The Alaska Railroad
Corporation (ARRC) and Kiewit Pacific Co. signed a contract that awards Kiewit
construction management and general contracting (CMGC) work for Phase One of
the Northern Rail Extension. The first phase includes the Tanana River bridge
and levee near Salcha, Alaska.
August 20-22, Washington,
D.C., Metro will upgrade its track, platforms and bridges on the Red, Blue and
Yellow lines to improve reliability and service. As a result of this crucial
work, which is critical to maintain the railroad in a state of good repair,
riders can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.
Sound Transit celebrated
breaking ground on the first phase of construction of a new Sounder commuter
train station in Edmonds, Wash. The transit hub, scheduled to open next spring,
will replace a temporary structure south of the Amtrak station with a new east
platform, passenger shelter, re-paved parking area, upgraded lighting and
secured storage for bicycles.
Chicago Mayor Richard M.
Daley announced the formation of a new O’Hare Express Blue Ribbon Committee to
undertake a comprehensive study for express train service between O’Hare
International Airport and downtown Chicago.
The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority in New York City said underpinning for the Corbin
Building and the foundation for the Fulton Street Transit Center are complete.
This marks a major milestone in the $1.4-billion project that will connect five
subway stations and 10 subway lines, improving access for over 300,000 daily
customers that pass through this major transit hub in lower Manhattan. The
overall project, funded primarily with federal funds, remains on schedule and
will be completed in 2014.
Commuters in Boston’s MBTA
subway system will notice scientific equipment and researchers with electronic
monitoring devices throughout the system August 20 -27, while the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues a scientific study of airflow
throughout the underground portion of the subway system. The first portion of
the study was conducted in December.
CSX Transportation wants to
raise a portion of the Keystone Viaduct on the Great Allegheny Passage at Sand
Patch so its double-decker train cars can clear the structure, the Somerset, Pa.,
Daily American reports. The Somerset County commissioners approved a memorandum
of understanding Tuesday with CSXT that outlines all the improvements the
railroad will need to make for the project. The agreement also lists who will
be responsible for construction, closure of the trail and when the actual work
is being performed.
The Dow Chemical Company
will introduce the TRAXSYSTM Rail Boot System in North America and present its
extensive rail technologies portfolio at the AREMA Conference and Exhibition in
Orlando, Fla., Aug. 29 – Sept. 1, 2010. Dow experts will be on hand at booth
#130/128 to discuss how the Company’s offerings can advance rail transport
safety and extend the working life of tracks, platforms and equipment
Portland, Ore., TriMet
riders have a new way to receive real-time arrival information for buses and
MAX: text message. This arrival information option, one of the first in the
nation, is useful for mobile phone users who have text message service plans
but not more expensive mobile web service plans.
Los Angeles is known for
its vibrant car culture – and for all the problems that come along with it,
such as air pollution and congestion, according to the South Los Angeles Report.
Twelve transit projects are under way to provide relief for commuters. But transit
officials say that may take up to three decades to complete, according to the
South Los Angeles Report. Thousands of labor union members gathered in front of
downtown City Hall on Friday to show their support for a plan that would speed
up construction of the transit projects and create much-needed jobs.
A major upgrade
could be on the way for the railroad crossing where one Springfield, Ohio, High School student was killed and another
seriously injured while walking to school right before the holiday break in December 2009, FOX
Toledo News reports. They were both struck by a train while walking to school. Fifteen-year-old Cody Brown was killed. His friend, 16-year-old Brianna
Mullinger, survived but lost her leg.
The 2011
Joint Rail conference, which will be held in Pueblo, Colo., March 16-18, with
the theme "Shared Corridors, Shared Interests" has issued a call for papers. The
2011 JRC is jointly sponsored by ASME, ASCE, IEEE, AREMA and TRB. Abstracts for
proposed technical papers are now being accepted on the conference website, http://www.asmeconferences.org/JRC2011
Lake Zurich, Ill., trustees
approved an agreement with Ciorba Group Consulting Engineers in the amount of
$126,221 for Phase I analysis for noise mitigation measures along the Elgin,
Eastern and Joliet Railroad at Monday’s meeting, Pioneer Press reports.
Heavy rain swept through
Duluth, Minn., the week of August 9, taking with it part of an old concrete
culvert in West Duluth, the Duluth News Tribune reports.
That, in turn,
created a sinkhole over Kingsbury Creek that swallowed a section of the BNSF
railroad near the Willard Munger Inn.
The Connecticut Bond
Commission is expected to approve $260 million to help pay for the improvements
needed for high-speed trains running through the state and western
Massachusetts, local media report.
In an overwhelming show
of support for the Administration’s high-speed rail initiative, U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Ray LaHood said that the Federal Railroad Administration has
received 77 applications from 25 states for the most recent round of High-Speed
Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant funding. Application requests total more
than $8.5 billion and will be considered for funding from more than $2.3
billion appropriated in FY 2010.
The Maryland Transit
Administration is advising Metro Subway customers of upcoming track
maintenance. The overnight work will improve track functions between the Rogers
Avenue and State Center/Cultural Center stations and is scheduled to have
limited impact on Metro Subway service.
With the most significant
transit-service changes in years coming on August 30, Metro employees in St.
Louis will be at MetroBus Transfer Centers and MetroLink stations on weekdays
until then to provide customers with information on changes coming to 53
MetroBus routes. Teams of Metro employees serving as "ambassadors" will meet
with customers during the morning and afternoon rush hours with details.
CXT, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of L.B. Foster Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded a
contract by City of Calgary Light Rail Transit to supply 14,500 CXT Concrete
Ties and fastening systems for use in the construction of line extensions to
expand the system to the northwest and northeast of Calgary, Alberta. CXT concrete
ties began shipping for this project in June from L.B. Foster’s Spokane, Wash.,
facility and will complete delivery by November 2010.
CSX Transportation has set
December as its target to complete $10 million in upgrades and improvements at
its freight yard off Day Street in West Springfield, Mass., The Republican
reports. The work, which started in July, will consist mostly of extensive paving
with an elaborate retention basin system for capturing and cleansing runoff
before discharging the water into the city’s storm water system, according to
Maurice J. O’Connell, a regional vice president for CSXT.