The governor’s office
remains hopeful that Iowa and Illinois will secure funding to establish a passenger
rail route from Iowa City to Chicago when federal dollars are handed out next
month, the Iowa City Press Citizen reports.
Union Pacific is investing
nearly $9 million to improve the rail line from Ogallala, Neb., to near
Cheyenne, Wyo. Work on two projects covering more than an 85-mile stretch of
railroad track began August 8 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-September.
One section is between west of Ogallala to Julesburg, Neb., and the second
project is west of Sidney, Neb., to near Cheyenne, Wyo.
With the gray cement of San
Francisco’s old Transbay Transit Terminal as a backdrop, on August 11 officials stood before
a flashy white placard with an orange "T" emblazoned on its face and
broke ground on a new transit center, the San Francisco Appeal reports. The
Transbay Transit Center, which is planned to act as the terminus station for
the nation’s first high-speed rail system, has been dubbed the "Grand
Central Station of the West Coast."
County officials say the
rehabilitation of the Chester Branch Railroad, a four-mile rail line extending
from Wharton, N.J., and terminating in Roxbury Township, is under way and
should be completed within four to five months, the Roxbury Register reports.
No decision is expected on
the location of the Lakeland-area station for the Florida High Speed Rail until
late next year, the Polk County Transportation Planning Organization was told August
12, according to the Lakeland Ledger. Two locations, one near the USF
Polytechnic campus that would be built at Interstate 4 and the Polk Parkway and
the other Kathleen Road, are being considered.
Despite hefty fines and
warnings from Canadian Pacific Railway, Mile End and Rosemont residents are
taking matters -and pliers -into their own hands as they wait for the city, the
two boroughs and the railway to decide on building a pedestrian level crossing
on the railroad tracks separating the two neighborhoods, The Gazette reports.
In conjunction with
the Concourse Improvement project, PATCO’s Chestnut Street concourse and
8th/Market South entrance/exit will be closed from 7 p.m. on Saturday,
August 28, through 5 a.m. on Monday, August 30.
August 13-15, Metro in the
Washington, D.C., area, will upgrade its track on the Orange, Yellow and Green
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.
Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.,
an industry-leading rail infrastructure contractor, as part of the Denver
Transit Partners (DTP) team, reached financial close and received official
notice to proceed from the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to
construct the multi-billion dollar Eagle P3 commuter rail project. The DTP team
will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 Project.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 26, 2010.
Union Pacific will enhance
rail efficiency in the eastern part of Oregon by investing approximately $16.5
million to improve its rail line that runs from Arlington to Huntington, Ore. Work
on the 200-mile stretch of railroad tracks is under way in the La Grande area
paralleling I-84. Crews of 60 to 100 are working to replace railroad ties with
an assembly line of mechanized equipment. The project includes removing and
installing new rail on curves and replacing more than 148,000 railroad ties.
Crews also will spread 62,000 tons of rock ballast.
As part of the Vision for
the New England High Speed and Intercity Rail Network, the Patrick-Murray
Administration in Massachusetts has submitted formal application for federal
High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail funds for the design phase of the
Boston South Station Expansion Project.
The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority in New York unveiled a new on-line Dashboard that will
enable the public to track the progress of the MTA’s various capital projects.
This new web tool will feature a user-friendly interactive system that will
provide information on project scopes, budgets, and schedules, all easily
accessible on the MTA’s web site, www.mta.info.
TKDA was selected as part of a design-build team with George Allen Construction to complete Mobility First improvements at Amtrak’s passenger stations in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. The work is part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
A study beginning later this month is a key step to help port and logistics leaders figure out how and where they will build a railroad terminal that the Jacksonville, Fla., port needs to stay competitive with other Southeast ports, the Jacksonville Business Journal reports. A facility or facilities where containers can be loaded and unloaded off rail cars – called an intermodal container terminal – isn’t needed now because there aren’t enough shipping containers coming through the port.
Patriot Rail is on board
to operate the restored Piedmont & Northern rail corridor in Gaston County,
N.C., for at least five years, according to an agreement signed last week with
the N.C. Department of Transportation, the Gaston Gazette reports. The
Boca-Raton, Fla.-based short line and regional railroad company should restore
freight service in the next 45 days on four miles of track upgraded in late
2009 between Gastonia and Ranlo. Another nine miles of the state-owned P&N
corridor from Ranlo to Mount Holly should be upgraded by spring 2011.
Deputy Managing Director
for Emergency Management MaryAnn E. Tierney and SEPTA General Manager Joseph M.
Casey said that SEPTA alerts are now offered through ReadyNotifyPA, the City of
Philadelphia’s emergency text and e-mail alert system. The new alerts will
provide SEPTA riders with another avenue to receive real-time information on
delays and service interruptions. The announcement came during a press
conference on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 in SEPTA’s Control Center.
Metro Blue Line
passengers in the Los Angeles area will experience travel delays of up to 40
minutes for the next two weekends beginning this Friday night, August 13, due
to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro
Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Special Metro Bus bridge service will
parallel the train route during the construction work.
Vossloh has concluded
with Trafikverket, the Swedish infrastructure authority, a framework agreement
for supplying a new type of in-sleeper actuation system for switches and
crossings over a period of 10 years, including an option for five more years.
The total contract value is above €100 million (about $128 million). Fully
integrated into the sleeper, the system chosen by Trafikverket is a customized
version of the Easyswitch actuation system previously developed by Vossloh
Cogifer.
Miami-Dade Transit
continues its progress on the construction of the AirportLink Metrorail
extension and will now be connecting the first section of the guideway to the
new Miami International Airport Metrorail Station. Several roads will be closed in the next week to accommodate
work.
Patriot Rail Corp., a privately-held short line and regional freight railroad holding company, has agreed in principle to purchase the shortline railroad assets of Weyerhaeuser Company. The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions, including Patriot’s due diligence and regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010.