Ballast car production begins at FreightCar America






FreightCar
America, Inc., would begin production of 162 heavy-duty steel ballast cars for
an undisclosed customer within a few months. This is a specialty car type with
which FreightCar America has had significant experience since 2007. The 110-ton
capacity cars feature automatic doors with a remote control and solar-powered
activation system. This provides for additional productivity and operator
safety during the unloading process.


Twin Cities Central Corridor West Bank work set to begin






Construction
by the Central Corridor Project in the Twin Cities is anticipated to begin in
the next week for the West Bank. While the area has already seen construction
near Washington and Cedar Avenue by utility companies preparing for Central
Corridor, during the week of November
22, official Central Corridor Project construction will begin.

D.C. Metro to temporarily close L’Enfant Plaza station entrance






Washington, D.C., Metro
will temporarily close the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station entrance at 9th and
D Sts., S.W., Nov. 26 through Dec. 8, due to a rehabilitation project in the
promenade area adjacent to the station entrance. The entrance at 9th and D Sts.
will reopen on Dec. 9. 

The entrances at 7th St. and Maryland Ave, S.W. and
7th and D St. S.W. will remain open. 




Caltrain construction, maintenance update, Nov. 19-26






Work will continue on the
new pedestrian underpass at the Santa Clara, Calif., station. The underpass
will connect the north- and southbound platforms, allowing two trains to pass
through the station at the same time and improving safety for pedestrians in
the station. Passengers at the station are boarding the train from a temporary
platform that will be in use for approximately six months. The work is part of
an 18-month station improvement project that will add a new wider, longer
center-boarding platform and extend the southern platform 150 feet.


Historic Houma, La., train bridge is leaving town






Standing 12 stories tall,
Houma’s old steel train bridge that crosses the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is an
iconic fixture to those who grew up here, The Daily Comet reports. They
remember the trains crossing the bridge in the 1970s and 80s or climbing atop
the huge rust-covered structure following its permanent closure in 1991. After
this year, however, the lift bridge will once again operate over the
Intracoastal Waterway, though this time in Freeport, Texas.

PB names Noonan assistant vice president






Steve Noonan has been named an assistant
vice president in the Newark, N.J., office of Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), a
global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and
program/construction management organization. In his new position, Noonan
will manage PB’s Northeast Rail Vehicle Group, responsible for vehicle and
system technical inputs to planning and engineering projects, as well as
management and administration of vehicle engineering and inspection support.

 


U.S. Dot makes railroad safety technology grants






U. S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood said that seven projects will share $50 million to help
make the nation’s rail system safer by facilitating deployment of Positive
Train Control (PTC) collision avoidance systems and other advanced
technologies. The projects will receive money through the new Railroad
Safety Technology Grant (RSTG) program.

European group gears up for Florida high-speed rail






A consortium of European
companies is vying to finance and operate Florida’s high-speed rail line
between Tampa and Orlando, the Sunshine State News reports. The group, headed
by train maker Alstom SA of France, will undoubtedly face spirited competition
in its bid for the multi-billion-dollar project. But the seven-company
multinational consortium says no one can rival its combined experience and
financial wherewithal.

BNSF issues notice to proceed on Kansas intermodal facility






The City of Edgerton, Kan.,
announced that BNSF had issued its notice to proceed with construction of its intermodal
facility near that city, the Gardner Edge reports. Mayor Don Robers was very
pleased with this announcement. He said, "Let the work begin. We have been
working with BNSF, the Allen Group, Johnson County, the State of Kansas and
many other groups to make sure that we would be prepared for this day."

MetroLink maintenance scheduled for November 20, December 4






On Saturday, November 20,
and Saturday, December 4, MetroLink in the St. Louis area will operate special
service from the beginning of service until 12:00 p.m. noon to accommodate
required maintenance of MetroLink tracks on the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi
River. Blue Line trains, which typically operate between Shrewsbury and
Fairview Heights, will instead operate from Shrewsbury to the Civic Center
MetroLink Station. Red Line trains will continue to operate on their regular
route from the Lambert Airport to Shiloh-Scott MetroLink Stations.

North County Transit schedules tie work






On
Nov. 19-20, North County transit District crews will replace railroad ties
along the COASTER track in the Del Mar, Calif., area. After the new ties are placed,
train traffic will slow for 24 hours to allow the track to settle and
stabilize. A few days later, a large truck will travel by rail to carry away
the old ties.

BNSF to start work on Oklahoma rail reconstruction soon






Rail reconstruction, made
possible by $4 million in stimulus funds, has started on the BNSF line
extending from downtown north Shawnee, Okla., to the industrial park, the Shawnee
News Star
 reports.

WSOR renovation is really on a roll






The Wisconsin &
Southern Railroad doesn’t need to wait until 2030 to experience the increasing
freight demand that industry pundits are forecasting, the Janesville, Wis.,
Gazette reports. The Milwaukee-based railroad already is running more traffic
on several of its lines and is expecting a 35-percent increase in the tonnage
it hauls on its Janesville to Monroe line by 2013.

Judge urges dueling railroads to compromise

A
federal judge heard arguments in a contentious railway rights case concerning
access to a paper mill in Madawaska, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reports. U.S.
District Judge John Woodcock took the case under advisement. At issue was a
request by Canadian National Railway Co. for a preliminary injunction allowing
it access to the Twin Rivers Paper Co. on tracks owned by the Montreal, Maine
& Atlantic Railway while the case progresses in court.

New signs at downtown SF stations part of BART wayfinding improvements






BART riders are noticing
new and improved signs in downtown San Francisco stations, part of an ongoing
program throughout the BART system for wayfinding and signage improvements.

Weekend closure of Cleveland Blue/Green Rail for upgrades






The Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is continuing its light-rail maintenance
program on the Blue/Green line with its final weekend closure starting November
19. At the same time, the Red Line will be closed East of Tower City.
Replacement buses will pick up and drop off riders at every station on all of
the closed train lines during the weekend.

San Bruno, Calif., Grade Separation Project kick-off celebration






Rosanne Foust, Chair, San
Mateo County Transportation Authority; Omar Ahmad, Caltrain Board; Jim Ruane,
Mayor, City of San Bruno; and Ken Ibarra, Councilman, City of San Bruno are
among the officials scheduled to attend a Nov. 18 celebration to kick-off the
construction of the San Bruno, Calif., Grade Separation Project. The project
will elevate the Caltrain tracks above San Bruno, San Mateo and Angus avenues,
replace the existing station at Sylvan Avenue; create three new pedestrian
underpasses; and add 201 parking spaces and a "kiss and ride" lot at the
station.

Chicago’s Metra testing air quality in train cars, downtown terminals






On November 16, Metra in
northeastern Illinois began testing the air quality onboard some passenger cars
and at downtown terminals. Recent questions were
raised about the level of diesel emissions on downtown platforms and trains.
While Metra trains are in full compliance with all Environmental Protection
Agency standards, additional testing conducted on a system-wide basis will
provide a more detailed picture of total air quality.


Murphy to lead Urban Engineers’ Connecticut office






William Murphy, P.E., has
been hired by Urban Engineers and named manager of the firm’s New England Regional
Office in Hartford, Conn. Murphy, who has 30 years of experience, is a
registered professional engineer in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York,
Pennsylvania and Florida. He holds a master’s degree in business administration
from the University of Connecticut, a master’s degree in civil engineering from
Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from
Manhattan College.

$8.6-million Levelland industrial rail park gets engines on track






Levelland, Texas, city and economic
development officials got engines on track for an $8.6-million industrial rail
park in the 12,866-population town just 30 miles west of Lubbock, Texas.

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