Fifteen years after
Virginia Beach, Va., officials agreed that the city’s transportation future was
tied to the 66-foot-wide rail path between Norfolk and the resort area, the
City Council is poised to buy the right of way, The Virginian-Pilot reports.
Proponents of the $8.7-billion
trans-Hudson rail tunnel warned the 30-day suspension imposed on the massive
project could put its federal funding at risk, the Newark Star Ledger reports. At
the same time, some voiced concerns the project might be deliberately
sacrificed to pay for the nearly bankrupt New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund,
which supports state road and rail improvements – including the tunnel.
A brick-and-glass state
office building on the banks of Lake Monona, just a few blocks from the
Wisconsin Capitol and the rest of downtown Madison, shows no outward sign that
it has become the focal point of one of the most heated – and unexpected –
debates to divide this state’s Democrats and Republicans in a crucial election
year, the Stateline reports.
Citing a 1921 agreement,
city leaders in Martinsburg, W.Va., have asked CSX Transportation to help make
repairs to deteriorating walls and abutments around the North Queen Street
underpass bridge, The Herald-Mail reports.
Thunder, lightning and hail
from a fast-moving storm filled the late afternoon skies over Barre, Mass., and
provided an appropriate prelude to the chorus of complaints the Board of Health
would hear from abutters and neighbors of Wildwood Reload on South Barre Road,
the Worcester News Telegram reports.
New Jersey is temporarily
shutting down all new work and suspending additional contract bids on an $8.7-billion
railway tunnel to New York because federal officials say the project may go as
much as a billion dollars over budget – money New Jersey doesn’t have, The Star-Ledger
reports.
Japan said it’s ready to
loan California money to help pay for a planned high-speed railroad as
trainmakers compete to work on a project that will cost at least $40 billion,
according to Bloomberg. The state-owned Japan Bank for International
Cooperation is prepared to lend funds, Japan’s Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told
reporters in Tokyo after meeting with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He declined to comment on the size of the possible loan.
As soon as early next year,
the amount of freight rail traffic on the main line that runs through Pottstown,
Pa., is likely to increase, the Mercury reports. Also likely to increase is the
amount of tractor-trailer traffic in the vicinity of the former Bethlehem Steel
plant off Industrial Highway and South Keim Street.
New Long Island Rail Road
timetables in effect September 13, 2010 will contain schedule adjustments for
some trains as well as the elimination of other trains. The new schedules
implement the second phase of budget-related cuts in LIRR service that were
approved by the MTA Board in March. These service reductions along with those
implemented last May 17 were required as part of the effort to close the MTA’s
$900-million budget gap. The service reductions will save approximately $950,000
this year and $3.8-million annually starting in 2011. However, the LIRR will be
monitoring the changes in the new timetable and will make schedule adjustments,
as necessary, based on additional ridership and possible crowding on trains.
TriMet’s MAX Green Line in
Portland, Ore., turned one on September 12, with 6.1 million trips taken on the
line during its first year. The Green Line is the agency’s fifth MAX line to be
built, and added a new alignment in downtown Portland along the Portland
Transit Mall and new tracks between Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town
Center.
Illinois’ ongoing financial
crisis could thwart plans to expand the Metra line that runs through McHenry
County, Ill., the Northwest Herald reports. About $29 million in federal
funding has been earmarked to pay for the next step in improving the Union
Pacific Northwest line and three other commuter rail projects. But unless the
state can match those funds dollar for dollar, Metra will lose access to the
money.
Triangle Transit still
likes the idea, but there aren’t many cheerleaders left for a proposal to run
high-speed passenger trains through the Norfolk Southern freight yard along the
west side of Capital Boulevard, the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer reports. Norfolk
Southern blasted that notion last week in a 17-page letter to the state
Department of Transportation.
The Federal Railroad
Administration said that Amtrak is joining the agency’s Confidential Close Call
Reporting System (C3RS), a safety pilot project that permits rail employees to
voluntarily and anonymously report "close call" incidents that could have
resulted in an accident or injury but did not.
A century ago, downtown
Vancouver, Wash., was built into a corner. The BNSF line and the berm on which
it sits have separated the city center from the industrial yards along the
Columbia River, The Oregonian reports. The city recently broke ground on a
project to punch through the berm, giving downtown access to the waterfront and
giving developers access to the 31 acres they intend to turn into offices,
retail space and 3,300 residences.
The NJ TRANSIT Board of
Directors approved the lease of retail spaces at two of the state’s busiest
train stations-a food court at Hoboken Terminal and a coffee stand at Princeton
Junction Station-as part of the corporation’s effort to maximize the value of
its facilities while offering additional amenities to customers.
The Alaska Railroad
Corporation Board of Directors has voted unanimously to hire Christopher
Aadnesen as the railroad’s new president and chief executive officer. Aadnesen
is scheduled to start later this month.
U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood opened the first meeting of the Transit Rail Advisory
Committee for Safety (TRACS), an advisory group created to guide Federal
Transit Administration safety rulemakings when the Obama Administration’s
Public Transportation Safety Program Act of 2009 becomes law.
Officials from the city
of Sioux Falls, S.D., the state of South Dakota and BNSF celebrated the closure
of the 5,000th grade crossing on BNSF’s rail network, setting a new
national record for grade-crossing closures and safety improvement.
At a press conference
hosted by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, METRO’s leaders commented on the
findings of the Federal Transit Administration’s "Buy America" investigation
and review of plans to purchase 103 new light rail vehicles.
At the Santa Clara Station
Improvement Project, work will be done this week on the shoring and the
foundation for the new pedestrian underpass at the 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.