News and Opinion

J.L. Patterson & Associates to assist with Oregon high-speed rail






J.L. Patterson &
Associates, Inc., a transportation-engineering firm providing engineering
design, construction management and staff augmentation to public and private
sector clientele, as a sub-consultant to David Evans and Associates, Inc., will
be providing engineering design management, track design and structures design
services for the Oregon Department of Transportation’s High Speed Intercity
Passenger Rail Project. The scope of work includes National Environmental
Policy Act and Preliminary Engineering Services.

BNSF upgrading Wyoming tracks






BNSF plans to spend $84
million on track improvements in Wyoming this year, the Casper Star-Tribune
reports. Major projects will include rail, tie and surfacing work, BNSF
spokesman Gus Melonas said.

Houston METRO president and CEO resigns; Greanias interim CEO






Houston METRO President
& CEO Frank J. Wilson has resigned. The METRO Board of Directors accepted
his resignation at a Special Board meeting, May 7. As part of the resignation,
the Board authorized Chairman Gilbert Garcia to sign a Mutual Termination and
General Release agreement with Wilson. This agreement is posted on METRO’s Web
site.

Crossfield takes reins of Invensys Rail Northern Europe






Multinational railway signaling
and train control provider Invensys Rail has appointed former Network Rail
director Nick Crossfield as its new managing director for its Northern Europe
division. He takes the helm of the division in June and succeeds Mark Wild who
has been acting managing director since November 2009.

FRA publishes proposed rule for high-speed, high cant






According to a notice
published in the May 10 Federal Register, the Federal Railroad Administration
is proposing to amend the Track Safety Standards and Passenger Equipment Safety
Standards applicable to high-speed and high- cant-deficiency train operations
in order to promote the safe interaction of rail vehicles with the track over
which they operate.

Amberg system saves months of fieldwork on SMART Project






The Sonoma-Marin Area
Rail Transit (SMART) is an initiative in Northern California to provide a new
passenger rail service along 70 miles of an existing Northwestern Pacific
corridor. With the corridor having been out of service since 1994, the lead
designer, HDR Engineering, required a high precision, as-built track geometry
survey of the existing infrastructure.

Joliet intermodal project touting itself as a ‘recession buster’






The industrial city within
a city is taking shape on the south end of Joliet. Ill., the Herald-News
reports. CenterPoint Intermodal Center-Joliet — a 4,000-acre, $2-billion
project that is changing the landscape of a once rural edge of the city — will
begin to become a working industrial center in the coming months.

Economic impact of CSXT’s planned yard expansion in Worcester, Mass.






A planned $100-million
expansion of CSX Transportation’s freight rail facilities near Franklin Street
in Worcester, Mass., has been heralded by state and local officials as a major
boon for economic development, the Worcester Business Journal reports. But just
how many jobs the expansion will create, and what the impact on the local
neighborhood will be, remains to be seen.

Woodside locals irked as Amtrak takes the ax to more than 100 trees






The federal stimulus may
be pumping greenbacks into the economy but it’s also making a part of Woodside,
N.Y., distinctly less green, the New York Daily News reports. Locals are
steamed over Amtrak’s brush-clearing effort that recently chopped down more
than a hundred mature trees along rails running parallel to Northern Blvd.

FRA proposes rule for high-speed train service






The Federal Railroad
Administration has announced proposed rules to amend the Track Safety Standards
and Passenger Equipment Safety Standards for high-speed and high-cant-deficiency
train operations to promote safer rail vehicle and track interaction.

CTA Brown Line trains unable to enter Loop early morning, May 9






Chicago Transit Authority Brown
Line trains will be unable to enter the Loop from approximately 7:15 a.m. until
1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 9, due to structural maintenance work on the Wells Street
Bridge. During this time, shuttle buses will replace rail service between the
Merchandise Mart and the Clark/Lake stations. Brown Line trains will operate
normally between the Kimball and Merchandise Mart stations.


Panel approves engineering for Milwaukee streetcars






A study committee voted to
start preliminary engineering on a $95.8-million downtown Milwaukee modern
streetcar line, the Journal Sentinel reports. The Milwaukee Connector study committee voted, 3-1, to seek Federal Transit
Administration approval for the engineering work on the streetcar, which would link downtown attractions to the lower
east side with trips every 10 or 15 minutes, from early morning to late at
night, seven days a week, for $1 a ride.

Local rail improvements focus on safety






Travelers heading to
Washington, D.C., will be whizzing through University City, N.C., at 90 mph
sometime in the next few years, and that is causing rail officials in Raleigh
to look at changes to protect Charlotte’s drivers, residents and trains, Carolina
Weekly reports. Improvements are planned for 12 miles of the existing track
starting south of N.C. 49 near Concord and reaching all the way to Orr Road in
the University City area. The project is just one of a number of projects the
N.C. Railroad/Norfolk Southern Railway plan along a much larger section of
track.

Metra’s Pagano killed by train

Phil Pagano, Metra executive director, who was under investigation for financial misconduct, was struck and killed by a train in an unincorporated area of Crystal Lake, Ill.

 

Metra released the following statement from its Board of Directors:

"It is with great sadness that we report the passing this morning of Philip A. Pagano.

"Phil served this agency with distinction for many years. Today, we shall remember the good work he achieved with our board of directors and the men and women of Metra. He was dedicated to our passengers and he always considered the men and women of Metra his family and there is a tremendous sense of loss within the agency.

"We shall remember him as a dedicated husband, father and grandfather who loved his family more than anyone. Our deepest sympathies as well as our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and all those who loved him."

Illinois lawmakers back Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed train






Illinois lawmakers signaled
their support for a 220-mph high-speed passenger train that could someday
connect Chicago and St. Louis, The Quad-City Times reports. On May 5, the State
Senate unanimously approved a resolution creating the Illinois and Midwest
High-Speed Rail Commission, which will recommend ways to design, build and
maintain the train route. Members of the commission will be appointed by the
governor and lawmakers.

Memphis rail link to Nashville closed






The main railroad between
Memphis and Nashville has been knocked out of service, as the flood damaged
five bridges along the route, the Tennessean reports. The Memphis line has been
shut down since May 2, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
and CSX Transportation, the line’s owner. Workers were assessing damage, but
the flood appears to have washed out two bridges over the Harpeth River and
rendered three others unusable.

Sierra Northern railroad purchase advancing






Sierra Northern Railway
Engine No. 48 rumbles slowly down the tacks toward Watsonville, Calif. A
growling, 125-ton rolling box of steel and fuel, its form or one similar has
hauled people and goods along the 32 miles of the Santa Cruz Branch Line
railroad since 1881. Beneath it, the tracks and the land at least 20 feet on
either side are owned by Union Pacific, as old and imposing a company as you’ll
find in American business. And until the Cemex cement plant in Davenport closed
down in January, Cliff Walters and Wes Swift, the engineer and conductor inside
the train, had plenty of work driving loads both north and south of Santa Cruz,
their bosses at Sierra making a modest but steady profit while turning over
lease payments in cash and services to UP like clockwork.