Last week, Streetsblog reported on $1.1 billion in transportation grants recommended by state agencies and approved by the California Transportation Commission at its December 3 and 4 meeting. In that article, I made an error that was flagged over the weekend by both transit advocates and Metrolink, the agency receiving one of the grants. Given the timing and the nature of the mistake, a more substantial correction than a brief update to the text felt warranted.
In the article, I wrote that Metrolink—a regional rail operator in Southern California—had received a $53 million grant to purchase “12 zero-emission (not electric) locomotives to replace aging diesel engines.” That was incorrect. The grant was for reduced emissions, not zero emissions.
Adriana Rizzo of Californians for Electric Rail was the first to flag the error. “Looking at the actual request approved, the funding was for Tier 4 diesel locomotives of the same type already operating on the Metrolink system,” she wrote…