State Representative Rick
Geist (R-Altoona), Republican Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, unveiled
a package of legislative proposals designed to address Pennsylvania’s
transportation infrastructure funding crisis.
Efforts to save a $202-million
railroad overpass in Colton, Calif., are on track, but an agreement between two
railroads and local officials faces a high bar when a state commission will
decide if the agreement shows the public will benefit enough, The
Press-Enterprise reports.
A borrowing package that
includes money to preserve a railroad that’s seen as a lifeline to industry in
struggling northern Maine was denied final approval by the state Senate late April
7, local newspapers report. As lawmakers worked toward the 2010 session’s end,
senators debated the $85-million bond package at length before voting 19-16
along party lines for it. But Democrats failed to muster the two-thirds
majority they needed to send the bonds to voters. The House earlier gave its
final approval by a 100-48 vote.
Leon Benoit, MP for
Vegreville-Wainright, announced that the Government of Canada is trying to make
access to markets easier and will be providing $59,500 in grant funding to the
Battle River Railway New Generation Co-op that is headed by Daysland, Alberta,
resident Ken Eshpeter, the Camrose Canadian reports. The federal contribution
will be used by the co-op to acquire a short line railroad.
The Federal Railroad
Administration will soon begin accepting grant applications for the deployment
of positive train control collision avoidance systems and complementary advanced
technologies under a new $50-million Rail Safety Technology Program, FRA
Administrator Joseph Szabo said.
Lake Zurich, Ill.,
officials have formalized the land exchange with Canadian National Railway as
part of plans to build a 270-foot communications tower, the Daily Herald
reports. Construction is under way on the tower, which will be used to monitor
rail traffic. The negotiations were to replace the original tower site near
downtown.
SEPTA issued the following
statement: The rejection by the U.S. Department of Transportation of
Pennsylvania’s planned funding of highway and public transit will create a deep
and long lasting effect on many major SEPTA projects.
Canadian Pacific Railway
Limited appointed Edmond (Ed) Harris to the position of executive vice president
and chief operations officer. Reporting to CP President and Chief Executive
Officer Fred Green, Harris will join the company with responsibility for all
aspects of railroad operations, safety, customer service, engineering and
mechanical services in both Canada and the U.S.
Railroad and local
transportation officials have less than two days to save a $202-million train
overpass proposed in Colton, Calif., but have not announced any breakthroughs
and remain guarded regarding if an acceptable deal can be reached, The
Press-Enterprise reports.
Banyan
Rail Services Inc. said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Wood Energy
Group, Inc., has completed the construction of a railroad tie-grinding facility
in Shreveport, La. Wood Energy, one of the nation’s largest railroad tie
reclamation/energy generation companies, reclaims railroad ties for Class 1,
regional and shortline railroads and then disposes of the ties to either the
energy co-generation or landscape markets.
A track work program in
the Queens Village area and grade crossing renewals during the weekends of
April 10-11 and April 17-18 will mean no train service on the Long Island Rail
Road Hempstead Branch and train service frequency will be reduced on the Port
Jefferson/Huntington Branch. Customers should consider taking trains from South
Shore LIRR stations (Babylon, Long Beach and West Hempstead Branches) in order
to avoid delays during the two weekends.
Unitrac Railroad Materials,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Healey Railroad Corporation and a specialty
trackwork manufacturer and distributor of new and relay rail, has received a
three-year contract to supply special trackwork to the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The amount of manufactured trackwork that will
be provided by Unitrac under this contract is valued at approximately $7.2 million
over the next three years.
Harsco Corporation said that its Harsco Rail unit has received a new railway ballast tamper order from the Brazilian market, marking another step forward in the company’s strategies for expanding its service and product support within emerging market economies. Terms of the order were not disclosed.
Union
Pacific will improve part of Iowa’s transportation infrastructure with a $5.5-million
investment to its rail line that runs from Missouri Valley to Onawa, Iowa. The
project includes removing and installing nearly 48,000 ties. Crews also will
spread more than 16,500 tons of rock ballast to ensure a stable roadbed and
renew the roadway surfaces at 42 crossings. The tie replacement part of the
project began April 1 and is scheduled to be completed May 1. The crossing
surface renewal projects will be completed in mid-June.
Amtrak is moving ahead
aggressively to expand and build out its existing and proven train collision
prevention safety technology-commonly known as Positive Train Control-to cover
all of the tracks it owns along the Northeast Corridor and on its Michigan Line
by the end of 2012, three years ahead of a federal deadline.
Since the 1800s railroads
have relied on a measuring stick and a trusty set of eyeballs to make sure
tracks are properly aligned, which is essential to preventing derailments. It
might be surprising, but the Chicago Transit Authority still uses that low-tech
approach on a daily basis reports Jon Hilkevitch in his column in the Chicago
Tribune.
WES commuter trains are now
operating more quietly in Beaverton, Ore. The Federal Railroad Administration
has approved TriMet’s request to waive certain regulatory requirements relating
to WES train horns. For the SW Lombard Ave segment between SW Farmington Road
and the Beaverton Transit Center, WES trains will sound a 78-80 decibel bell at
each crossing, rather than the current 96-decibel horn.
The Appropriations
Committee in the Maine legislature split along party lines, with Democrats
supporting an $85-million bond package over Republican objections, the Kennebec
Journal reports. Just one week after the same committee voted in a unanimous,
bipartisan way to approve a supplemental budget, the committee was unable to
agree on an acceptable level of borrowing to put before voters in June.
Successful completion of
TieTek’s Chapter 11 process requires that all bids for the assets be received
by 5:00 CST on Friday, April 16, 2010, according to Robert Fowler, President of
VR Mergers & Acquisitions. VR is the Bankruptcy Court-approved broker for
TieTek, LLC and its parent companies, TieTek Technologies, Inc., and North
American Technologies Group, Inc., which recently filed voluntary petitions for
relief under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code in the United States
Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Texas.
International,
national and regional experts in transportation will gather in Cincinnati to
present the latest developments in Urban and Regional Public Transportation at
the European-American Chamber of Commerce Conference on Wednesday, May 5, 2010,
in Cincinnati. The conference keynote address will be delivered by John D.
Porcari, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation.