Author: jrood

BNSF poised to grow in Galesburg, Ill.






BNSF officials were
cautiously optimistic about the future at a special forum on the railroad
industry at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Ill., The Register-Mail
reported. Plans to build a diesel repair shop, a third main track in the BNSF’s
classification yard in Galesburg and storage tracks that allow freight trains
that are being made up to be moved aside to allow other traffic through, could
lead to the creation of more jobs once the economy rebounds, the officials
said.

Massachusetts finalizes agreement with CSX Transportation






Mass. Lieutenant Governor
Timothy Murray said that the Commonwealth’s comprehensive multi-year rail
transportation agreement with CSX Transportation, the national freight carrier
serving Massachusetts, has been finalized. Lieutenant Governor Murray, who has
been working on this agreement since he was Mayor of Worcester, led the
negotiations for this agreement on behalf of the administration with critical
support from the Governor, Senator John Kerry and Congressman Jim McGovern. Many
of the agreement’s major elements were resolved last year; however, the long-standing
debate concerning liability remained unresolved.

 

BNSF Burlington, Iowa, bridge upgrade work begins






Work has begun to replace
BNSF Railway’s 118-year-old swing span over the Mississippi River at Burlington,
Iowa, with a modern lift span that will increase the river channel width from
150 feet to 307 feet 6 inches. The $70-million project is scheduled for
completion in the summer of 2011.

CN reaches voluntary mitigation agreement with Park Forest, Ill.






CN reached a voluntary
mitigation agreement with the Village of Park Forest, Ill., located
approximately 30 miles south of downtown Chicago, addressing the municipality’s
environmental issues with CN’s acquisition of the principal lines of the former
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company. CN completed the acquisition on Jan.
31, 2009, and is running trains over the line. Under the agreement, CN will
provide funding for a range of measures, including traffic improvements and
rail noise mitigation, quiet zones and fencing.


Canadian pacific signs on for E-RAILSAFE Canada






e-VERIFILE.COM Inc. said Canadian
Pacific has joined e-RAILSAFE Canada–the latest in the company’s line of e-RAILSAFE
workplace safety/security management services. As part of its use of e-RAILSAFE
Canada, CP will now require its contractors/vendors and their employees that
require access to CP’s Canadian-based properties, to participate in Compliance
Programs that CP creates and administers via the ERS- Canada system.

BNSF performs $900,000 crossing project in Louisiana

BSNF began a major track rehabilitation and grade crossing project in New Iberia, LA, this week. Six crossings between Jefferson and Center streets will receive $900,000 worth of work to fix drainage problems.

Close to 2,500 feet of track will be replaced, new crossings will also be installed and new subsurface water pipes will be installed to stop water from accumulating inside the tracks during heavy rains. The work began Monday and should be completed by Thursday.

Union Pacific Recognized Among Nation’s Top 50 “Best Places to Launch a Career” by BusinessWeek

Union Pacific has been named one of the nation’s top 50 "Best Places to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek. The magazine ranks the railroad No. 28 on the list, up from No. 39 last year.

To determine which employers are best for entry-level workers, BusinessWeek used a three-part methodology.

• The magazine surveyed career services directors at U.S. colleges to learn which employers were tops on their lists.
• Those employers were asked to complete a survey on their hiring, pay, benefits, and training programs, which we then compared with others in the same industry.

• Universum USA, a Philadelphia research company, provided the results of its 2009 survey of more than 60,000 U.S. undergraduates, who were asked to identify their five most desirable employers.

The employer survey counted for 50 percent of the final ranking, while the career services and student surveys counted for 25 percent each.

CN announces enhanced calculator to estimate greenhouse gas-emissions for multi-modal shipments

Canadian National unveiled an upgraded online greenhouse gas-emissions calculator that estimates total carbon emissions for shipments across multiple modes of transportation.

The new calculator, located at http://www.cn.ca/ghg_calculator, generates carbon-emission estimates for shipments using a combination of vessel, rail and truck – such as containers moving internationally from Asia to North American destinations along CN’s network – or domestic shipments using a combination of rail and truck or a single mode of transportation.

NTSB identifies signal failure in fatal D.C. Metrorail collision






The National Transportation
Safety Board issued nine safety recommendations, six of which are urgent, to address
concerns about the safety of train control systems that use audio frequency
track circuits. The recommendations are the result of NTSB’s ongoing investigation
into the collision between two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority trains
on the Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington, D.C., on June 22,
2009.

$100 million for 
43 transit projects






The Obama Administration said
$100 million in Economic Recovery Act funding will go to 43 transit agencies
that are pursuing cutting-edge environmental technologies to help reduce global
warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil and create green jobs.

Governor opens new Hoboken-Jersey City pedestrian bridge






New Jersey Governor Jon
S. Corzine officially opened a critical segment of the Hudson River Waterfront
Walkway, providing a new pedestrian link between Jersey City and Hoboken. Made
possible through a public private partnership between the LeFrak Organization-the
developers of Newport-and NJ TRANSIT, the new pedestrian bridge spans the Long
Slip Canal, connecting with a new 750-foot section of walkway built by Newport
in Jersey City. The walkway provides pedestrian access to NJ TRANSIT, PATH and
ferry services at Hoboken Terminal, as well as local businesses and recreation
sites, while allowing Hoboken residents and commuters direct access to Newport
and Jersey City.

Mourning the loss of Dr. Hans Vossloh






Dr.
Hans Vossloh, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vossloh AG, died
today age 90. He was the last surviving grandchild of founder Eduard Vossloh.
After bearing operational responsibility for more than 40 years, Dr. Hans
Vossloh played a lead role in the transformation from a successful family
enterprise to a stock corporation. In 1986 he moved from the management of
Vossloh-Werke, Werdohl, to Supervisory Board Chairman and laid the groundwork
for the Company’s IPO in 1990. Since 1994, Dr. Hans Vossloh has been Honorary
Supervisory Board Chairman.

UP expands RailComm DOC® Yard Automation System






RailComm has expanded its
wireless remote control yard system at Union Pacific’s Davidson Yard in Fort
Worth, Texas. The U.S. Department of Transportation had requested the
redirection of the hump yard lead tracks in order to keep traffic flowing while
a new highway overpass is being constructed.


Why commuters are still waiting on Cap Metro’s train






Capital Metro in Austin,
Texas, didn’t know what it was getting itself into, the Austin American-Statesman
reports. That might sound like a shot from one of the transit agency’s critics.
Instead, it is in effect the agency’s explanation for why its MetroRail
commuter line from Leander to downtown Austin is now 15 to 18 months late in opening.
And still counting.

Stanwood, Wash., train platform late, over budget






Construction of the new
passenger train platform in Stanwood, Wash., is costing more than anticipated,
and the platform might not be open until just before Thanksgiving for people
who want to ride the rail, according to the Everett, Wash. Herald. Nevertheless,
people in Stanwood are watching eagerly as the Amtrak Cascades stop takes shape
along the BNSF tracks in east downtown.

Railway cancels protest to Norman, Okla., plan












A railroad company’s
objections to the design of the Robinson Street crossing underpass in Norman,
Okla., have been withdrawn, city officials say, according to local media. Sticking
to the original design means the city will experience no delay in building the
underpass and can stick to its original budget of about $25 million, Public
Works Director Shawn O’Leary said.

 

Paving starts at transfer site despite lack of drain system






After years of wrangling,
paving work has begun on a contentious 26-acre automobile-to-rail transfer
facility off Willow Road in Ayer, Mass., owned by Billerica-based Pan Am
Railways, the Lowell Sun reports. But news of the paving
isn’t sitting well with the state Department of Environmental Protection and
federal Environmental Protection Agency officials. Environmental officials are
calling out Pan Am for beginning to pave without stormwater-management devices
in place. As a result, the attorney general is also investigating whether the
start of work without "best management" stormwater controls in place
violates the terms of the Pan Am’s probation in Middlesex Superior Court.

Metro rehabing Franconia-Springfield parking garage






The parking garage at the
Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station in the Washington, D.C., area at the
end of the Blue Line will undergo a major rehabilitation project beginning October
1, resulting in the temporary loss of up to 220 parking spaces during the 18-
to 20-month project. 

The garage rehabilitation will take place in 12 phases
and includes concrete, structural and electrical repairs of the 12-year-old
facility, which opened in June 1997. Throughout the course of the rehabilitation
project, approximately 220 of the 5,069 parking spaces will be unavailable.

Gillibrand: FRA To Demand Fix For Rails In Middletown, N.Y.






U.S. Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand said she won the commitment of the Federal Rail Authority to
complete critical repairs to railroad tracks in Middletown, N.Y. Constituents
in the area brought the worn down tracks to Senator Gillibrand, who took their
concerns to the FRA and urged them to make repairs to the Crawford Industrial
Track at Railroad Avenue, Wisner Avenue Crossing and other locations in the
area.