Wisconsin short line rehab hits snag






Funding has fallen through
on a $15-million project to rebuild an abandoned freight-rail line from
Plymouth to Sheboygan Falls, Wis., and Sheboygan County officials now are
working to secure federal dollars to get the stalled plan moving again, the
Sheboygan Press reports. The project, which proponents say will spur new
development along the approximately 15-mile rail corridor, looked like a done
deal last fall after the state agreed to pitch in $12 million toward the
effort.

Houston METRO thanks congressional delegation for federal funds






The Board and staff of
the NEW METRO in Houston expressed their appreciation to U.S.
Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn for their strong
support and significant efforts to secure another $150 million for the
North and Southeast Corridor light- rail lines, as the Senate
Appropriations Committee approved the FY2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Appropriations bill July 22.

New Lenox, Ill., moves toward rail quiet zone






New Lenox, Ill., took the
first step to establish quiet zones along the Canadian National tracks, the
Southtown Star reports. At the July 26 village board meeting, trustees approved
hiring Christopher Burke Engineering to study what improvements are necessary
to qualify for a quiet zone and the costs involved. The firm’s fee will not
exceed $11,000.

National Gateway shows public benefits at NCSL Legislative Summit






Representatives of the
National Gateway will discuss a broad range of environmental, business and
economic benefits with legislators, business representatives and government
officials this week at the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)
Legislative Summit 2010. The NCSL Legislative Summit, a major public policy
conference featuring thousands of state lawmakers and legislative staff, is
being held from July 25-28 in Lexington, Ken.

Durbin upbeat on high-speed rail in Illinois






Sen. Dick Durbin said July
23 that giving the Union Pacific Railroad $98.3 million in federal money for
track improvements without an agreement in place to allow high-speed passenger
rail is still a good idea, The Springfield, Ill., State Journal-Register
reports.

U.S. DOT confirms $300 million for Denver Union Station redevelopment







U.S. Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood said that the Denver Union Station project will receive just over
$300 million in federal loans through an unprecedented and historic innovative
financing arrangement using the Department of Transportation’s Railroad Rehabilitation
and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program and the Transportation Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program. The project is funded with a unique
financing structure and for the first time combines credit assistance from both
programs.

Amtrak & NJT: Why not share tunnels?






Can two rail agencies share
a set of new tunnels under the Hudson River to midtown Manhattan and save
billions of dollars, instead of building separate tubes under the Hudson River?
asks the Asbury Park, N.J., Press.

Land is being cleared, leveled for new bypass track in Vancouver, Wash.






Excavators are eating
into a slope above BNSF’s main line in the Fruit Valley neighborhood, the Columbian
reports. The work is to prepare the site for a 3.2-mile-long set of bypass
tracks designed to help ease a railroad chokepoint in Vancouver, Wash. The new
line will run along the east side of the BNSF main line from downtown Vancouver
all the way to the Fruit Valley Road overpass.

CSXT project to replace miles of ties in Michigan






More than a century ago,
gangs of burly men would lay railroad ties at a snail’s pace, driving them in
with sledgehammers, the Lansing, Mich., State Journal reports. Today, the work
proceeds more quickly with large hydraulic machines, but still not fast enough
to avoid causing headaches for motorists facing traffic backups and detours.

Mississippi State develops treatment to extend life of railroad ties






In 1985, a young and
energetic Mississippi State University forest products professor began testing
a new treatment on railroad crossties, the Starkville, Miss., Daily News
reports. At the time, Terry Amburgey had little notion that his experiment
would change railroad infrastructure almost 25 years later.

KCS opens Anahuac Bridge; cross-border traffic resumes on Nuevo Laredo gateway






Kansas City Southern reported
that its Mexican subsidiary, Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
(KCSM) has worked throughout the weekend on the Anahuac Bridge and re-opened
the bridge at 5:55 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. KCSM began running trains on the
re-opened line immediately.

Quiet Zone reduces noise of trains passing through St. Joseph, Mo.






Local residents and hotel
guests will sleep sounder now that routine horn blowing by trains passing
through downtown St. Joseph is diminished due to a joint project between the
city, the Missouri Department of Transportation and BNSF, local media report.


Work is now complete on safety improvements at several rail crossings that make
the city of St. Joseph eligible for a federal quiet zone designation.

Metro restoring services after Sunday storm knocked out power






Metro officials in the
Washington, D.C., area, worked throughout the night to mitigate the impact of
Sunday’s thunderstorms to Metrorail service Monday, July 26. Sunday’s storms
knocked out power to much of the region, including rail stations and rail yards.
However the effect of the storm on Monday’s rail service was expected to be
minimal.

Miami-Dade Transit reopens entire Metromover System






At 5 a.m. on Monday, July
26, Miami-Dade Transit resumed regular service on the entire Metromover system,
including the Brickell segment of Metromover’s Outer Loop. The Inner Loop and
Omni segment of the Outer Loop were reopened on Friday, July 23, 2010.

Caltrain construction, maintenance: July 24-30






From Sunday, July 25, to
Thursday, July 29, crews are continuing a project that will improve rail
crossings at Mary and Sunnyvale avenues in Sunnyvale. Crews will grade and
trench the site and install foundations for the improvements. They also will
make wiring modifications in the signal houses. The work is part of a VTA
project to improve safety at eight crossings in Sunnyvale, Mountain View and
Palo Alto.


Governor Quinn: $500-million investment in Illinois mass transit






Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
announced more than $500 million for critical mass transit infrastructure
improvements throughout Illinois. The funding, provided through the Illinois
Jobs Now! capital construction program, will create and retain an estimated
18,000 jobs and improve traveler safety.

Sound Transit Board completes identification of preferred East Link route






The
Sound Transit Board completed work defining a preferred alternative for the
East Link light rail project by selecting specific configuration options for a
future route on 112th Avenue South in Bellevue, Wash.

U.S. DOT gives go-ahead to begin some CREATE projects






In February, U.S.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $100 million in American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act funds for projects to help reduce rail bottlenecks in the
Chicago region. On July 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the
Illinois Department of Transportation finalized a grant agreement for the
CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program to
begin work on those projects.

 Secretary LaHood said freight congestion
mitigation projects include new traffic control systems, track and bridge work,
a highway-rail grade separation and safety improvements on various rail viaducts.

STB issues draft EIS for R. J. Corman Pennsylvania line






The Surface Transportation
Board said its Section of Environmental Analysis has issued the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the R. J. Corman Railroad
Company/Pennsylvania Lines Inc. (RJCP) proposed construction, operation, and
reactivation of a 20-mile railroad line between Wallaceton and Gorton, in
Clearfield and Centre Counties, Pennsylvania.

Sound Transit expands Sounder south service






The Seattle-area Sound
Transit board of directors took a major step towards delivering the Sounder
commuter rail expansions that voters approved in 2008 by authorizing the
purchase of rights to four additional south line Sounder round trips.

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