U.S Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), a member of the Financial Services Committee and strong rail advocate, joined Marquette Rail for a tour of its rail yard in Ludington, Mich., to show his support of the rail industry and the shortline railroad rehabilitation tax credit.
Union Pacific plans to enhance Illinois’ transportation infrastructure by investing nearly $25 million in the rail line that runs between Fults (about 30 miles south of Dupo) and near Chester. The project is in progress and is scheduled to be completed by mid-October. This work is in addition to the project Union Pacific is doing in 2012 on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s High Speed Rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis.
Southern California’s Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the governing authority for the Port of Long Beach, voted to accept $17 million in funds from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery a federal transportation (TIGER) program to help fund the “Green Port Gateway,” which will improve rail flow and the environment at the Port of Long Beach.
CSX Corporation unveiled its 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report outlining the company’s operations, environmental, social and financial performance.
PS Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Pacific, has acquired the Yard Control Systems division of Ansaldo STS USA, which is based in Norristown, Pa. The acquisition boosts PST’s capabilities by adding rail yard process control and automation solutions.
Canadian Pacific and U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., have entered into a multi-year agreement for the movement of frac sand from U.S. Silica’s newest mining and processing facility in Sparta, Wis.
Forty-seven transportation projects in 34 states and the District of Columbia will receive a total of almost $500 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2012 program.
Union Pacific is enhancing Nebraska’s transportation infrastructure by investing more than $22 million in the rail line that runs between O’Fallons, Neb., and the Wyoming border. The project is in progress and is scheduled to be completed by mid-October.
The Virgina Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approved $11.4 billion in allocations for transportation improvement projects over the next six years beginning July 1. The Six-Year Improvement Program distributes funding for highway, road and bridge projects, as well as rail, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and other transportation improvements across the state.
BNSF honored 98 shippers with the railroad’s 15th Annual Product Stewardship Award for the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail during 2011.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission for the installation of flashing lights and gates at four grade crossings in Lucas, Medina and Ottawa counties. The upgrades will be made as follows:
No official word from the U.S. Department of Transportation has been released regarding awards of the fourth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, but news from various congressional offices is revealing what projects will benefit from the latest round of grants. The initial tally indicates rail related projects did not fare as well as they had in past TIGER funding cycles, but several key projects will see federal money.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $140 million in capital programs in both Colorado and Wyoming this year.
Boatright Companies is building a crosstie plant in Chilton County, Ala., a $55 million investment with plans to have 100 workers by the end of next year. The new 400,000-square-foot facility on 100 acres in the Chilton County Industrial Park will put the Boatright plant on a CSX rail line and give the company the ability to more than double its current railroad tie production capacity.
The Surface Transportation Board made public its approach for the continuation of the Tongue River Railroad Company, Inc.’s (TRRC) revised proposal to build and operate a new rail line in Montana. This approach takes into account a number of recent changed circumstances and will allow the board to complete its review of TRRC’s current plans for a new railroad line.
Skanska has been awarded a $66 million contract from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to design and construct a test track, commissioning facility, parking garage and other facilities near the existing Greenbelt Maintenance Yard in Prince George’s County, Md. The contract will be included in the order bookings for Skanska USA Civil for the second quarter 2012.
Calling for action on the most critical safety issues facing Canada’s transportation system, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its new Watchlist.
“In 2010, the TSB’s first Watchlist became a blueprint for progress,” said Wendy Tadros, chair of the TSB. “Transport Canada and industry acted together and today, significant progress has been made on many of these important safety issues.””
In announcing its new Watchlist, Tadros added, “”We’ve removed issues where the risk has been reduced and left issues on the list where little or no progress has been made. The new Watchlist also features several emerging challenges, challenges that will need to be tackled to make Canada’s transportation system safer.”
The board reported progress in six key areas: emergency preparedness on ferries; voyage data recorders on vessels; the operation of longer, heavier trains; crashworthy data recorders on trains; advances in rail safety management systems; and planned improvements for cockpit voice recorders.
The Federal Railroad Administration proposed an addition of seven new Categorical Exclusions (CE) to its environmental procedures that will help expedite project delivery across the country. The proposed CEs, which were developed in coordination with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, are part of the Obama Administration’s on-going efforts to streamline government and allow job creators to break ground on shovel-ready projects months or even years faster without doing damage to the environment.
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Port Commission has selected David Koch as its new chief executive officer. Koch has been serving as the port’s interim CEO since December 2011 and the port’s chief operating officer starting in October 2010.
Union Pacific built a fleet of mobile classrooms to bring state-of-the-art operations and safety training to locomotive engineer and conductor locations across its 23-state system.