Author: jrood

Balfour Beatty Rail Team moving on Denver’s Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project






Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.,
an industry-leading rail infrastructure contractor, as part of the Denver
Transit Partners (DTP) team, reached financial close and received official
notice to proceed from the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to
construct the multi-billion dollar Eagle P3 commuter rail project. The DTP team
will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 Project.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 26, 2010.

Union Pacific invests $16.5 million to upgrade track in eastern Oregon






Union Pacific will enhance
rail efficiency in the eastern part of Oregon by investing approximately $16.5
million to improve its rail line that runs from Arlington to Huntington, Ore. Work
on the 200-mile stretch of railroad tracks is under way in the La Grande area
paralleling I-84. Crews of 60 to 100 are working to replace railroad ties with
an assembly line of mechanized equipment. The project includes removing and
installing new rail on curves and replacing more than 148,000 railroad ties.
Crews also will spread 62,000 tons of rock ballast.


New York MTA unveils Capital Program Dashboard






The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority in New York unveiled a new on-line Dashboard that will
enable the public to track the progress of the MTA’s various capital projects.
This new web tool will feature a user-friendly interactive system that will
provide information on project scopes, budgets, and schedules, all easily
accessible on the MTA’s web site, www.mta.info.

Jacksonville eyes study of rail access at port

A study beginning later this month is a key step to help port and logistics leaders figure out how and where they will build a railroad terminal that the Jacksonville, Fla., port needs to stay competitive with other Southeast ports, the Jacksonville Business Journal reports. A facility or facilities where containers can be loaded and unloaded off rail cars – called an intermodal container terminal – isn’t needed now because there aren’t enough shipping containers coming through the port.

Freight service to resume on P&N Railroad






Patriot Rail is on board
to operate the restored Piedmont & Northern rail corridor in Gaston County,
N.C., for at least five years, according to an agreement signed last week with
the N.C. Department of Transportation, the Gaston Gazette reports. The
Boca-Raton, Fla.-based short line and regional railroad company should restore
freight service in the next 45 days on four miles of track upgraded in late
2009 between Gastonia and Ranlo. Another nine miles of the state-owned P&N
corridor from Ranlo to Mount Holly should be upgraded by spring 2011.

SEPTA alerts available through ReadyNotifyPA






Deputy Managing Director
for Emergency Management MaryAnn E. Tierney and SEPTA General Manager Joseph M.
Casey said that SEPTA alerts are now offered through ReadyNotifyPA, the City of
Philadelphia’s emergency text and e-mail alert system. The new alerts will
provide SEPTA riders with another avenue to receive real-time information on
delays and service interruptions. The announcement came during a press
conference on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 in SEPTA’s Control Center.

LA Metro Blue Line sets temporary closure next two weekends






Metro Blue Line
passengers in the Los Angeles area will experience travel delays of up to 40
minutes for the next two weekends beginning this Friday night, August 13, due
to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro
Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Special Metro Bus bridge service will
parallel the train route during the construction work.

Vossloh awarded major contract in Sweden






Vossloh has concluded
with Trafikverket, the Swedish infrastructure authority, a framework agreement
for supplying a new type of in-sleeper actuation system for switches and
crossings over a period of 10 years, including an option for five more years.
The total contract value is above €100 million (about $128 million). Fully
integrated into the sleeper, the system chosen by Trafikverket is a customized
version of the Easyswitch actuation system previously developed by Vossloh
Cogifer.

Patriot Rail buys six shortlines from Weyerhaeuser

 

Patriot Rail Corp., a privately-held short line and regional freight railroad holding company, has agreed in principle to purchase the shortline railroad assets of Weyerhaeuser Company. The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions, including Patriot’s due diligence and regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010.

ENSCO wins $24-million FRA contract






In-Channel Work Press Release

ENSCO, Inc., has been
awarded the Operations, Maintenance, Instrumentation and Analysis Support
contract from the Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Research and
Development. The task-order contract, composed of a one-year base period and
four one-year options, has a five-year ceiling value of more than $24 million.
ENSCO shall perform engineering and operations services to support the
development and application of advanced research and technologies for enhanced
rail safety. The contract continues ENSCO’s longstanding relationship with the
FRA. The company has been a major provider of instrumentation, field-testing,
engineering analysis as well as research and development services since the
1970’s.


UP issues invitation to bid on CREATE B2 project near Proviso Yard






In-Channel Work Press Release

Union Pacific has posted an
invitation to bid for work on the CREATE B2 Project. Work includes track
roadbed, drainage, bridge and retaining wall construction to add a railroad
flyover connection between the Union Pacific line and Indiana Harbor Belt
Railroad near Proviso Yard in the near west suburbs of Chicago..

Atlantic Track and Turnout Co. purchases capital assets of Mid-South Rail






In-Channel Work Press Release

Atlantic Track and Turnout
Co. is expanding its railroad trackwork manufacturing capability by purchasing
the capital assets of Mid-South Rail, Memphis, Tenn. Jeff Grissom, president of
Mid-South Rail, will retain day-today responsibility as director of engineering
for the Memphis plant and will assume new responsibility as director of
engineering and manufacturing for Atlantic Track.


Amtrak reaches Niantic Bridge channel-closure agreement






In-Channel Work Press Release

Discussions between
Amtrak, East Lyme Selectman Paul Formica, the U.S. Coast Guard and local
boaters and marine businesses have resulted in an agreement that balances the
use of the Niantic River channel by the marine community and the need to keep
the bridge-replacement project moving forward and on schedule.

Infotech Enterprises acquires Wellsco Inc.






In-Channel Work Press Release

Infotech Enterprises Limited said that its wholly owned subsidiary,
Infotech Enterprises America Inc., has acquired Wellsco Inc., located in
Paragould, Ark. in an all-cash deal. Wellsco is a focused engineering services
provider to the U.S. telecommunications industry. Headquartered in Paragould, Wellsco
has more than 180 employees located across five offices. It counts some of the
largest Telecom companies in the U.S. as long-term customers.