE?

Members of the FRA’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, or RSAC, received letters this week terminating their appointments to the federal advisory group. The letters, signed by acting administrator Drew Feeley, made no reference to the committee’s ultimate fate.

According to Politico: “A host of advisory committees that help create safety rules for aviation, railroads and more have been dissolved or their membership rolls purged, with a Transportation Department official saying the bodies need a ‘refresh’ in part because they had been ‘overrun’ with diversity, equity and inclusion and climate advocates.”

As many as 25 DOT advisory committees have been affected.

TCRP RESEARCH WEBINAR:
The Future of Commuter Rail in North America

Utah Transit Authority is touting transit’s economic benefits in a new campaign. Key takeaways include:

• Utah Transit Authority promotes transit economic benefits, highlighting $5.11 return per every $1 invested.

• A Metro Analytics study showed UTA supports 79,000 jobs, translating to $2.9 billion in income.

• UTA's expansion plans include new TRAX line and FrontRunner improvements before 2034 Olympics.

Read the full article here.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act marked a historic federal investment in US transportation infrastructure. Its passage in 2021 meant its initial implementation occurred during a post-pandemic period of high demand for construction and high costs. Even as inflation moderated, highway construction costs, particularly as measured by the National Highway Construction Cost Index (NHCCI), remained elevated, deflating the power of IIJA dollars. Ahead of the next reauthorization, examination of the impact of the IIJA thus far and the impact of the high cost environment is needed for informed policy making. Through this white paper, factors contributing to escalating costs, competing measurements of construction costs, long term trends in federal infrastructure funding, and the impact of deflation of federal dollars on the implementation of the IIJA are explored.

Authored by Grace Truslow, readers can access the White Paper here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• South Florida transit agencies partner to release unified app for regional transit (Mass Transit)

• South Shore Lines historice investment delivers convenience and flexibility with major service expansion (GreatNews.Life)

• At Transit is the Answer Coalition meeting, RTA provides updates on the budget gap, and how other cities are dealing with transit fiscal cliffs (Streets Blog Chicago)