Norfolk Southern will break
ground on its Greencastle, Pa., intermodal rail facility this summer despite
news coming from Capitol Hill, a spokesman said, the Herald-Mail reports. The
mix of proposed legislation and funding denials that is troubling company
executives and local legislators has yet to slow the Greencastle project, said
Rudy Husband, director of public relations for Norfolk Southern.
"News of the 46-percent
cost overruns of the light rail project in Norfolk has some people wanting to
throw out the baby with the bath water. We shouldn’t," said Gene Waters, a
former Chesapeake City Council member, light rail committee chairman and an HRT
commissioner. "I personally observed the hard work, integrity and dedication of
both commissioners and staff at Hampton Roads Transit. After discovering the
cost overruns, I’m sure it was very difficult for Norfolk’s HRT representative,
Councilman Randy Wright and others to request the resignation of then-HRT chief
Michael Townes.
Long touted as a
"green" project that will reduce pollution, Norfolk Southern’s
proposed truck-to-rail terminal in western Fayette County could pose a threat
to the source of Memphis’ drinking water, The Commercial Appeal reported.
Work on a $2.8-million
project to add additional signals to the Caltrain signal system will take place
from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., Monday, March 15-19 between the San Mateo and Redwood
City stations.
The federal
Surface Transportation Board today will hold a public hearing this spring in
Maine on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s application to abandon
233 miles of rail line in Aroostook and Penobscot counties.
An international expert
on transit systems provided the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s
Board of Directors with a verbal assessment of the transit agency so that the
Board could use that analysis during the transition to an interim and then
permanent general manager.
The U.S. 80 bridge over
the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Miss., remained in "fair-to-good" condition
in 2009 – so says an early version of the 80-year-old structure’s annual
inspection report, according to the Vicksburg Post. Prepared by Baton Rouge-based
G.E.C., the report comes to the same conclusion as the previous two
assessments.
Four alternatives for state-sponsored
passenger rail service between Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Fort Worth are
detailed in a study released today by Amtrak and the Kansas Department of
Transportation. Start-up costs of
the alternatives, which are in 2009 dollars and based on 100 percent on-time
performance, range from $156 million to $479 million and the annual operating
support range from $3.2 million to $8 million. Annual ridership estimates of
the four alternatives range from 65,900 to 174,000.
Track maintenance on Washington,
D.C., Metro’s Red and Blue lines March 12-14 will cause inbound and outbound
trains to take turns sharing one track. Customers should add 30 minutes to
their trips.
The city of Virginia
Beach, Va., proposed $40-million deal to buy an old rail corridor for a
possible light rail project could cost more because a federal agency is asking
questions about the land’s value, The Virginian-Pilot
reports.
The Association of
American Railroads said that 2009 was the safest year in freight railroad
history, with preliminary year-end data indicating the train accident rate,
employee casualty rate and grade crossing incident rates were all at record low
levels last year.
Global Partners LP will
carry out a multi-million-dollar expansion and tank refurbishment project that
will add 180,000 barrels of ethanol storage capacity and rail access at the its
refined petroleum products terminal in Albany, N.Y. Developed jointly with
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, the project, expected to be operational in
2010, includes modifications that will enable the Albany terminal to schedule
the delivery of 80-car trains of ethanol. Global Partners will connect the
terminal to CP’s adjacent Kenwood Yard rail facility via pipeline. The terminal
and rail facility are strategically located along the Hudson River, providing
access to the global Partners’ terminal network in the Northeast.
BART crews are installing
two new crossover tracks between Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek stations. This
work requires that the agency close the tracks between these two stations on
two weekends: March 26-28 and May 28-30 (Memorial Day weekend). To accommodate
customers, BART will provide a free bus bridge service between Walnut Creek and
Pleasant Hill (in both directions) during both weekends. BART suggests that customers
allow up to 20 additional minutes for the bus detour.
Three decades is a long
time to wait for a train. So Los Angeles is asking the federal government for
help in borrowing $9 billion to speed construction of 12 new mass-transit rail
lines, The Wall Street Journal reports. With Washington’s backing, city
officials say they could make a dramatic improvement to public transportation
in just 10 years — including a dreamy-sounding Subway to the Sea — after
decades of stalled attempts to equip the sprawling metro area with a
comprehensive public-transportation system.
Montana state officials
have accepted the results of a study sponsored by the city of Whitefish of an
underground diesel plume caused by spills at BNSF’s locomotive fueling station
in Whitefish, a Superfund site, the Whitefish Pilot reports. Using $50,000 in
state grant money obtained by the city, Roger Noble and Applied Water
Consulting, of Kalispell, investigated the extent of the contamination in
Whitefish’s Railway District and a neighborhood east of the middle school.
St. Louis
Metro and the
Sierra Club, along with the American Lung Association in Missouri, Sisters of
St. Joseph of Carondelet and other clean air advocates, will participate in a
National Clean Air Day event at the Civic Center MetroLink Station March 16.
Participants will distribute "I Heart Clean Air" postcards and a sweet treat as
a "thank you" to Metro riders for helping to keep the air clean by choosing
transit.
Maine
Gov. John Baldacci provided the details of a $79-million bond proposal that includes
money to save northern Maine’s last major rail line and to fund transportation
projects across the state, the Bangor Daily News reports. Pitching the bond package as a type of stimulus
measure, Baldacci said the additional state borrowing would create or protect
thousands of jobs in the state while investing in much-needed highway and
infrastructure projects.
The Chicago Transit Board approved a revenue-generating contract to place additional Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at rail stations and employee facilities. The ATM contract will generate a total of at least $1.3 million over the next five years. This is in addition to the $4.7 million contract announced at last month’s Board meeting.
Colo Railroad Builders, a leading provider of railroad
construction and maintenance services to shortline and Class 1 railroads, has
added three new offices, one in Kansas and two in Texas.
Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB)
is celebrating its 125th year as a New York City-based international
engineering giant. In 1885, William Barclay Parsons established a consulting
engineering practice at 22 William Street in Lower Manhattan. Since then, PB
has continued to play leading roles on transportation, power, buildings, and
environmental projects throughout the world. Today, the firm is a strategic
consulting, planning, engineering and program/construction management
organization with approximately 14,000 employees in 150 offices on six
continents.