LIRR completes switch and signal work

MTA Long Island Rail Road customers should expect normal weekday service Monday following the successful weekend testing of a new computerized switch and signal control system at Jamaica Station.

The new state-of-the-art, microprocessor-based control system replaces three antiquated signal towers just east and west of Jamaica Station, offering greater flexibility for train movement through the Jamaica complex, better backup systems and more reliability for LIRR customers. As of late Sunday afternoon, more than 95 percent of the testing scheduled for the final cutover to the new system had been completed, paving the way for normal Monday AM rush hour service.

Trains from 10 of the LIRR’s 11 branches travel through Jamaica each day with weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 customers.

The $56 million Jamaica modernization project upgraded the control of LIRR’s switches and signals at Jamaica Station from electro-mechanical to state-of-the-art computerized microprocessor technology. The new, more reliable system will increase operational flexibility for the large volume of trains that pass through this area, helping to reduce customer delays. The new system also will provide redundant signal control systems and will allow for quicker recovery time in the event of a power surge, lightning storm or fire-related service disruption. The new system consolidates three tower operations into one, centralized control facility at Jamaica.

With the reduced train movement through Jamaica Station during this second cutover weekend, the LIRR used this time to perform right-of-way (ROW) clean-up in the area surrounding Jay Tower (to the west of Jamaica).

Throughout the day Saturday, LIRR track crews, used specialized track equipment, heavy machinery, dumpsters, rakes and other tools to perform a clean-up of the Jamaica Station tracks and surrounding areas in Jamaica. A total of 101.75cubic yards of debris and 79 scrap railroad ties were removed in the clean-up effort.

During the first cutover weekend, October 23-24, in a similar effort on the east side of Jamaica and at the Jamaica Station tracks, LIRR employees hauled away 85 cubic yards of debris and removed 350 old railroad ties as well as old running rail, track gauge plates, pipe, spikes, 3rd rail brackets and running rail fasteners.

The clean-up effort for the combined weekends netted 186.75 cubic yards of debris and 429 scrap railroad ties.

Joliet ponders transportation center cost as deficit grows

The city of Joliet, Ill., is embarking on a $42 million public project at the same time its latest budget proposal shows the bank account running dry by 2012, the Herald News reports.

The state of Illinois is putting $32 million into the future transportation center, a place that Joliet city officials believe will stimulate business growth downtown and beyond. Joliet would be on the line for $7.5 million required for the project.

The transportation center is conceived as a one-stop location for trains, buses and other modes of transportation. It also would be the first stop outside of Chicago for the future high-speed rail line to St. Louis, which city officials believe will attract visitors to Joliet and even potential new businesses because of the proximity to the big city.

The city council still has to vote to spend the $7.5 million and the votes appear to be lining up in the "yes" column. The money is available from impact fees being paid by CenterPoint Properties as it develops its massive intermodal industrial park on the south end of the city. BNSF is contributing $2.2 million because the project includes a reconfiguration of railroad tracks that will make it easier for freight trains to move through Joliet.

But a decision on spending $7.5 million of the CenterPoint money on one project will come at the same time that the council is reviewing a 2011 budget proposal that eats up $16 million in city reserve funds to plug a deficit.

The problem gets worse in 2012, according to city budget projections, because remaining reserve funds would be spent and deficits would get bigger in future years.
The projections do not include any answers on how future budgets will be balanced. But City Manager Thomas Thanas said the deficits already have been cut back because of spending reductions and a smaller workforce.
The 2012 deficit at one time was forecast to reach $67 million.

"We have that down to $21 million," Thanas said. "We spent the last two years cutting $46 million out of the deficit."

Those cuts, however, have included a smaller police force and fewer public works employees as the city has reduced its total workforce by 135 positions. Unions have made certain concessions, too, by delaying raises and agreeing to pay towards their health care premiums to ease a city budget crisis.

Union leaders already have objected to the use of another grant worth $1.16 million to relocate an existing fire station because it would require a match from the city of $600,000.

Councilwoman Jan Quillman also opposes that project, but she said there’s a big difference between the fire station and the transportation center.

Quillman called the $32 million state grant "the best thing that ever happened. It’s a huge shot in the arm for downtown Joliet."

The relocation of the fire station would have limited value, she said, but the transportation center will be used by people in Joliet and throughout Will County.

The transportation center also is being planned at a time when the city has come under criticism for spending money in the past on big projects, including Silver Cross Field and the Splash Station Waterpark.

But Councilman Joseph Shetina said the city needs to forge ahead on the transportation center.

"You shouldn’t be in public office if you can’t take the heat and do something like this," Shetina said. "It’s a huge thing for Joliet. It’s a huge thing for the surrounding area."

Dulles Corridor project update

Miners excavating the tunnels that will carry Dulles Corridor Metrorail tracks from the Tysons Central 123 Station under the highest natural point in Fairfax County, Va., soon will complete the mining portion of the construction endeavors.

Dulles Transit Partners, the design-build contractor for the Rail Project, is mining the tunnels. In late October, crews ‘holed through’ the west end of the outbound tunnel near the busy intersection of Routes 7 and 123 just more than a year after beginning excavations.

Mining of the inbound tunnel is scheduled for completion in mid-December. Then crews will remove the temporary road inside the tunnels, rearrange temporary utilities, back fill and install a smoothing layer of special sprayable concrete used to reinforce the tunnel. Then comes waterproofing, more reinforcement and concrete installation, and construction of the safety walkway. Tunnel construction is expected to be finished at the end of 2011.

Connecting Dulles Rail tracks to Metro’s Orange Line

Construction is more than 22 percent complete along Phase 1 of the 11.5-mile Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project from Falls Church to Reston.

One of the most complicated areas of construction is where the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) breaks away from I-66 near West Falls Church. This is where the rail extension will merge with Metro’s existing Orange Line.

Last Memorial Day weekend, Metro shut down rail service between the East and West Falls Church stations so that pier construction and testing could take place close to existing tracks in this area. Now piers have been completed and bridges to carry the aerial tracks across I-66 are visible.

A third truss coming to cross beltway

A third huge truss that will be used to build more bridges for the rail line in Tysons Corner is being assembled in a cloverleaf of Route 123 and I-495.

This truss will function a bit differently from the other two that have been building bridges above the Dulles Connector Road across Route 123 and along Route 123 near Scotts Crossing Road. The latest addition to the big yellow fleet of horizontal cranes will be used to build the bridges that will carry tracks across the Capital Beltway in the coming year.

Meanwhile, the skyline at Tysons continues to be filled with these trusses, working day and night to build bridges for rail.

Rail connector to NYC holds promise for economy






The idea of a new rail
line connecting the Berkshires to New York City, as proposed by the Housatonic
Railroad Co., has local business and economic development officials pondering
the possibilities, the Berkshire Eagle reports. The concept, they say, holds
substantial promise for the local economy.

Full closure of LA Metro Blue Line service set for three weekends






Los Angeles area Metro
Blue Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes for three
weekends beginning November 5 due to construction of the Expo light rail line,
which will connect with the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Metro will
provide bus shuttle service between the Washington Station and the 7th
St./Metro Center Station. Special bus service begins Friday, Nov. 5 at 9 p.m.

Parks Canada, Canadian Pacific celebrate the Last Spike






On behalf of the Honorable
John Baird, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks
Canada, Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Fred Green,
Canadian Pacific President and CEO, recognized the 125th anniversary of one the
most significant moments in Canadian history, the driving of the Last Spike,
which completed the country’s first transcontinental railway.

Caltrain construction, maintenance, Nov. 6 to 12






Work will continue this
week on the new pedestrian underpass at the Santa Clara station. The underpass
will connect the north- and southbound platforms, allowing two trains to pass
through the station at the same time and improving safety for pedestrians in
the station.

NCDA places second phase of Northstar commuter rail on hold






February 14, 2001

In the TwinCities area, the Northstar Corridor
Development Authority (NCDA) Executive Committee, after careful review of the
Federal Transit Administration’s required technical analysis, decided to recommend
to the Authority that the federal application for the extension be placed on
hold.

High-speed rail project moving north of Springfield, Ill., Nov. 15






February 14, 2001

Improvements supporting
future high-speed rail on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor north of Springfield,
Ill., will cause the daily Amtrak Lincoln Service trains to originate and
terminate in Bloomington/Normal from Nov. 15 through Nov. 23 and from Nov. 30
through Dec. 10. This work on the Chicago-St. Louis route will also cause the
Chicago-San Antonio Amtrak Texas Eagle to detour without other scheduled stops
between Chicago and St. Louis. Alternate transportation will be provided in
most cases.

D.C. Metro proposes preliminary Capital Improvement Program






The Washington, D.C., Metro
Board Finance and Administration Committee on Nov. 4 reviewed Metro’s preliminary FY2012-FY2017 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which commits at least $1.18-billion to address
National Transportation Safety Board recommendations over the next seven years
and prioritizes safety and state of good repair projects. 



Fox named executive vice president operations, BNSF






BNSF promoted Greg Fox to
executive vice president, Operations, reporting to Carl Ice, president and
chief operating officer. Operations functions reporting to Fox include
Engineering; Mechanical; Transportation; Safety, Training and Operations
Support; and Resource Protection. Fox will also serve as a member of BNSF’s
Executive Team.

CTA reminds customers of reroutes of Loop L Trains this weekend






The Chicago Transit
Authority is reminding customers that from 4 a.m. Saturday, November 6 through
approximately 8 p.m. Sunday, November 7, Brown, Orange and southbound Green
Line trains will be temporarily rerouted in the Loop as CTA crews install a new
signal control facility at Van Buren and Wabash. The work is part of CTA’s
continuing efforts to upgrade the signal and train control systems in the Loop.
During these hours, trains will be flagged through the intersection by crews on
the tracks as the signal controls will not operate automatically.

 

Wisconsin temporarily halts work on train project






The Wisconsin Department
of Transportation has told contractors on the high-speed rail line between
Madison and Milwaukee to stop work on the federally funded project "for a
few days," in the wake of rail opponent Scott Walker’s victory in the
governor’s race, Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi said Nov. 4, the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel reports.

NICTD offering $5,000 reward in South Shore copper thefts






The Northwest Indiana Commuter
Transit District is asking for the public’s help in finding the parties
responsible for more than $100,000 in thefts of copper from the South Shore commuter
rail line’s properties, the Northwest Indiana Times reports. According to
Transit Police Chief Robert Byrd, the thefts have occurred over the last
several months with the most recent taking place the night of Nov. 2 at the
Gary, Ind., Metro Center.

Railway maintenance continues this week in Alberta






Canadian Pacific rail
tracks in Airdrie, Alta., Canada, continue to be upgraded as Veterans Boulevard
closes Nov. 8 and 9 for a 48-hour period, local media report. The closure,
unanimously approved by City council Nov. 1, is part of a railway renewal
program from Edmonton to Calgary that occurs every three to four years to
maintain the railroad between Airdrie and Crossfield.

Bentley offering eSeminar on IST for infrastructure






Bentley Systems,
Incorporated, is collaborating with ARC Advisory Group (ARC), a research and
advisory firm for industry and infrastructure, in the production and presentation
of a complimentary four-part series of live eSeminars. Each one-hour eSeminar
will discuss innovative IT strategies, industry best practices and Bentley
software for leveraging information modeling, both for integrated projects and
the operations of high-performing, intelligent infrastructure assets.

CN signs voluntary mitigation agreement with Village of Ford Heights, Ill.






CN has reached a voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) with
the Village of Ford Heights, Ill., located approximately 26 miles south of
downtown Chicago, regarding its acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern
Railway Company. With this agreement, CN has VMAs with 25 of the 33 communities
along the EJ&E in Illinois and Indiana.


DART to open Green Line December 6






Completion of the 28-mile
Green Line, the longest light rail construction project in North America,
heralds a new era of choices for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) passengers on
December 6.

73 Percent of public transportation ballot measures pass






At a rate of 73 percent,
voters across the country in 14 states approved 22 measures out of 30
state and local public transportation-related ballot initiatives, authorizing
nearly $500 million over the next five years.

St. Louis Metro’s long-range plan honored






St. Louis Metro’s
unprecedented long-range plan for public-transit development over the next 30
years has placed second in a global awards competition recognizing the
involvement of the public in innovative projects throughout the world. Metro
was honored by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) for
the level of participation by the public in the development of Moving Transit
Forward, the plan that offers a menu of transit solutions to meet the St. Louis
region’s needs over the next three decades.

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