Mass Transit - 11

David Wilson

Q2 2020 PTC Update: Two
commuter railroads removed
from "at risk" list, two remain

A CROSSING arm extended down at a
Metra station.

▶ The

which marks advancement toward
implementation of Positive Train Control
(PTC). The final deadline to have the

Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) released the railroads' Second
Quarter 2020 PTC Progress Reports,

safety system installed and implemented
is Dec. 31, 2020. FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory said he was "highly pleased"
by progress all railroads made during the
second quarter. FRA reports nearly all
railroads subject to the mandate are operating their systems in revenue service
or in advanced field testing. Commuter railroads delivered a 12.9-percent
increase in route miles governed by
PTC in Q2 compared to Q1. As of June
30, 2020, 76.1 percent of commuter
railroads' mandated route miles were
governed by PTC technology and PTC
technology remains to be activated on
approximately 690 required commuter
rail route miles. Two passenger railroads,
Metra and TEXRail, were removed from
FRA's "at risk" list, while two remain, New
Jersey Transit and New Mexico Rail Runner Express. In a separate release, Amtrak
said it had completed PTC implementation on its network.
MassTransitmag.com/21150090

People in the News

Thorne

Ester

Vandenbrande

Cencic

Stainsby

Knoxville Area
Transit (KAT)

Massachusetts Bay
Transportation
Authority (MBTA)

City of Boulder

Omaha Metro Transit

OmniRide

Knoxville Mayor
Indya Kincannon
appointed Isaac
Thorne to be the
Tennessee city's new
director of transit.
He will be starting
with KAT after nearly
13 years with Connect
Transit, where, prior
to serving as CEO,
he served as chief
operating officer,
interim transportation
director, procurement
director and operations manager. He was
also instrumental in
helping to transform
Connect Transit into
the 2015 American
Public Transportation
Association Outstanding Public Transit
System of the Year. His
first day with KAT is
Aug. 31, 2020.

MassTransitmag.
com/21149247

Ronald L. Ester, Jr.,
has been selected to
be the MBTA's new
chief safety officer,
where he'll be responsible for strategic
policy development,
management and
oversight of safety
programs - including construction
safety and operational safety. He'll also
ensure that a safety
culture exists in all
decision-making to
guarantee the safety
of riders, employees
and contractors. Ester
comes from the Chicago Transit Authority
where he spent more
than 28 years holding
a variety of executive
positions.

MassTransitmag.
com/21149071

Boulder, Colo., City
Manager Jane Brautigam announced
Erika Vandenbrande
will be the city's new
director of transportation and mobility
beginning Sept. 7.
She most recently
served as the director
of planning and community development
for the city of Redmond, Wash., capping
off a 19-year tenure
where she served in
a variety of positions,
including deputy
city administrator
and transportation
demand management
manager. In her most
recent leadership role,
she guided a work
program requiring permitting for a $1-billion
light-rail investment in
Redmond.

MassTransitmag.
com/21148829

The Omaha Metro
Transit Board of Directors selected Lauren Cencic to be the
agency's new CEO.
She returns to Omaha
from the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan
Transit Authority,
where she led various
projects as a senior
director, including
providing oversight
and guidance for major light-rail projects,
leading design criteria,
environmental and
corridor studies for a
variety of infrastructure projects and
managing feasibility,
environmental impact,
design and rail conversion studies for bus
rapid transit projects.
She is the agency's
first female chief
executive.

MassTransitmag.
com/21148485

Joseph Stainsby has
been named chief
development officer
for OmniRide, where
he'll execute the vision
and direction of the
board of commissioners and implement the Strategic
Plan to develop and
grow new and/or
improved transportation solutions for
the region. Prior to
OmniRide, Stainsby
worked in the private
sector for seven years
as the Washington,
D.C., area manager
for VPSI/vRide. He has
a history of working
with stakeholders at
all levels of government, serving as a
subject-matter expert
in the transportation
demand management
community.

MassTransitmag.
com/21147475

JULY/AUGUST 2020 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit |

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