“Tampers and stoneblowers are track maintenance machines that make sure the track is correctly aligned and has a smooth level along the rail,” according to Network Rail. “They help to prevent the risk of trains derailing, and ensure smooth, comfortable journeys for passengers and freight trains. These machines generally work at night when no passenger trains are running.” (Network Rail Image)

Harsco Rail Lands Network Rail O&M Contract

Harsco Corporation on April 5 reported that its Rail division has been awarded a five-year, more than $130 million stoneblower operation and maintenance (O&M) contract from Network Rail, which owns, operates and

The Norfolk Southern Data Science and Engineering teams were presented with a 2023 Innovation-Driven Company award at the Technology Association of Georgia Technology Awards ceremony on March 29. (NS Photograph)

NS Takes Home Technology Innovation Awards

Norfolk Southern (NS) late last month was presented with 2023 “Innovation-Driven Company” awards from the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) for its rail wear predictive analytics and digital train inspection programs.

The city of Decatur will receive a $10 million grant through the Illinois Competitive Freight Program for a grade separation project that will build a Brush College Road overpass at Faries Parkway and Norfolk Southern. (NS Photograph)

Illinois Awards $200MM in Freight Mobility Grants

In Illinois, 22 port, rail and highway projects will share $200 million in grant funding to address bottlenecks, increase mobility, and improve the supply chain up and down the state, Gov. JB

Construction on the Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Pomana, Calif., is more than two-thirds’ complete. (Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Photograph)

LA Metro’s Foothill Gold Line Project Marks Milestone

All reconstruction work requiring long-term street closures is now finished for the 21 at-grade crossings along Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LA Metro) Foothill Gold Line light rail project. This is

Conrail is receiving a $5 million grant from the NJDOT for its Garden State Secondary Fluidity Improvements-Phase 1 project. (Conrail Photograph)

MnDOT, NJDOT Award $35MM in Freight Rail Improvement Grants

The departments of transportation in Minnesota (MnDOT) and New Jersey (NJDOT) are investing $6.95 million and $27.8 million, respectively, in projects that will improve freight rail infrastructure.

Report: HART System Safety Plan Advances

A safety plan has been proposed for the HART (Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation) Honolulu Rail System, whose first segment is expected to open in July. KHON Channel 2 on March 27

(Amtrak Photo)

Amtrak Kicking Off $6B B&P Tunnel Replacement Program

Amtrak on March 10 will start early construction work for the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program. The nearly 150-year-old, 1.4-mile tunnel that connects Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C., is a single point of

Ian Jefferies, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads

AAR Outlines Key Class I Safety Actions

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 8 reported seven initial steps the Class I railroads are taking “to drive toward a future with zero incidents and zero injuries—one where what

(Valley Metro Photograph)

Valley Metro Launches West Phoenix Transit Alternatives Study

Valley Metro and the city of Phoenix, Ariz., are conducting a study to evaluate high-capacity transit options—such as bus rapid transit (BRT), streetcar or light rail—in west Phoenix. The study area boundaries are

At the Ashton Creek Industrial Park in Virginia (pictured), Commonwealth Building Materials will use a new DRPT grant-supported rail spur to grow capacity for 1,365 new annual carloads.

DRPT Issues Rail Industrial Access Program Grant

The Ashton Creek Industrial Park LLC in Chesterfield County, Va., will receive a $450,000 Rail Industrial Access Program grant to support construction of a rail spur, to be served by CSX, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), which administers the program.

CN is among the Rail Climate Change Adaptation Program award recipients, and will receive C$300,000 to develop a “Climate-Induced Ground Hazard Risk Assessment Tool.” (Photograph Courtesy of CN via Twitter)

Transport Canada Allocates C$5.4MM for Rail Resiliency

Transport Canada is distributing up to C$5.4 million to 20 infrastructure projects country-wide that it says will make railroads “more resilient to extreme weather risks.”

Pictured: Renny, the first boring machine for Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project, which started tunneling work in April 2022. (Metrolinx Photograph)

Eglinton Crosstown West Extension Reaches Tunneling Milestone

The first tunnel boring machine passed the halfway point earlier this month, digging more than three kilometers of the roughly six-kilometer tunnel in less than a year for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project in Toronto, according to Metrolinx.

(East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Rendering, Courtesy of LACMTA)

LACMTA Advances East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Project

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) on Feb. 27 reported signing off on a $31 million pre-construction services contract for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Project.

NTSB Issues Preliminary Report on NS Ohio Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board on Feb. 23 released a preliminary report on its investigation into the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) responds. The investigation of the Feb. 3 derailment

Brightline on Feb. 19 welcomed the Bright Orange 2 trainset to Orlando, Fla., following its 10-day journey from Siemens’ rolling stock facility in Sacramento, Calif.

Brightline’s ‘Bright Orange 2’ Rolls Into Orlando

Brightline, Florida’s private-sector passenger railroad, is one step closer to extending its 67-mile Miami-to-West Palm Beach line north to Orlando.

C3RS Issues ‘Blue-Signal Protection’ Memo

An alert-message memo describing safety concerns over close-call events involving blue-signal protection has been released by the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), a partnership between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in conjunction with participating railroad carriers and labor organizations.

ICC Approves Grade Crossing Projects in Logan, Randolph Counties

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on Feb. 6 reported signing off on stipulated agreements to improve safety at highway/rail grade crossings in Logan and Randolph counties.

A footbridge linking STM’s De la Savane metro station in Montreal to the Royalmount mixed-use complex project is slated for completion in 2024. (Rendering Courtesy of CNW Group/Royalmount)

Carbonleo Unveils Metro-Royalmount Footbridge Project in Montreal

Construction is under way on a C$25 million pedestrian bridge linking Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) De La Savane metro station and the new Royalmount mixed-use complex in midtown Montreal.

At 1:19 p.m. on Feb. 2, Grand Central Terminal’s 110th anniversary train—a local Metro-North Railroad train from Stamford, Conn., to Grand Central—arrived on Track 27. MTA officials greeted passengers and distributed commemorative stickers. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Happy 110th, Grand Central Terminal!

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials on Feb. 2 celebrated the 110th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, just days after it became the expanded house of the two busiest commuter railroads in the country, Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).

The Guadalupe River Bridge Replacement Project will replace the Northbound Bridge (MT-1), built in 1935, and extend the Southbound Bridge (MT-2) for passenger and freight rail service.

Caltrain Advances Guadalupe River Bridge Replacement Project

Caltrain on Jan. 31 will host a virtual community meeting on the $63.3 million Guadalupe River Bridge Replacement Project in San Jose, Calif., which will replace the northbound wooden trestle bridge built in 1935 and extend the southbound concrete bridge built in 1990.

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