Two newly confirmed Board actions will keep hundreds of Metro buses in service while moving two Sylmar rail crossings toward construction.

LOS ANGELES — October 28, 2026 — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has approved two major investments affecting bus reliability and regional rail safety: a nearly $71 million engine-replacement program for as many as 680 buses and a $27.6 million construction budget for two Antelope Valley Line crossings in Sylmar.

The Metro Board approved both actions on October 22.

Hundreds of natural-gas buses will receive new engines

Metro awarded Cummins Sales and Service a five-year, single-source contract worth up to $70.99 million for 680 near-zero-emission natural-gas engines. The engines will be installed in El Dorado National 40-foot buses and New Flyer 60-foot articulated buses during fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

The engines will operate on renewable compressed natural gas and replace older engines as part of Metro’s midlife bus-refurbishment program. Metro mechanics will perform the installations.

According to the Board report, replacing high-mileage engines should reduce engine-related road calls and improve the reliability of buses that remain in daily service. Metro estimates that the replacements will reduce nitrogen-oxide emissions by 90 percent and greenhouse-gas emissions by 9 percent compared with the engines being removed.

The decision also provides more context for Metro’s transition to electric buses. In September, the agency approved the purchase of 220 battery-electric buses, with deliveries expected to begin in 2028. The new Cummins contract shows that Metro will continue investing in its existing natural-gas fleet while electric buses and the charging infrastructure needed to support them are introduced.

Metro has not changed its zero-emission goal through this action. The engine replacements are intended to keep current buses dependable during the transition and do not obligate the agency to order all 680 engines.

Two Sylmar rail crossings move toward construction

In a separate action, the Board established a $27.62 million life-of-project budget for improvements at the Astoria Street pedestrian crossing and the Polk Street roadway crossing along the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line.

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The crossings are part of Segment 4 of Metro’s Brighton-to-Roxford Double Track Project. Although the broader project remains in different stages of design, the Astoria and Polk plans are sufficiently advanced to proceed as separate construction packages.

Planned improvements include coordinated traffic signals, pedestrian gates and additional roadway gates. Polk Street will receive a four-quadrant gate system intended to make it harder for motorists to enter or drive around the crossing when a train approaches. Both locations will also be prepared for possible future quiet-zone operations.

The work supports Metro’s larger effort to improve safety, reliability and capacity on the Antelope Valley Line. Advancing the two crossings now also protects state Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funding that must be spent and submitted for reimbursement by June 30, 2027.

Metro will conduct community outreach and execute the construction contracts following the Board’s approval. A specific construction-start date has not yet been announced.

Primary sources

● Metro Board Report 2026-0644: Near-Zero Natural Gas-Fueled Engines

● Metro Board Report 2026-0640: Astoria and Polk Crossing Improvements

This story is part of The Long Track Back, STM Daily News’ continuing coverage of Los Angeles transit projects, service and regional mobility.

Slate Auto and Smarties Launch Colorful EV Starter Packs

Slate Auto has partnered with Smarties Candy Company on six pastel customization packages for its upcoming electric truck. Announced October 27, the Smarties x Slate collection gives buyers another way to personalize the minimalist EV before deliveries begin.

The six Starter Packs are inspired by Smarties flavors: Blue Raspberry, Cherry, Grape, Pineapple, Orange and Strawberry. Each package includes a coordinating vehicle wrap, color-matched mirror decals, a Smarties-branded rocker decal, a logo decal, a customized key-fob end cap and a matching interior Slatelet.

Customers will be able to purchase the packages through the Slate Marketplace as their delivery dates approach. Pricing for the Smarties packages was not included in the announcement.

The collaboration fits Slate’s strategy of selling one simplified vehicle platform that owners can customize over time. Every truck leaves the Warsaw, Indiana, factory with gray exterior panels designed to be wrapped instead of conventionally painted. Buyers can keep the two-seat pickup configuration or select one of Slate’s five-seat SUV conversions.

The partnership does not change the truck’s core price or specifications. Slate continues to list the Blank Slate pickup at $24,950 before its $1,450 destination charge, with an estimated 205 miles of range. The range figure is still a company projection rather than a final EPA rating, and Slate continues to say its first deliveries are expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

For Slate, the Smarties collection is more than a seasonal promotion. It demonstrates how branded wraps and accessories could become an important part of the company’s business model while allowing buyers to change the appearance of their vehicles without purchasing a different truck.

Source: Slate Auto’s official Smarties collaboration announcement

Entertainment News Brief

Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaimed actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, has died at 86.

Stewart died October 28 at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his spokesperson reported by Reuters. The announcement said he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia and was with his wife, Sunny Ozell.

Stewart brought a commanding presence and a thoughtful approach to leadership to Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired from 1987 to 1994. He later continued Picard’s story in feature films and returned for Star Trek: Picard.

His career also encompassed Shakespearean theater, including work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was knighted in 2010 for his contributions to drama.

For generations of viewers, Stewart helped make science fiction a place to explore questions of responsibility, compassion and humanity.

Sources

● Reuters: Patrick Stewart, Shakespearean actor turned Star Trek and X-Men star, dies at 86

● ABC News: Patrick Stewart dies at 86