UP wins Hay award for second year

The William W. Hay Award for Excellence presented at the AREMA 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition went to Union Pacific for the second year in a row for its recovery efforts at the Frazier River Landslide near Oakridge, Ore. Bill Van Trump, UP’s senior assistant vice president engineering, and other officials accepted the award.

In January 2008, an estimated 2.3 million cubic yards of debris and 700 million board feet of timber cut loose from Coyote Mountain and slammed into UP’s line at an estimated 60 mph. The slide scoured away 1,500 feet of track in one place and another 150 feet further down the mountain.

The track runs through Willamette National Forest land and the railroad had to work with nine separate agencies and obtain seven different permits to perform the work. UP moved enough dirt during the recovery effort to fill an area as long as a football field and as high as the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).

AREMA, which has presented the award 11 times, received nine entries for the 2009 award, more than any other year.

CSXT proposes more double-stacked service

CSXT proposed an $842 million plan to raise roofs on bridges and lower some railroad tracks across the mid-Atlantic so that it could carry double-stacked cargo containers on its trains. The proposal is gaining steam because of its promise of clearing tractor-trailers off the region’s congested highways and improving commuter train service.

It also would mean rebuilding some railroad bridges around the region, including the Virginia Avenue tunnel just south of the Capitol. Raising the roof of that tunnel alone would cost an estimated $140 million. The 12 other local projects proposed, including replacing the bridge on Deer Park Drive in Montgomery County’s historic Washington Grove, would add millions more.

The freight company would pay about $393 million of the National Gateway initiative, while state and federal dollars would pay the rest. The project is seeking stimulus dollars for some of the costs.

Amtrak study reviews Oregon, Idaho routes

A preliminary report on restoring service on the Amtrak Pioneer route included four options with rail passenger service to Eastern Oregon and Southern Idaho.

Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mike Crapo of Idaho said the report is an important step toward bringing back a passenger rail line that should never have been closed in the first place.

The senators obtained a congressional mandate forcing Amtrak to study restoring the former Pioneer line that ran from Portland, along the Columbia River Gorge and on to Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City, Ontario, Boise, Shoshone and Pocatello to Utah. It was discontinued in 1997.

The preliminary study contains four scenarios about restoring passenger service in Idaho and Oregon. It says "Restoration of the Pioneer would enhance Amtrak’s route network and produce public benefits, but would require significant expenditures for initial capital costs and ongoing operation costs not covered by farebox revenues."

A private consultant has estimated annual operating costs for the Pioneer could run between $30 million-$40 million annually, with a third of those costs paid by passengers. Capital and startup costs, including those for locomotives, passenger cars, sleeping and food service cars could exceed $400 million.

Amtrak officials say interested stakeholders have until Oct. 1 to offer comment on the preliminary study. The final report must be presented to Congress by Oct. 15. Congress may have the final say in restoring Pioneer service.

Michigan seeks $830 million for passenger rail

Michigan is vying for its part of the $8 billion federal stimulus to upgrade passenger train service. The state wants $830 million as its part of a Midwest high-speed rail plan.

Balfour Beatty to buy Parsons Brinckerhoff






Contracting giant Balfour
Beatty said it has reached an accord to purchase consultant Parsons
Brinckerhoff for approximately $618 million, U.K. media report. The agreement is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies.

CTA to host public meetings on proposed line extension






The Chicago Transit
Authority is inviting the public to meetings to provide input on the proposed Red,
Orange and Yellow Line Extensions. 
Attendees will have an opportunity to provide comments on the proposed
alternatives, the purpose and need for the project, the potential effects and
mitigation measures to be considered in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

Philadelphia’s Frankford El needs repairs






The Frankford elevated
line, which was completely rebuilt in the 1980s and 1990s to last for 75 years,
needs significant repairs because of a basic flaw in its reconstruction design,
the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. To prevent pieces of concrete from falling
onto cars or pedestrians, SEPTA crews have installed 8,000 metal mesh belts on
the underbelly of the El and plan to install 2,000 more, beginning Sept. 21.

New rail bridge in the works for Laredo, Texas






Officials of Kansas City
Southern are in Laredo again, delivering the latest updates on the possibility
of a rail bridge in the Laredo, Texas, area, television station KGNS reported. KCS
officials say the project is now one step closer to becoming a reality.

Amtrak Leavenworth, Wash., service to begin September 25






The City of Leavenworth,
Wash., and Amtrak said that the eagerly awaited restoration of rail passenger
service to the popular Bavarian Village, a destination community in the Cascade
Mountains, will begin on Friday, September 25. The first train returning to
Leavenworth, one of Washington’s most visited attractions, will be Amtrak’s
Empire Builder, departing Seattle that evening bound for Chicago.

Billings, Mont., businesses, residents hail new quiet zone






Lynda Frost, a
spokeswoman for Montana Rail Link, said trains traveling through downtown
Billings, Mont., were supposed to stop sounding their horns Sept. 18, one
minute after midnight, according to The Gazette. And those are some big horns,
emitting blasts of 96 to 110 decibels, as per federal regulations. A subway
train, at a distance of 200 feet, registers at about 95 decibels, while 110
decibels is comparable to a power saw three feet away.

D.C. Metrorail Red, Orange Line slowed for weekend work

Track maintenance on the
Red and Orange lines the weekend of Sept. 20-21 will cause inbound and outbound
trains to take turns sharing one track. Customers should add at least 20
minutes of time to their trips. 

 Metrorail customers traveling between the
Medical Center and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations should add at least
20 minutes to their travel time for their trips because Metro will replace
drainage pump cables.


e-VERIFILE Launches e-RAILSAFE CANADA






Atlanta-based e-VERIFILE.COM
Inc, is has launched e-RAILSAFE Canada— the latest in the company’s line of
e-RAILSAFE branded services. The new service is based on the successful
e-RAILSAFE Class 1 service, which was instituted in 2005 by the seven major
railroads operating in the United States.

CN’s $100-million Memphis yard renovation draws to a close






Canadian National next
week will unveil the three-year, $100 million renovation to its Johnston Yard
freight car switching facility in South Memphis, The Daily News in Memphis reports.
The railroad will commemorate its massive investment of time and money on Sept.
24 at 11 a.m. at the yard, 297 Rivergate Road, off Horn Lake Road.

Maryland issues statewide freight plan






Building upon an analysis
of commodity flows in the Maryland Freight Profile, Maryland DOT developed the
Maryland Statewide Freight Plan, a multi-modal and comprehensive view of the
state of freight and a freight strategy including a prioritized project list
and complementary policies and funding approaches. The Plan provides an
in-depth overview of the State’s current and long-range freight planning
activities and investments and is intended as a living document that will be
consistently updated with feedback from internal and external stakeholders or
users and beneficiaries of the freight network to also include passenger
services as well.

 

NJ TRANSIT to improve Newark Penn Station Plaza






The NJ TRANSIT Board of
Directors authorized a major pedestrian and traffic circulation improvement
project at Newark Penn Station that will enhance safety, reduce vehicular
congestion, strengthen the historic facility’s connection to an increasingly
vibrant downtown business and entertainment district and create an estimated
125 jobs.

Major MTA LIRR signal modernization project In Valley Stream






Train service on five MTA
Long Island Rail Road South Shore branches will be affected during the weekend
of October 24 and 25 as work is completed on a major signal and switch
modernization project in the Valley Stream area. The work will require a
48-hour suspension of train service through Valley Stream. Customers using the
Babylon, Montauk, Far Rockaway, Long Beach and West Hempstead Branches will
take buses for all or part of their trips and other trains will be diverted. To
avoid delays, customers are advised to use North Shore branches this weekend.
Unaffected lines include the Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port
Washington and Ronkonkoma (west of Ronkonkoma) Branches.

CSXT rolls out Bessemer, Ala., hub without hubbub seen in McCalla






CSX Transportation began
operating a railroad hub in Bessemer, Ala., the week of Sept. 14 without any of
the hullabaloo that a planned Norfolk Southern hub has stirred up down the
tracks in McCalla, Ala., according to the Birmingham News. CSXT received the
first train Sept. 14 at the $6-million container-loading terminal on 25 acres
in the Interstate Industrial Park.

DRPA sets open houses on Philadelphia waterfront transit






DRPA CEO and PATCO
President John J. Matheussen said there will be two open houses in Philadelphia
on an Alternatives Analysis for expanding transit to Philadelphia’s Waterfront.
The first open house is scheduled for September 22 and the second will be held
on September 30. Identical information will be posted at both open houses.

Park Forest, Ill., CN reach agreement






The village of Park Forest,
Ill., and Canadian National Railway have reached an agreement on mitigation
measures related to CN’s recent acquisition of the old EJ&E Railroad, but
not all residents are happy with the deal, the Southtown Star reports.The Park Forest Village
Board approved the agreement, under which CN will give the village more than $7
million to help with traffic congestion, noise, and other issues stemming from
the EJ&E deal.

D.C. area board supports CSXT rail improvements






A regional transportation
board voted to support a rail company initiative to significantly expand
freight capacity in the busy Washington train corridor, according to The
Washington Post. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’
Transportation Policy Board approved a letter supporting federal grant
applications to help pay for $160 million in freight network improvements for
rail giant CSX Transportation. The board plays a key role in setting regional
transportation policy.

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