Schumer: Get New York rail projects rolling

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer sent a personal letter to the leaders of CSX, Amtrak, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Railway Administration, urging them to work together and reach the necessary agreements to move forward with rail projects across the state.

From Fiscal Year 2009 and 2010 and the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Senator Schumer has helped New York secure $250 million in rail funding, but only $6.5 million has been obligated for specific projects.

Senator Schumer’s letter:

Dear Administrator Szabo, Commissioner McDonald, Mr. Boardman and Chairman Ward:

I write to underscore the critical need for timely and effective allocation and utilization of the funding for high-speed rail projects in upstate New York awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. I appreciate the effort each of your organizations has put into reaching an agreement that will allow the projects that define New York’s overall effort to move forward and I urge you to work quickly to finalize those agreements so that work can begin on these important projects.

Specifically, I urge the Federal Rail Administration, New York State Department of Transportation, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and CSX Corporation to quickly finalize the necessary agreements and allow New York to utilize the nearly $240 million awarded to rail projects in Upstate New York that remains to be obligated. This funding is critical for putting hundreds of New Yorkers to work making desperately needed improvements to New York State’s rail infrastructure – improvements that will create the infrastructure needed to build a vibrant economy for decades to come – and delaying the work will only put the funds at risk.

There have been several attempts in Congress to rescind transportation infrastructure funding which has not yet been obligated, including a recently passed House of Representatives Energy and Water Appropriations bill which would rescind unobligated money for ARRA-funded rail projects. This is a short-sighted and mistaken policy that will eat our seed corn, rather than wisely investing in projects that will both put people to work in the short term – when unemployment remains unacceptably high – and lay the foundations of an economy capable of competing and creating jobs in the global marketplace. I will work to keep this provision from being included in the final appropriations bill and will fight against any other efforts to rescind money awarded to New York. However, the best way to prevent high-speed rail funding from the threat of rescission is to finalize the necessary agreements so that the money can be obligated and put to its intended use, and I strongly urge you to do just that.

I worked very hard with my colleagues from the New York State congressional delegation to secure funding for the Empire Corridor, which runs from Niagara Falls to Albany, and south to New York City. Rail passage on the corridor, as it currently exists, is constrained by a bottleneck from Schenectady to Albany that adds significantly to trip times. A portion of the ARRA award totaling more than $87 million will add a second track from Schenectady to Albany, thus eliminating the backlog. This project is of the utmost importance in improving rail travel in New York State, and we cannot afford to waste any time in completing it.

In addition to the second track project between Albany and Schenectady, many other projects in New York State will benefit from the $240 million in ARRA funding that has yet to be obligated. These include much needed track improvements in the Rochester area and important grade crossing and signal improvements across the. All of this work is critical to ensuring faster, safer and more efficient trips for passengers.

I understand that FRA, NYSDOT, Amtrak and CSX are working together to reach an agreement on how these rail projects and subsequent operations will serviced, maintained and financed. I ask that all parties promptly conclude these discussions so as to allow funding to be obligated and the projects to commence. The operating agreements between NYSDOT and Amtrak are of particular importance and will determine how NYSDOT and Amtrak will divide responsibility for maintenance and operating costs. I urge NYSDOT and Amtrak to continue working together to find an agreement through which Amtrak takes responsibility for some portion of the maintenance and operations of the tracks.

Thank you for your continued attention to this important matter. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact my Washington, DC office at 202-224-6542.

Sincerely,
Senator Charles E. Schumer

MBTA GM appointed MassDOT Secretary and CEO

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has appointed Richard Davey as Secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, effective September 1. Davey will replace outgoing MassDOT Secretary and CEO Jeffrey Mullan, who last month announced his decision to resign in order to return to the private sector.

"Rich has a proven record of commitment to safety and customer service, along with an energetic leadership style that will allow him to hit the ground running in continuing to implement transportation reform at MassDOT," said Governor Patrick. "I look forward to working with Rich and want to express my deep appreciation for Jeff Mullan’s passion and outstanding service to the citizens of the Commonwealth."

Since March 2010, Davey has served as MassDOT’s rail and transit administrator and as general manager of the MBTA. As GM, Davey has overseen an increase in MBTA ridership that hit a record 379 million unlinked passenger trips in the year ending June 30. He has made safety for customers and employees his highest priority, starting an MBTA Safety Hotline to encourage employee reporting of safety concerns. Davey started customer service programs including "Where’s the Bus, Subway, and Commuter Rail" Open Data Initiative to encourage development of smart phone applications at minimal cost to the MBTA. The Open Data Initiative alone has led to the creation of more than two dozen apps for smart phones and other hand-held devices, giving thousands of commuters real-time information on transit services. Davey also convened regular "Join the GM" customer outreach visits to MBTA stations and other facilities across the state in an effort to bring transparency and openness to the T.

"I am honored by Governor Patrick’s appointment and promise to build on the demonstrated commitment of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to create a unified transportation enterprise that puts safety first, serves the customer and makes the most efficient use of our resources," said Davey. "I am fortunate to follow Jeff Mullan and benefit from his mentorship in taking on this responsibility. As the first Secretary of MassDOT, Jeff has brought a depth of knowledge and boundless energy to the task, and I join the Governor and Lieutenant Governor in wishing him well."

In his role as Secretary and CEO of MassDOT, Davey will be responsible for day-to-day management of the transportation organization created by the Transportation Reform legislation signed by Governor Patrick in June 2009.

Parsons Brinkerhoff-led joint venture named GEC for Maryland transit program

PB/RK&K, a joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and RK&K in association with AECOM, has been selected to serve the Maryland Transit Administration as an on-call general engineering consultant for statewide transportation projects.

Under its contract PB/RK&K will provide project management, project controls, environmental, structural, tunneling, rolling stock and train signal engineering services during the preliminary and final design phase of any open-ended transportation project throughout the state. In addition, PB/RK&K will perform the associated safety and security and quality assurance functions for these projects.

PB/RK&K’s principal assignment is the design of the proposed Red Line, a 14-mile light-rail system that would extend from Woodlawn in Baltimore County into Baltimore City, through Edmondson Village, West Baltimore, downtown Baltimore, Inner Harbor East, Fells Point and terminate at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Campus. This alignment includes 15 surface stations, five underground stations, one mile of aerial structure and approximately four miles of dual-track tunnel.

Final design is expected to be completed by 2016.

 

NuStar, EOG Resources enter agreement to build Louisiana rail offloading facility

NuStar Logistics, EOG Resources Rail Yard (Louisiana) LLC and EOG Resources Marketing, Inc., have entered into a definitive agreement to jointly develop, build and own a 70,000-barrel-per-day unit train offloading facility at NuStar’s crude oil terminal in St. James, La. The project will facilitate movement and storage of crude oil production from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and other developing shale plays in the United States.

NuStar’s 8-million-barrel terminal is one of the largest in the growing St. James crude oil hub and has interconnectivity to major crude infrastructure including major onshore and offshore pipeline systems, as well as marine, truck and rail access. The new project will include the addition of new rail and unit train unloading facilities. Two new storage tanks with a combined 360,000 barrels of capacity will also be built in conjunction with the project. The new facility will be equipped to receive at least one 70,000-barrel train per day and will have enough track and other infrastructure to stage an additional train to await offloading. The rail project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012 and the tanks are expected to be completed and in service in May 2012.

"This project will give our customers much greater ability to move and store production from very significant crude discoveries throughout the U.S.," said Curt Anastasio, president and CEO of NuStar. "Our St. James terminal is ideally situated in a major crude oil hub and has access to all modes of transportation to effectively get the crude to any number of markets. And given EOG’s vast resources and leadership in our industry, they are the ideal partner for us in this effort."

"We are pleased to be a partner in the new St. James unloading facility that will provide diverse market opportunities for our crude. Given the price differentials that exist within the marketplace today, we view this project as an important part of our crude-by-rail strategy," said Mark Papa, chairman and CEO, EOG Resources, Inc.

LACMTA Board of Directors adopts green construction policy

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors has adopted a Green Construction Policy. The policy requires identifying and mitigating the impacts of emissions on human health, the environment and climate for on-road, off-road construction and equipment used in LACMTA construction.

LACMTA is one of the first transit agencies in the country to institute a comprehensive policy aimed at reducing harmful emissions from construction equipment used in the course of the agency’s transportation projects.

The policy will be incorporated into the requirements of all future procurement contracts. It is not retroactive. The implementation of the policy for projects funded or programmed through LACMTA will be phased in through a collaborative process. LACMTA will be developing a technical assistance program to provide needed support to local jurisdictions in their efforts to implement the Green Construction Policy.

Metro is the leader in transportation industry in sustainability practices with the retiring of the last diesel bus earlier this year, housing the largest installation of solar panels and a Board mandate that any Metro facility over 10,000 square feet is built to LEED standards.

Feds award $336.2 million for next generation trains in California, Midwest

California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri will receive $336.2 million from the Federal Railroad Administration to purchase next-generation, American-made trains that will run on rail corridors in those states. Previously awarded rail dollars bring the amount received by these five states and Washington State to $782 million for the purchase of 33 quick-acceleration locomotives and 120 bi-level passenger cars.

California and Illinois reached cooperative agreements with the Federal Railroad Administration to begin a multi-state procurement of equipment for passenger rail corridors in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon and Washington State.

"Building a nationwide rail network is critical to America’s long-term economic success," said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo.

Trains will be designed to travel more than 110 mph along intercity passenger corridors. In the joint procurement process, states will leverage these federal investments, along with state matching dollars. State partners will also first issue a request for information and then a request for proposal to allow for an open and competitive process. The RFI is expected to be issued in late summer 2011.

 

UP achieves its best ever reportable injury rate

Union Pacific employees achieved the best first half of the year safety performance in the company’s nearly 150-year history. For the period Jan. 1 through June 30, UP’s employee-reportable injury rate was 1.01, a 23 percent improvement versus 2010’s record of a 1.31 reportable injury rate.

In addition, UP’s 0.95 employee reportable injury rate for the second quarter of 2011 was the best quarterly safety performance ever and represented a 33 percent improvement over the 1.41 reportable injury rate from the second quarter 2010.

"More employees than ever are participating in the Total Safety Culture
initiative, which along with increased risk identification understanding and enhanced training played significant factors in our employees’ safety performance," said Bob Grimaila, UP vice president of safety, security and environment.

 

Houston Metro to begin bridge work for LRT project

Work will begin on Houston Metro’s North Main Street bridge on Aug. 8 as part of the North Line light-rail project.

"We are configuring two major-bridge structures for the light-rail expansion on the new North Line," said David Couch, Metro senior vice president for Capital programs.

The closure between Naylor and Franklin streets allows crews to begin rebuilding the northern section of the Main Street bridge for light-rail use. Metro will also construct the southern part of the bridge, over the Union Pacific tracks.

 

KCS appoints Anderson as automotive sales VP

Kansas City Southern has appointed Kelley Anderson as vice president of automotive sales.

Anderson has 32 years of transportation experience. He joins KCS from RJ Corman Railroad Group, where he served as vice president of strategic sales and marketing. He has held positions with BNSF Railway, Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern railroads.

"Kelley brings extensive rail industry experience and an outstanding reputation," said Patrick Ottensmeyer executive vice president of sales and marketing

NCRR board adds five members

The North Carolina Railroad Company has elected five new directors to its 13-member board, with terms officially commencing July 1, 2011.

The directors appointed by Senate President Pro-Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) are Duane Long of Wake County who is the chairman and co-founder of Longistics and Franklin Rouse of Brunswick County who is the owner of Franklin Rouse State Farm Agency.

The directors appointed by Speaker of the House Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) are George Rountree of New Hanover County who is the senior partner and attorney of Rountree, Losee & Baldwin L.L.P. and Walter LaRoque of Lenoir County who is the president of LaRoque Real Estate Operations, Management Group, Inc., East Carolina Development Company, Inc., and the Piedmont Development Company in Kinston, N.C. Tillis also appointed James Powell of Alamance County who is the former president, chief executive officer and director of Laboratory Corp of America.

 

Gregory joins Parsons Brinkerhoff

John Gregory has been named a senior supervising engineer in the Orange, Calif., office of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Gregory has more than 20 years of transit industry experience. His vehicle design experience includes supervising a mechanical design team and coordinating engineering design, troubleshooting mechanical design issues, maintaining design quality assurance and monitoring specification compliance, safety, manufacturability, systems integration and cost effectiveness.

 

CN investing US$165 million to expand Kirk Yard

Canadian National has plans for a US$165-million expansion of its Kirk Yard in Gary, Ind., and relocation of its Chicago area locomotive repair shop to the upgraded freight car classification facility in Northwest Indiana.

OmniTRAX acquires Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad

Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad in California, which has been in operation since 1908, is now part of the OmniTRAX, Inc., family of managed railroads.

"The ST&E has a long and storied history and has provided quality rail service to its customers for decades," said Gary Long, president and CEO of OmniTRAX. "We look forward to continuing to provide that same high level of service in the future and working with the customers in Stockton to help grow their businesses and to bring new industries and jobs to the area."

Located in California’s Central Valley, the 25-mile ST&E Railroad is linked to the Port of Stockton via the Union Pacific and BNSF railroads. It is located near Interstate 5, one of North America’s busiest freight corridors, and serves a number of Fortune 500 customers located on its lines.

Its location maintains rail access for active industrial facilities comprising hundreds of thousands of square feet; plus another 800,000 square feet of available warehouse space and hundreds of acres of agricultural fields and of industrial-zoned property. Concurrent with the acquisition of ST&E, OmniTRAX has formed a joint venture with ST&E’s prior owner to develop these facilities and attract new rail business to the properties.

 

Flintco awarded $58 million ACE maintenance facility

Flintco Pacific, Inc. has signed a nearly $58 million contract to build a maintenance and layover facility for the Altamont Commuter Express train fleet in California, which is owned and operated by San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.

Currently, ACE trains are maintained in South Stockton at a rail yard owned and operated by Union Pacific. The new ACE facility will be built on 64 acres approximately 1.5 miles north of the Cabral train station where the commuter line originates and will be used for the repair, maintenance, cleaning and overnight storage of the train sets used by the ACE service and future rail service expansions.

County Supervisor Steve Bestolarides and Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston who serve as chair and vice chair of SJRRC have championed this project for the last several years.

"Jobs are needed right now and this large industrial project will provide several hundred good paying jobs over the course of the 2.5 year construction period," Mayor Johnston said. "When we have the opportunity to invest in needed infrastructure, we get the double benefit of putting people back to work."

Supervisor Bestolarides echoed the benefits of building now, saying, "This is still a very favorable bid environment and it may be one of the best times to undertake a project of this scale." 



We are delighted to be part of this significant project," Flintco Pacific, Inc., President David Parkes said. "This is just another example of Flintco’s commitment to expanding its operations on the west coast and we’re ready to get to work."

This project will allow Flintco to utilize its expertise in a variety of construction types including deep excavations, extensive underground utilities, large structural concrete, steel and masonry structures and large industrial installation.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for August with site work to follow in September. Construction on the structures should begin in February 2012. The project is scheduled to be completed in August 2013. The $58 million project is being funded in part with bond proceeds and by local and federal funds.

 

CN’s partnership with Cline a key part of its export coal growth strategy

The sale of Canadian National’s assets of IC RailMarine Terminal Company to Raven Energy, LLC, an affiliate of Foresight Energy, LLC and the Cline Group for US$73 has closed and Cline assumed operation of the Convent transfer facility as of August 1, 2011.

As part of this sale agreement, CN has also entered into a 10-year rail transportation agreement with Savatran LLC, another affiliate of Foresight and Cline, to haul coal from four Illinois mines to the Convent transfer facility. Savatran will ship a minimum volume of coal via CN growing to eight million tons per year as of 2014.

"We are excited that we have successfully concluded this transaction," said Michael Beyer, Foresight CEO. "The acquisition of the terminal and the long term transportation partnership with CN firms up our logistics for our growing export business and provides a platform for us to immediately expand our export volumes."

"This partnership with Cline is one of the key elements of our strategy to leverage and expand our unique export coal franchise across North America." Said Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN
CN directly serves five export coal terminals in Canada and the United States and moved 21 million tons of petroleum coke, thermal and metallurgical coal destined for offshore markets in 2010.

"With this partnership and the significant coal mine and terminal expansions already announced or planned along our rail network in Western Canada, we hope to double our coal export volume over the next four years if trends of increasing global demand continue," stated Mongeau.

Brandt launches rail services division

Brandt Road Rail Inc., which designs and manufactures railroad maintenance-of-way products, has officially launched Brandt Rail Services, a railroad services business located in Georgetown, Texas.

Brandt Rail Services is being led by Steve Orrell, former president, CEO and Co-founder of Georgetown Rail Equipment Company.

"This new division will bring the Brandt-engineered quality into a new arena with railroads throughout the US," said Orrell. "The Rail Services group will be providing current Brandt railroad products to our railroad partners. Only now are these designs available in a short-term service package."

Orrell states that his small staff already boasts 65 years of railroad service, design and customer knowledge.

CSX investing $15 million for new intermodal terminal in Louisville

CSX will be investing $15 million for a 34-acre intermodal terminal to be constructed in Louisville, Ky. The terminal is slated to begin operations in early 2012.

The new terminal will be built and operated by CSX Intermodal Terminals. When it opens, it will provide inbound and outbound daily train service connecting through the company’s Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal to markets across CSX Transportation’s network.

The new facility is between CSXT’s Osborne Yard and the Louisville Industrial Center near Louisville International Airport.

The project includes the installation of new track, pavement, drainage, gates for inbound and outbound containers and the refurbishing of two buildings for use as office facilities.

 

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. signs agreement to acquire Arizona Eastern Railway

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire the Arizona Eastern Railway from Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC, of Chicago, Ill., for $90.1 million. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2011.

"The Arizona Eastern serves copper mining and smelting facilities and we are pleased to be investing in long-term rail infrastructure that will improve rail service and support the expansion of copper production in the region," said Jack Hellmann, president and CEO of GWI.

AZER primarily provides rail service to Freeport-McMoRan’s largest North American copper mine and its North American smelter, hauling copper concentrate, copper anode, copper rod and sulfuric acid. The company also serves other local customers, predominantly in the mineral, agricultural and forest product sectors.

AZER has 45 employees and 10 locomotives and will be managed as part of GWI’s newly created Mountain West Region. The Mountain West Region includes AZER, the Utah Railway and coal loading operations in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana and will be led by GWI Senior Vice President Andrew Chunko.

 

MoDOT, UP, Amtrak, FRA sign agreement for second Bridge over Osage River

The Missouri Department of Transportation, Union Pacific, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration have signed a service agreement that will allow work to begin on Missouri’s first rail infrastructure project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The signing follows negotiations between Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s office, MoDOT, Union Pacific and several agencies including the FRA.

"This is a project that will alleviate congestion along a vital trade and passenger transportation artery," Gov. Nixon said.

The $28.3 million project consists of the construction of a second rail bridge over the Osage River that will eliminate the last single track portion between Jefferson City and St. Louis, Mo. It will also remove the last single-track bottleneck to cause delays for freight and Amtrak trains on the eastern segment of the St. Louis to Kansas City, Mo., corridor.

MoDOT anticipates beginning construction in the fall, but prolonged flooding could push the start date into the spring.

UP and MoDOT have agreed to further study the St. Louis to Kansas City rail corridor as funding becomes available.

 

UP invests nearly $6.5 million for Western Nebraska track improvements

Union Pacific will invest $6.5 million to enhance the Western Nebraska rail line that runs from Broadwater, Neb., to near Northport, Neb. The more than 14-mile project includes removing and installing rail and renewing the surfaces at 14 road crossings.

 

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