News and Opinion

CTA reminds customers of reroutes of Loop L Trains this weekend






The Chicago Transit
Authority is reminding customers that from 4 a.m. Saturday, November 6 through
approximately 8 p.m. Sunday, November 7, Brown, Orange and southbound Green
Line trains will be temporarily rerouted in the Loop as CTA crews install a new
signal control facility at Van Buren and Wabash. The work is part of CTA’s
continuing efforts to upgrade the signal and train control systems in the Loop.
During these hours, trains will be flagged through the intersection by crews on
the tracks as the signal controls will not operate automatically.

 

Wisconsin temporarily halts work on train project






The Wisconsin Department
of Transportation has told contractors on the high-speed rail line between
Madison and Milwaukee to stop work on the federally funded project "for a
few days," in the wake of rail opponent Scott Walker’s victory in the
governor’s race, Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi said Nov. 4, the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel reports.

NICTD offering $5,000 reward in South Shore copper thefts






The Northwest Indiana Commuter
Transit District is asking for the public’s help in finding the parties
responsible for more than $100,000 in thefts of copper from the South Shore commuter
rail line’s properties, the Northwest Indiana Times reports. According to
Transit Police Chief Robert Byrd, the thefts have occurred over the last
several months with the most recent taking place the night of Nov. 2 at the
Gary, Ind., Metro Center.

Railway maintenance continues this week in Alberta






Canadian Pacific rail
tracks in Airdrie, Alta., Canada, continue to be upgraded as Veterans Boulevard
closes Nov. 8 and 9 for a 48-hour period, local media report. The closure,
unanimously approved by City council Nov. 1, is part of a railway renewal
program from Edmonton to Calgary that occurs every three to four years to
maintain the railroad between Airdrie and Crossfield.

Bentley offering eSeminar on IST for infrastructure






Bentley Systems,
Incorporated, is collaborating with ARC Advisory Group (ARC), a research and
advisory firm for industry and infrastructure, in the production and presentation
of a complimentary four-part series of live eSeminars. Each one-hour eSeminar
will discuss innovative IT strategies, industry best practices and Bentley
software for leveraging information modeling, both for integrated projects and
the operations of high-performing, intelligent infrastructure assets.

DART to open Green Line December 6






Completion of the 28-mile
Green Line, the longest light rail construction project in North America,
heralds a new era of choices for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) passengers on
December 6.

St. Louis Metro’s long-range plan honored






St. Louis Metro’s
unprecedented long-range plan for public-transit development over the next 30
years has placed second in a global awards competition recognizing the
involvement of the public in innovative projects throughout the world. Metro
was honored by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) for
the level of participation by the public in the development of Moving Transit
Forward, the plan that offers a menu of transit solutions to meet the St. Louis
region’s needs over the next three decades.

Railway Interchange 2011 exhibit space filling up

Exhibit opportunities for
members of the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) at
Railway Interchange 2011, the first-of-its-kind combined trade show and
technical conference, are quickly disappearing. REMSA has confirmed more than
90 total exhibitors at its exhibition space in the Minneapolis convention
center and on and off the tracks at the nearby Humboldt Yard.




RailWorks makes three appointments






Joe McGee has been named vice
president and general manager at RailWorks Signals & Communications, Inc. He
is responsible for all of the company’s S&C operations throughout the
United States. McGee is a United States Air Force veteran with more than 30
years of industry experience. He most recently served as a senior project manager
with Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.

Boaté joins Gannett Fleming






David A. Boaté, P.E., has joined Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and
construction management firm. Based in the firm’s New York City office, Boaté
serves as vice president and director of transit and rail for the Northeast
Region, responsible for the daily operational management, business development,
strategic growth, and profitability of the firm in the transit and rail
industries.

Gary, Ind., airport and railroad ink deal






Canadian National Railway
Co. has signed a deal authorizing the moving of its tracks to make way for the
expansion of Gary/Chicago International Airport’s main runway, the Northwest
Indiana Times reports. Airport officials say the railroad inked the deal Nov. 2,
just three business days after the airport authority board approved the deal.

DC Metro schedules weekend renovation to improve reliability, service






November 5-7, Washington,
D.C., Metro will undertake a major project on the Blue and Orange lines that
will impact rail service east of the Stadium-Armory Metrorail station and
conduct additional maintenance on the Blue and Yellow lines in Northern
Virginia. Rail riders traveling on these lines are advised to add an additional
40 minutes to their travel plans because some stations will be closed and
single-tracking operations will be in place elsewhere.





Busing planned on Metro-North New Canaan Branch for brush clearing






New York MTA Metro-North
Railroad will be operating substitute bus service on the New Canaan Branch
during weekday off-peak hours for the week of November 15 -19 to allow for tree
and brush clean-up before winter. The Power Department recently inspected the
branch and identified 16 locations where the foliage was too close to the
overhead catenary wires. To avoid putting train service at risk the first time
there is an ice or snow storm, it is necessary to take care of these spots now.

BART installs new bike racks inside 19th St./Oakland Station






The latest step in BART’s
efforts to improve facilities for bicyclists is a set of spiffy double-deck
racks that can hold 64 bikes inside the 19th St./Oakland, Calif., Station. Previously,
the only option for bicyclists who wanted to store bikes near the station were
the city-owned racks located outside on the street level, which were often
filled beyond capacity.

Happy 15th Anniversary West Coast Express






Fifteen years of service
and 30 million riders later, Vancouver’s West Coast Express commuter rail line had
reason to celebrate. Doug Kelsey, TransLink’s executive vice-president and president
of British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, Ltd., and Maple Ridge-Mission MLA
Marc Dalton joined hundreds of daily commuters at the Waterfront Station to
commemorate the anniversary.