APTA president says new Climate and Energy Bill diverts transit funds






"The climate change and energy draft
legislation ‘The  American Power Act’ proposed by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.)
and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) undermines investment in one of the most-effective
tools consumers use to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and combat climate
change – public transportation," says a statement by American Public
Transportation Association President William Millar. The current climate change
and energy proposal diverts the vast majority of new transportation revenue to
areas other than public transit and transportation investment.

LA official praise state action on Positive Train Control funding






(The following statement
s issued by Los Angeles Metro CEO Art Leahy, with quotes from Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa and MTA Board Chair Ara Najarian.) Today’s action by the
California Transportation Commission (CTC) approving funding for Positive Train
Control is a major victory for our region. PTC is a major safety enhancement
for passenger rail service throughout the region.

Hurdle remains on CSXT’s Worcester, Mass., project






While Worcester, mass., City
Manager Michael V. O’Brien has committed to coming back to the City Council in
three weeks with a deal to address issues associated with CSX Transportation’s.
freight yard expansion plan, some doubts are being raised about whether the
biggest obstacle – finding a new roadway connection from Shrewsbury Street to
Franklin Street – can be achieved, the Telegram & Gazette reports.

D.C. Metro GM says improved safety, reliability plan in place






Washington, D.C., Metro
General Manager Richard Sarles testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the U.S.
Senate Committee on Appropriations May 19 and reiterated the transit agency’s
request for $150 million in fiscal year 2011. 

In doing so, Sarles provided a
description of his back-to-basics action plan to improve the safety and service
reliability of the Metro system.




Benton City railroad bridges to be finished May 20






Crews were working
through the night to finish two railroad bridges in Benton City, Wash., by 6
a.m. May 20, the Bellingham Herald reports. Construction of the BNSF ballast-deck
bridges with concrete girders started early May 19. Both are 121 feet long and
will allow traffic to pass under the railroad tracks.

Hampton Roads, Va., light Rail stations to be completed this summer






The Norfolk Light Rail station
at Norfolk State University is one of 11 Light Rail stations that will run on
the 7.4 miles of track from Eastern Virginia Medical School to Newtown Road,
local media report. It’s the only station that will sit high above city streets
and will have an elevator for passengers.

Rail facility would boost Boise






The city of Boise, Idaho,
will move forward with a new study that could improve the freight rail system
in the Treasure Valley, television station KTVB reports. Mayor Dave Bieter
calls this a "major step forward" in Boise’s economic future. If this
facility is built, it will be the only one of its kind between Ogden, Utah, and
Portland, Oregon. The facility would allow freight cargo to go from
rail-to-truck and vice versa.

Washington, D.C., Metrorail temporary delays May 21-23






Customers can expect
lengthy delays of up to 30 minutes May 21-23 as old track components are
replaced on Washington, D.C., Metrorail’s Red, Orange and Green lines, causing
inbound and outbound trains to take turns sharing one track on portions of the
rail system. 



Port Authority Board approves purchase, redevelopment of Greenville Yards






The Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners authorized the agency to move ahead
with the purchase and redevelopment of Greenville Yards, a century-old rail
yard in Jersey City, N.J., that will serve as the lynchpin to removing up to
360,000 trash trucks annually from trans-Hudson crossings and New Jersey
highways by moving New York City’s sealed containerized solid waste and other
commodities by barge and rail when appropriate facilities are completed by
2013.

Holland Co. uses Ex-Im Bank to support export to Brazil

Holland L.P., based in
Crete, Ill., is using a medium-term insurance policy from the Export-Import
Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to support its export of railroad-track
equipment to a private-sector buyer in Brazil.

Unitrac captures $2.2-million Metro North trackwork contract






Unitrac Railroad
Materials, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Healey Railroad Corporation and a
specialty trackwork manufacturer and distributor of new and relay rail, has
been awarded a $2.2-million special trackwork contract from Metro North.


FTA Administrator Rogoff: Improving transit means making difficult choices






Federal Transit
Administrator Peter Rogoff told business and transit stakeholders gathered in
Boston that the Obama Administration is committed to keeping the nation’s
transit systems efficient and maintained and asked for a similar commitment
from them.

Cleveland RTA Board approves contracts






During the regular
meeting, the Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority Board adopted 10
resolutions, including: 2010-35, Authorizing a $150,000 contract with Standard Contracting
and Engineering Inc. of
Brook Park to install upgraded ADA ramps and sidewalks at the Flats-East Bank
Rapid Station on the Waterfront Line, the West 98-Cudell Rapid Station on the
Red Line, the Parma Transit Center, the North Coast Rapid Station eastbound
platform on the Waterfront Line, the West Third Street Rapid Station eastbound
platform on the Waterfront Line, and the Euclid Park-N-Ride lot. The bid is 49
percent lower than the engineer’s estimate.


Proposal could save shortline railway






Industry has proposed an
agreement that, with government assistance, might keep rail service in Grand
Forks, B.C., said Mayor Brian Taylor. A group of shippers that use the
railway, including Pacific Abrasives and Interfor, contacted Omnitrax, which
owns the Kettle Falls International Railroad, the Grand Forks Gazette reports.

Rail Industry Honors Annual Safety Achievements at E.H. Harriman Awards






America’s railroads honored
the industry’s safety achievements and celebrated railroads with the best
employee safety records at the annual E.H. Harriman Awards. According to the
Association of American Railroads (AAR), 2009 was the safest year ever for
railroads, with significant milestones achieved across the board in reduced
train accidents, employee casualties and grade crossing collisions

Cattron Group InternationalTM adds new manufacturer representatives in Mexico






Cattron Group
InternationalTM, a leading global manufacturer of remote control products and
professional services for the industrial, mining, commercial mobile and
railroad markets, has contracted with TTechTrain SA de CV to represent the
company in Mexico. They will handle all brands for the Industrial and Rail
markets. Andres Duncan and Susana Duncan, along with their colleagues, have a
combined experience of 86 years providing service to the railroad industry in
the Americas.


Barix Audio over IP Devices to support public address at NJ TRANSIT

Barix AG said that NJ
TRANSIT has standardized on Barix Audio over IP equipment for IP-based
distribution of public address (PA) announcements at rail and bus stations
across the state.

TriMet breaks ground on new MAX station






TriMet, elected officials
and project partners in the Portland, Ore., area broke ground on a new MAX
station that has been in the works since 1997. The future Civic Drive Station
will be the 85th along the entire 52-mile MAX system. The Civic Drive Station
is located along the MAX Blue Line tracks at Civic Drive in Gresham.

Agreement reach on site needed for MBTA Green Line extension facility






The Massachusetts
Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Congressman Michael Capuano and
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone said there is now an agreement on a new
preferred site for a maintenance and storage facility needed for the Green Line
extension to Somerville and Medford.

Controversial BNSF rail hub will get $35 million from State of Kansas






Veiled
by the Kansas debate over cutting state services or raising taxes was a $35-million
gem that lawmakers left for BNSF, The Kansas City Star reports. As the
Legislature passed a sales tax increase to avoid deep spending cuts, it also
cut a deal that will allow BNSF to start work this year on a controversial
Johnson County freight hub that has been delayed by the recession.

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