BOUCHARD: “JOIN ME AT THE 2025 COMMUTER RAIL SUMMIT”

• Per Kaplan Kirsch LLP: The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued an Interim Final Rule making substantial changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) program. The revisions remove the race- and sex-based presumption of disadvantage that has historically been the primary basis for the certification of businesses as DBEs and revise the regulations in 49 C.F.R. Part 26. Going forward, companies desiring to be certified as DBEs are required, individually, to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that they are economically and socially disadvantaged.

• The Senate has confirmed David Fink as the next administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

• Politico: for the duration of the federal government shutdown, workers in FRA’s Office of Railroad Safety — those who manage rail accident investigations — will keep operating because those probes are the basis for sending out emergency orders and safety advisories. Inspectors visiting railroad property will continue proactive work on identifying unsafe operations, but contracts, purchase orders and travel authorizations will stop.

• The Trump Administration this week suspended funding for both the Gateway Program and Second Avenue Subway. Per Politico, OMB Director Russell Vought on Tuesday said the White House was targeting the two projects because of “unconstitutional DEI principles.” The president was quoted connecting the federal government shutdown with an opportunity to cut Democrats’ priorities. The two projects directly impact the constituents of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of whom represent New York and are Capitol Hill’s top ranking Democrats.

  Also, per Politico, DOT said it had told New York it was putting the projects under “quick administrative review” to determine “whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring.” The employees who must conduct that review have been furloughed, meaning it can't get underway as long as the government is closed.

• USDOT is currently soliciting nominations for membership to serve on the DOT Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking which is required to make triennial recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on countering human trafficking in the transportation sector. The deadline for nominations for Committee members must be received on or before October 14, 2025.

ACTION ALERT

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) has drafted legislation that will give railroads 90 days to implement the adjusted excess liability cap in 2026. While no longer chairman of the House Railroad Subcommittee, Mr. Nehls is nonetheless very supportive of CRC’s efforts to find solutions to the challenges posed by insuring for excess liability.

Please ask your electeds – regardless of party or committee membership – to reach out to the Railroad Subcommittee staff (Mark Ratto for the majority, or Frances Bourne for the minority) and express support for this legislation.

CRC is also lining up advance support in the Senate Commerce Committee and requests that indications of support be directed to Senator Cruz and Paul Wasik of the committee’s majority staff.

With the first webinar slated for Thursday, October 23, registration is open now. See the full series line up and register here.

VRE staff gathered this week to celebrate CEO Rich Dalton, who retires today. Rich joined VRE in 2009 after a longtime involvement with VRE in his role in the private rail transportation sector.

Staff gifted Rich a locomotive bell, the same used on VRE trains, mounted to a frame created from the same lumber used to build the LOU at the Crossroads Maintenance and Storage Facility. The bell was a special project crafted by the Crossroads team.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Metra to pilot new café car (Mass Transit)

• Here’s what’s making Congress’s funding deal so tough for transportation and what a shutdown means for USDOT (Transportation for America)

• Governor Hochul Announces LIRR Smashes Seven-Day Ridership Record During Ryder Cup Week With More Than 1.8 Million Riders (New York State)

• Philly lawyer plans to sue SEPTA again to stop increased fares (NBC10 Philadelphia)

• From Earthquake Alerts to Zero-Emission Trains: Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle on Leading an Award-Winning Transformation (Railway Technology)