WASHINGTON — The CTA is a winner in the fiscal 2015 federal budget proposed Tuesday by President Barack Obama.
There is new pot of federal money that might pump millions of dollars to overhaul aging CTA lines.
The Department of Transportation Federal Transit Agency capital investments budget includes a newly funded category — $275 million for “Core Capacity Projects”
The good news for Chicago is that there is only one project listed in the pipeline at present — the CTA’s Red and Purple lines modernization projects and other unspecified “eligible” projects.
This new program is intended to help cities with old rapid transit systems. There are not that many cities that fit into that category. So while it is very early to say exactly how much Chicago could get out of the newly funded program — it is a very good start to finding a new federal revenue stream for the the CTA.