News and Opinion

LA Metro receives federal support for 30/10, Subway Extension






Ara Najarian, Board chairman,
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said: "Los Angeles
County received a double dose of good news June 4 from Washington, which I find
very encouraging. Senator Barbara Boxer said that the Obama Administration is
accelerating consideration of the subway extension project to Westwood by
having the Federal Transit Administration weigh our bid for federal funding for
the entire nine-mile segment rather than break it up in three phases. That’s
significant because it means when federal funding is secured we can build the
entire project at once, which would greatly accelerate the completion schedule
and help reduce costs because we beat inflation.

Opinion: Don’t regulate freight rail system






(This column by Rep. Bill
Shuster (R-Pa.) appeared at RollCall.com.) America has the greatest
freight rail network in the world. Our system is the most efficient of its kind
and essentially relies on no subsidies from the federal government. More than a
century ago, America’s railroads ushered in the great advancements in industry
that sparked America’s emergence as an economic power on the world stage.
America’s railroads revolutionized transportation, gave promise to freedom of
movement and made business more efficient.

Connecticut to apply for funds for New Haven-Springfield line






The Connecticut Department
of Transportation plans to apply for $400 million to $500 million in federal
grants this summer to upgrade the New Haven to Springfield rail line, the
Hartford Courant reports. Should the project receive funding, it would be a
potential bonanza for central Connecticut residents who use I-91 to commute to
Fairfield County or New York City.

Editorial: Group effort gets CSX plans on right track






It turns out that you can
fight CSX railroad – with a little help from your friends, according to an editorial
in the St. Petersburg Times. CSX, which owns tracks crisscrossing Pinellas
County, has a reputation for being difficult for local governments and
neighborhoods to work with. Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard ran smack into that
reputation for recalcitrance when he tried to get the company to change its
plans for repairing railroad crossings downtown.

Winter Park tree-clearing project begins






Work begins Monday on a
massive logging project that will remove some 10,000 trees along Union
Pacific’s right of way through the center of Winter Park, Colo., Sky-Hi News
reports. On June 1, Winter Park Town Council approved a contract with Willow
Creek Logging for the removal of trees within the 200-foot wide right of way,
stretching from Kings Crossing to Moffat Tunnel.

Frankfort, Mokena, Ill., one step closer to quiet zones






Frankfort and Mokena,
Ill., could become quiet zones for passing trains, but it’s likely to take
months before residents get relief from the locomotives’ blaring horns, The
Herald News reports. The Federal Railroad Administration agreed in a letter to
allow the villages to go ahead with plans to make the necessary railroad
crossing safety upgrades needed before trains on the Canadian National Railway
line can be prohibited from sounding their horns. The upgrades may take until
next spring to complete, Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland said.

One step closer to Toronto’s Sheppard East LRT






Infrastructure Ontario
has released a request for qualifications to pre-qualify and shortlist project
teams to design, build, finance and maintain a new maintenance and storage
facility for new light rail vehicles that will operate on the Sheppard East
Light Rail Transit and Scarborough LRT projects. The maintenance and storage
facility will be constructed on the corner of Sheppard Avenue and Conlins Road
in Scarborough.

MTA, NYPA unveil solar-powered hot water heating system






The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority and New York Power Authority unveiled an advanced
rooftop-mounted solar thermal array that heats hot water used to wash subway
cars at New York City Transit’s Coney Island Overhaul Shop and Maintenance
Facility. By lessening New York City Transit’s need for electricity, the array
will lower the agency’s power bill by $94,000 and avoid 86 tons of carbon
dioxide emissions per year.

KCS to demolish former locomotive maintenance facility in Pittsburg, Kan.






Having obtained the
required permits and made the appropriate notifications, The Kansas City
Southern Railway Company said that it would begin staging equipment for the
demolition of its former locomotive maintenance facility at 1700 Stilwell in
Pittsburg, Kan., next week. The entire demolition process is anticipated to
take approximately three months.

California high-speed rail route advances






The list of potential
routes for California’s planned high-speed rail system in the San Joaquin
Valley grew slightly smaller June 3, the Fresno Bee reports. Meeting in
Sacramento, the state High Speed Rail Authority board approved further study on
three routes through Fresno. All of them adjoin the Union Pacific and all
include elevated tracks up to 60 feet high.

Owen Sound, Ont., railway plan stalled for now






Any prospect of bringing
rail service back to Owen Sound, Ont., is still getting back on track well down
the line, the Owen Sound Sun Times reports. While a north-south line linking
Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario "remains the company’s vision," progress
by the Highland Companies toward that goal has been sidelined by processes
sometimes beyond its control, Michael Daniher, the company’s spokesman, said in
an interview.

Single tracking at BART Balboa Park Station may cause delays June 6






On Sunday, June 6, 2010, BART
construction crews will need to shut down one of the tracks at Balboa Park Station,
which may result in delays of up to 10 minutes in both directions. In addition,
customers heading east and getting off at any station on the Dublin/Pleasanton
line will need to transfer at 24th Street/Mission Station because trains going
to and from Dublin/Pleasanton will operate only as far as 24th Street/Mission Street
Station on that day. 

Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel closed June 12-13






On Saturday and Sunday,
June 12-13, there will be a two-day closure of the Downtown Seattle Transit
Tunnel for engineering work. Sound Transit will be providing a free bus bridge
between Westlake Station and the SODO Station for light rail passengers during
the tunnel closure. All Metro tunnel bus routes will use surface streets that
weekend.


New auxiliary entrance on Archer opens at CTA Cermak-Chinatown Station






CTA President Richard L.
Rodriguez and Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson said the agency opened
a new entrance to the Red Line’s Cermak-Chinatown station. Located
approximately one block north of Cermak on Archer Avenue, the new entrance will
serve as the primary access point for customers while the main entrance to the
station on the north side of Cermak is reconstructed and made accessible. The
south entrance on Cermak also will be closed to customers beginning June 4 at
11 p.m.

Axion selling plastic ties to Moroccan National Railway






Axion International received
its first two purchase orders for railroad crossties made out of Recycled
Structural Composite (RSC) from Moroccan National Railway Company (ONCF). ONCF
operates more than 1,100 miles of track throughout Morocco and carried more
than 29 million passengers last year.

Herbicide spray dispute ensnares Alaska Railroad






The State of Alaska has
approved herbicide spraying along the Alaska Railroad tracks for the first time
in decades, but tribal and environmental groups from Eklutna to Seward are
asking the state to reverse its decision, the Anchorage Daily News reports.