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Virginia public transit grapples with reduced ridership, zero fare
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia public transit systems from Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads are looking for a path forward after losing riders and revenue during the pandemic. Some transit systems have been harder hit than others. “We are serving a market of essential workers that can’t stay home; they have to use our service,” said […]
MWAA sells facial recognition system to Pangiam
VeriScan, a facial-recognition system developed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, has been sold to Alexandria-based Pangiam, a security and travel services provider, the company announced Friday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. More than 40 airlines use veriScan’s traveler verification system, which is an integrated biometric facial recognition program that debu[...]
New Metro railcars set to be built in D.C. region
Metro’s new fleet of railcars will be built in the Washington, D.C., region, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Wednesday. Hitachi Rail Washington LLC, an entity related to Japanese manufacturer Hitachi, has been awarded a contract worth up to $2.2 billion to build up to 800 railcars. The base order for the system’s 8000-series […]
Springfield company wins $570.9M DOT contract
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Springfield-based engineering and technology company Ensco Inc. a potential 20-year, $570.9 million contract to help the Federal Railroad Administration operate and maintain a department-owned facility for rail system research, development, testing and training. Services will be performed at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Color[...]
HRBT tunnel boring machine’s name will be ‘Mary’
Chosen from several entries submitted by Hampton Roads area middle school students, the massive underwater tunnel boring machine (TBM) that arrives later this year to dig new tunnels for the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project will be named Mary, in honor of Mary Winston Jackson, a NASA scientist depicted in “Hidden Figures.” St. […]
Metro awards $179M contract to replace escalators
Metro will begin replacing 130 escalators in 32 stations in May, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced Tuesday. The transportation authority that runs the Metrorail and Metrobus lines in the Washington area has awarded a $179 million, seven-year contract to KONE, a Finnish elevator and escalator company with its U.S. headquarters in Illinois. Metro’s […]
UPS to sell Richmond-based freight biz for $800M
Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. will sell its Richmond-based UPS Freight unit to Canadian logistics company TFI International Inc. for $800 million, the package delivery company announced Monday. UPS Freight provides less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments (used for small freight transportation) across all 50 states, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. The UPS business [&he[...]
Transurban names new Va. exec
Jennifer Aument, president of Transurban’s Falls Church-based North American operations, will leave to become chief executive of AECOM’s global transportation business. Aument will be succeeded by Pierce Coffee, who currently serves as Transurban’s vice president of customer experience and operations, according to an announcement Monday from the Australian company that operates t[...]
National Landing to see $4B in transportation investment during next decade
A report released by the National Landing Business Improvement District (BID) on Tuesday details $4 billion worth of area transportation projects that will be underway during the next decade. The National Landing area includes Arlington’s Crystal City (where e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. is establishing its $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters), Pentagon City and Potomac […]
Roanoke clears path for more downtown development
Roanoke developer Lucas Thornton hopes to break ground this summer on a multimillion-dollar renovation project that will transform what is now Campbell Court Transportation Center, the city’s rundown bus station, into an office tower and another building with apartments and retail space. Thornton’s $35 million development, tentatively named Randolph Street, inched closer to becoming re[...]
Metro Rail managers cleared of allegations, but workplace is ‘disrespectful and unprofessional’
Following a three-month investigation into Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Friday that complaints of racial discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation by senior rail officials were unsubstantiated — but that disrespect and unprofessional conduct is commonplace there. San Francisco-based law firm Littler Mend[...]
SWVA guardrail manufacturer announces $7.9M expansion
Nine months of hard work has paid off. Since February, InvestSWVA has been working with highway guardrail manufacturer SPIG Industry LLC on its expansion plans, and on Thursday Gov. Ralph Northam announced the Washington County-based company’s plans to invest $7.9 million to expand its operations in the Bristol-Washington Industrial Park, creating 113 jobs. Formed in […]
