Stressing the importance of its intercity passenger rail service in Michigan, Amtrak said it will perform a high-speed rail improvement study that will focus on determining what infrastructure upgrades are needed to provide 110 mph train service on the Norfolk Southern-owned rail corridor between Kalamazoo and Detroit.

A McMaster University researcher says the chance to save lives is a powerful motivation to develop a new safety system for rail transit workers, the Hamilton, Ont., Spectator reports. The university and Bombardier Transportation are working together on a C$1.4-million project to develop an automated system that could warn track workers and on-board personnel of possible danger while there is still time to avoid accidents.

Supporters of consolidating Springfield, Ill., rail traffic on the 10th Street corridor plan to take a wish list of overpass construction, track relocation and other design improvements on an annual trip to Washington D.C. next month, The State Journal-Register reports. The list will exceed the $26.5 million sought for the same project last year, Gary Plummer, president and CEO of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, said Friday.

In broad strokes and fine detail, officials have revealed how they will pay $340 million for "the biggest project in the history" of Lincoln, Neb. -- turning a windswept rail yard into a home for a new downtown arena, the Lincoln Journal Star reports.

The MTA Long Island Rail Road's Stony Brook Station, on the Port Jefferson Branch, will undergo a $2.7-million renovation project starting February 1. A temporary trailer will serve as a waiting room during part of the work. Nine parking spaces will be temporarily out of service in order to stage materials and the trailer.

A new express train on the Fredericksburg, Va., line is one way Virginia Railway Express Board Chair Paul Milde says the commuter railroad is working to fix the region's transportation problems, according to Inside NoVA.com. An 11-mile stretch of tracks to be built thanks to federal stimulus money from Powell's Creek near Dumfries into Stafford County will aid future VRE express trains, the agency says, and will spur the growth of passenger rail service in the state.

The state of Kentucky has given preliminary approval to $400,000 in tax incentives for the Paducah & Louisville Railway to build a new "green" headquarters. The Paducah Sun reported that the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave initial go-ahead for the tax credits, which will go toward a $4.2-million headquarters and end the company's search for a new home.

With the formal acquisition this week of one of the key chromite deposits among the remote Ring of Fire properties northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., Canada, U.S. iron-ore giant Cliffs Resources positioned itself as the most likely company to build the mine everyone‘s been talking about, The Chronicle Journal reports. But while the euphoria associated with the development of what could the largest chromite mine in the world is understandable, the company says many details still have to be hammered out.

Metro Blue Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 30 minutes on three consecutive weekends beginning Friday night, Feb 5, due to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Work will begin at 9 p.m. on Friday nights and continue until the close of rail service on Sunday night for the weekends of Feb. 5-7, Feb. 12-14, and Feb. 19-21.

Work on Caltrain's Grade Crossing Improvement Program, which will enhance safety at 25 grade crossings in San Mateo County, will continue t week Fair Oaks Avenue, Atherton.