During the last eight months, Frankfort residents have spent more than $1 million on new landscaping, courtesy of the Canadian National Railway, the Southtown Star reports. And they're not done yet.

IBM unveiled a new software framework designed to transform the way airlines and rail companies track and manage critical aspects of their businesses. Transportation systems are tremendously asset-intensive and use large amounts of energy. Using IBM's advanced information management, analytics, automation and process integration software, airlines and rail companies can model and manage optimal routes, schedules, and capacity in near real-time and ultimately improve the consumer's travel experience while minimizing energy costs.

CN said today that customer-focused innovation and balanced accountability among transportation partners are the keys to improving the effectiveness of Canada's logistics supply chain. CN, in a submission to the Rail Freight Service Review panel appointed by the Canadian government, said hard facts compiled for the panel establish the quality of CN's rail transportation product, most notably in terms of hub-to-hub transit time performance.

CN has reached a voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) with the Village of Barrington Hills, Ill., located approximately 40 miles northwest of Chicago, addressing the municipality's environmental and safety concerns with CN's acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company. With this agreement, CN has VMAs with 22 of the 33 communities situated on the EJ&E in Illinois and Indiana.

Construction begins Monday, May 3, on a rainwater control project in San Bruno, Calif., the first step in a grade-separation project that will result in dramatic safety improvements at a key series of intersections in that community. Caltrain will build a new underground box culvert to divert water away from the area during the construction and help reduce flooding in the neighborhood east of the railroad tracks.

Floodlights glared deep in a century-old tunnel under an Appalachian hillside. An excavator poked at the arched ceiling like a pterodactyl, the Hampton Roads Pilot reports. Chunks of sandstone shattered and fell thunderously into an empty rail car.

Starting in mid-June, contractors will add a second set of tracks to a 2-mile stretch of the coastal railway through Carlsbad, Calif., the North County Times reports. Having a double set of tracks will provide new passing points for trains and reduce delays for both local Coaster commuter trains and Amtrak long-distance trains, John Eschenbach, senior project manager for Amtrak, said.

SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey was joined by a host of local officials and dignitaries on April 29 to celebrate the completion of rehabilitation work at the North Philadelphia Station on the Broad Street Line.

RailComm has provided a wireless remote control yard system at CSX Transportation's Avon Yard in Indianapolis. The RailComm Domain Operations Controller (DOC^®) System provides remote control to several GETS HydraSwitch machines. RailComm's DOC^® system is configured to control all switches individually as well as provide eNtrance eXit (NX) routing functionality. 

British Columbia's TransLink delivered significant, promised expansion in road and transit infrastructure and services in 2009 to Metro Vancouver, while also dealing with softer revenues to successfully reduce the size of its forecast deficit. Metro Vancouver's transportation authority prioritized, ensuring that services and efficiency worked together to produce value-for-money for customers and taxpayers.