Opening a new rail gateway for double-stacked containers is taking place across southern West Virginia 20 grueling feet at a time, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. Every weekday, Norfolk Southern shuts down a portion of its main line between the East Coast and the Midwest so crews can raise the roofs in the line's tunnels.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had a simple message for the Florida Senate: Get behind the planned SunRail commuter train in Central Florida, or forget about the state winning $2.5 billion in federal money for a high-speed train linking Orlando with Tampa, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Pennsylvania has applied for $3.1 billion in federal stimulus funds to build high-speed railroad projects, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Continuing its pursuit of a portion of the $8 billion available through the ARRA High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program, the Washington State Department of Transportation applied for more than $1.3 billion in ARRA stimulus funds for the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor.

Helping freight trains move quicker and reducing the time motorists spend waiting for trains to pass are goals of a $26-million federally funded project announced Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Plans were unveiled to add a third main rail line over about three miles in Blue Island and Alsip, Ill., easing congestion in the busy south suburban corridor.

The imminent reactivation of an old railroad route through Gastonia could mean that one or more local street crossings will be closed to vehicular traffic, the Gaston Gazette reports. The state-run N.C. Rail Co. wants to eliminate two crossings to reduce safety concerns and avoid the cost of installing safety devices along the old Piedmont and Northern railway.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Northwest Corridor to Irving/DFW Final Environmental Impact Statement is the recipient of the Federal Transit Administration's Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation. The FEIS provided the environmental clearances for the first nine miles of the Orange Line extending from Bachman Station in northwest Dallas to Belt Line Station near DFW International Airport.

Three members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are renewing and amplifying the call for greater construction oversight of Pan Am Railways' rail-to-truck auto distribution yard off Willow Road in Ayer, Mass., local newspapers report.

The future ain't what it used to be. Back in 1930, the movie "Just Imagine" dreamed of the world of 1980, when everyone has a flying car. Other sci-fi scenarios pictured personal jet packs and individual transit "pods" gliding along monorails, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Union Pacific and Progress Rail Services said that the ultra-clean diesel PR30C-LoNOx locomotive being tested in intermediate line haul service has successfully achieved more than 500 operational hours. The locomotive -- powered by a 3516 Caterpillar engine -- has been retrofitted with a state-of-the-art after-treatment system, making it one of the cleanest locomotives operating in the United States.