Amtrak asks seven firms to dream up plans for Chicago’s Union Station






Amtrak has asked seven
architectural and real estate firms to submit proposals to redevelop a key part
of Chicago’s Union Station and plans to select a winning proposal by the end of
May, the Chicago Tribune reports. The firms include the Chicago office of
architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Chicago developer U.S. Equities
Realty and the Chicago office of Jones Lang LaSalle, which currently manages
Union Station for Amtrak.

Illinois General Assembly takes up creation of High Speed Rail Authority






A key Illinois General Assembly committee votes on
SB2571 Feb. 23, which would create the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority. The
Authority would be charged with designing, financing, building and operating a
high speed rail network on speeds up to 220 mph using new infrastructure. Responsibility
for upgrades to 110 mph would remain the responsibility of the Illinois
Department of Transportation.


Union Pacific to increase train speed in Rosenberg, Texas






Drivers will spend less
time waiting for trains to pass as Union Pacific increases the speed of its
trains on the rail line that parallels Loop 529 in Rosenberg, Texas. The train
speed limit will increase from 10 miles per hour to 40 mph on nearly three
miles of track that crosses Junker and Scott Roads.

Huron & Eastern employees approve BMWED/IBT representation






Employees of the Huron
& Eastern Railway Company voted in favor of union representation by the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood
of Teamsters. After the votes had been counted, an overwhelming majority of
Huron & Eastern employees chose to be represented by the Allied Federation,
which already represents more than 7,000 members of the BMWED/IBT.


Trains = jobs in Florida






Jobs. Thousands of them.
That’s one of the main ways supporters pitched the two trains heading for
Orlando, Fla., the Sentinel reports.

Mississippi Rail Authority hits bump in road






A plan to build a new
railroad through George County, Miss., that will connect the Port of Pascagoula
with rail connections at Lucedale and Meridian has hit its first bump in the
road, but has not been derailed, the Hattiesburg American reports.

Delaware transit: There’s a lot riding on future of rail service in Newark






The rail stop adjacent to
the former Chrysler plant is one of the site’s most significant assets — but
the trains could cease stopping there if one of several proposed Newark, Del.,
station locations gains the support of transportation officials, The News
Journal reports.

Lorain, Ohio, contemplating adding trolley system






The time could be ripe to
attract federal money for a trolley system connecting downtown Lorain, Ohio,
with other parts of the community, supporters of Lorain Street Railway said, the
Morning Journal reports. 

On Feb. 22, Lorain City Council committees will
consider a presentation from Dennis Lamont, president of Lorain Street Railway,
which advocates the streetcar system.



Caltrain construction, maintenance Feb. 21 – 26






Feb. 21-25, between the
hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., crews will be finishing up work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program. Work will take place at the following locations:

• Burlingame: Broadway, Oak
Grove Avenue and Peninsula Avenue.

• Redwood City: Main Street
and Chestnut Street.

• San Mateo: Villa Terrace
Avenue, First Avenue, Second Avenue, Third Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue
and Ninth Avenue.

• Menlo Park: Encinal
Avenue, Glenwood Avenue, Oak Grove Avenue and Ravenswood Avenue.

• Atherton: Fair Oaks Lane.

ArcelorMittal Steelton investing $54 Million to modernize rail mill






ArcelorMittal Steelton said
it has received approval for $54 million in capital funding that will
significantly upgrade the rail production process with a new walking-beam
reheat furnace that includes advanced energy and environmental technology.

OnTrackAmerica points to new developments in Pennsylvania






OnTrackAmerica, a
non-profit transportation consultancy committed to revitalizing North America’s
economy and environment by placing railroads at the center of a balanced
transportation system said there have been several new developments in its
ongoing, multi-faceted agenda.

 

A cost to complete and a new date for The Tide






Hampton
Roads, Va., Transit said that the final cost to complete construction of The
Tide light rail system will be $338.3 million and that passenger service will
begin in May 2011. The
new figure comes after a six-month review by HRT and its financial advisor to
identify costs not fully accounted for in previously released budgets,
including the additional time required to design project changes and then
complete construction.

BNSF Burlington, Iowa, bridge work shifts navigation span






After a month-long delay,
work is under way again to replace a portion of the BNSF bridge over the Mississippi
River at Burlington. Iowa, only now the project will be shifted 75 feet east. After
discovering debris on the riverbed that prevented the contractor from drilling
a foundation for a new pier, construction was halted while the U.S. Coast Guard
reassessed relocating the navigation channel, The Hawk Eye reports.

NYC Transit’s Rockaways A Stations rehab project moving ahead






New York City Transit’s
Far Rockaway-bound platforms at Beach 60th Street and Beach 36th Street are
next in line to be closed as part of ongoing rehabilitations of stations in the
Rockaways. These platforms will be closed for approximately four months
beginning at 5 a.m. on Monday, February 22.

Heartland Corridor on target for summer opening






The Heartland Corridor
double-stack rail project is on schedule to be completed by summer 2010 said a
Norfolk Southern marketing representative speaking at the February lunch
meeting of the Hampton Roads Foreign Commerce Club according to the Port of
Virginia Website

Maine lawmakers consider a bond issue to save rail line






The Maine state
legislature is now involved in the effort to save 240 miles of railroad tracks
in Aroostook and Northern Penobscot Counties from being abandoned, according to
local media. Representative Ken Theriault has introduced a bill that would put
a $20 million bond issue to voters to buy the rail line owned by Montreal Maine
and Atlantic Railway.

Amtrak sets time line for Connecticut bridge work






Amtrak said that the
replacement of the Niantic River Bridge would begin March 1. Town officials are
making preparations by closing a section of the boardwalk, The Day reports. The
eastern portion, which begins at the wooden boardwalk section and continues to
the bridge area, will be closed until further notice.

VRE study to examine proposed rail extension






Virginia Railway Express is
expected to award a $2.5 million contract Feb. 19 to a firm that will study the
environmental impact of extending the commuter rail line to Gainesville and
Haymarket, Va., local media report.

Whitby GO customers now have more parking options






On Feb. 16, a four-level
parking structure opened at Whitby, Ont., GO Station offering customers 1,400
covered parking spaces and increasing the total to over 3,000 parking spots at
the station.

Downtown train horns silenced in Tulsa






The downtown Tulsa,
Okla., area is now a quiet zone for train horns, officials said. The
"quiet zone," or Downtown Sealed Corridor Project, which consists of
five extended railroad crossings, requires railroad operators to not blow their
horns in designated downtown areas except in emergency instances, the Tulsa
World reports.

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