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An inaugural train set to usher in new intercity rail service in Virginia will stop Sept. 30 in Manassas, local media report. The train, billed as taking a whistle stop tour, will leave Washington's Union Station at 8:30 a.m. bound for Lynchburg. It is scheduled to arrive in Old Town Manassas at 11:40 a.m.
--> ...In just 96 hours recently, the BNSF engineering team completed several projects on the Lafayette Subdivision in Louisiana, according to the company newsletter. Considered an engineering "blitz," the team aimed to maximize track work and minimize disruption for community members, all while making sure safety was a top priority. The work window was granted from 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21, through 6 a.m. Friday, Sept. 25.
--> ...L.B. Foster Company of Pittsburgh has been awarded a contract to supply direct fixation fasteners and bonded insulated joints for the first phase of the new Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Orange Line from the city center of Dallas to Irving, Texas. L.B. Foster is coordinating product shipments to the Northwest Corridor Expansion project to meet the scheduling requirements of the general contractor joint venture, Kiewit/Stacy and Witbeck/Reyes/Parsons Corporation.
--> ...Iowa Governor Chet Culver joined Congressman Bruce Braley in Waterloo to reopen the Iowa Northern Railway bridge, a freight line that was damaged when the Cedar River flooded in 2008. The reconstruction project is funded through $1 million in Culver/Judge I-JOBS funds, and $2.1 million in federal railroad funds, secured by Congressman Braley. The bridge is completely repaired except for the laying of the tracks.
--> ...The OneRail Coalition last week sent a letter (see below) to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patty Murray urging increased support for railroad investment in H.R. 3288, the FY2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.
--> ...Norfolk Southern has launched a new Website focusing on the benefits of its corridor and public-private partnership projects. The Web site, TheFutureNeedsUs.com <http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/>, describes projects to increase rail freight transportation capacity and improve mobility and the environment. Information is provided for projects in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, where governors Riley, Barbour, Rendell, Bredesen, Kaine and Manchin are leaders in supporting transportation solutions.
--> ...The National Gateway coalition has been honored as "Competitiveness Project of the Year" by the North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum, a leading infrastructure identification and development group. The award recognizes the National Gateway as the "project that contributes most to the [North American] region's capacity for global competitiveness."
--> ...At the public's first opportunity to weigh in on the immediate future of Maine railroads, the message was clear: Make them work for Maine businesses, the Bangor Daily News reports. About 25 people from railroads, economic development groups and government agencies gathered in Bangor to discuss the development of the Maine Rail Plan. The state has hired consulting firm HNTB Corp. to formulate a blueprint for improving rail access in Maine, for both freight and passengers.
--> ...Work on Caltrain's Grade Crossing Improvement Program, which will enhance safety at 25 grade crossings in San Mateo County, continues at Broadway and Oak Grove Avenue in Burlingame. The work will take place from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Throughout the project area, at least one lane of the impacted street will remain open.
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