Warren Buffett sees strong rail system as key to U.S. growth






In
Matt Rose’s 10 years at the helm of BNSF, he’d heard plenty of investors talk about quarterly performance. A few
would even talk about the railroad’s annual performance, Dan Reed writes in USA
TODAY. Then on Feb. 12, he answered a call from Warren Buffett, the legendary investor who looks for long-term return
and whose Berkshire Hathaway holding company had just closed on its $26-billion
purchase of the 77 percent of BNSF shares it didn’t already own.

UP investing $6 million for track improvements in Kansas






Union Pacific will improve
part of Kansas’ transportation infrastructure with a $6-million investment to
its rail line that runs from Wichita to near Caldwell, Kan.

Caltrain to hold community meeting for San Bruno grade separation






Caltrain will hold a
community meeting March 31 to present information about the San Bruno Grade
Separation Project. The $165-million project will elevate the Caltrain tracks
above San Bruno, San Mateo and Angus avenues. A new elevated train station
between San Bruno and San Mateo avenues will replace the existing station. The
project also includes three pedestrian underpasses, one near Sylvan Avenue, one
at the new station and another between Euclid Avenue and Walnut Street.

BMWED system federations to merge






The Executive Boards of
the Unified System Division and the Pacific Federation, both divisions of the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, said a merger between the two federations will take
affect April 1, 2010. The newly created federation will retain the name,
Unified System Division.

D.C. Metro selects ENSCO to develop its own track inspection vehicle






As Metro seeks to gain a
much more complete and detailed "picture" of its track conditions,
Metro has selected ENSCO, Inc., to develop and construct a special rail car
known as a track geometry vehicle, which is used to inspect track conditions
and identify any possible flaws. 

A track geometry vehicle is an automated
track inspection vehicle that can test several geometric parameters of the
track without obstructing normal passenger rail service. The parameters
generally measured include track position, curvature, distance between the
rails, alignment, smoothness, and the crosslevel of the two rails.

Metro to conduct five community meetings for Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project






The Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will conduct five station area
and maintenance facility-planning workshops in late March as part of the
environmental review process for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project.

Reduced sales tax forecast prompts review of DART operations, future capital projects






Lagging sales tax receipts
resulting in lower long-term revenue forecasts in the 13 member cities are
prompting Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to review all expenses including
operations, administration and future capital projects, officials said.

They’ve been working on the railroad to make the tracks smoother






Sparks have been flying
along Yuba-Sutter railroad tracks near Marysville, Calif., in the last few days,
the Appeal-Democrat reports. Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. wrapped up its
periodic grinding of area Union Pacific rails March 22 after smoothing nearly
100 miles of local tracks. The routine maintenance eliminates cracks caused by
typical train traffic.

No parking at LIRR Mineola Intermodal Center March 27-28






Work to upgrade the
electrical system at the Mineola Intermodal Center will make it necessary to
close the four-level parking facility on the weekend of March 27 and 28. The
seven Long Island Bus routes will still operate as will Long Island Rail Road
train service at the Mineola station. However, shutting off the electricity so
the system upgrades can be done will affect the lights, LIRR ticket selling
machine in the Center’s pedestrian overpass, electronic signs and elevators
serving the Center’s overpass.

LA mayor touts transit plan






Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, who leads the second-largest U.S. city, said his plan to
accelerate public-transit construction with a mix of local funding and federal
aid can be used elsewhere as well, Bloomberg reports.

GCRTA Board highlights






The Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority passed five resolutions at its recent meeting, including: To commit $45,500
for Standard Contracting and Engineering Inc. to reconstruct the sidewalks and
entrance to the West 25th Street station to meet ADA regulations.
The firm is also working on replacing the station stairs. The station will be
closed for one week during April or May, but it will be open for the Indians
home opener on April 12. RTA will give a two-week notice before closing the
station. About 80 percent of the work is being done with federal funds.

D.C. Metrorail increases speeds on Red Line






Metro in Washington, D.C., has increased the
speeds of Red Line trains between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metrorail
stations as track maintenance personnel continue to replace rail and rail
fasteners during the overnight hours when the system is closed. 

Inbound Red
Line trains traveling in the direction of Glenmont are operating at normal
speeds, up to 59 mph. Outbound trains traveling in the direction of Shady Grove
between Friendship Heights and Bethesda are operating at 35 to 40 mph. Metro
anticipates having trains return to their normal speeds by next week. 



 

Capital MetroRail Rolls Out Service in Austin, Texas






On March 22, Capital
Metro marked a momentous milestone as the transit agency welcomed its first
passengers on Capital MetroRail, the first modern passenger rail system in
Central Texas.

Massachusetts nominates Davey MBTA general manager






Governor Deval Patrick and
Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Jeffrey Mullan appointed
Richard A. Davey as MassDOT’s new Rail and Transit Administrator.

Multimillion-dollar rail projects to begin in Vancouver, Wash.






A slew of west Vancouver,
Wash., railroad construction projects appear to be on the fast-track to begin
construction this spring, The Columbian reports.

Seattle Sound Transit construction update






Before the excavation
of the Capitol Hill Station of the University Link light rail project can
begin, there is a great deal of work needed to prepare the site. To
prevent the sides of the excavation from collapsing once excavation begins, the
contractor will use walls made of soldier piles and lagging. Steel beams are
dug into the ground, and wooden or steel planks are placed between the beams to
hold the earth in place.

 

Despite $40million kick, South Dakota rail yard unmoved






The plan to relocate a rail
switching yard in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D., got a $40-million boost five
years ago, but the project hasn’t even begun, the Argus Leader reports. Though
the project was scheduled to be completed 2009, the city still is working its
way through an environmental review that could take the rest of this year.

Amtrak reorganizing to advance high-speed rail in America






Amtrak said it is
reorganizing and establishing a new department to pursue opportunities to
develop new intercity high-speed rail service in select corridors around the
country and to plan for major improvements on the Northeast Corridor, including
determining the feasibility of increasing top speeds up to 220 mph.

MTA Metro-North, LIRR change schedules for infrastructure work






MTA Metro-North
Railroad’s new April 11 timetable will make temporary, minor schedule changes
on all three lines to allow for track maintenance projects. On the Upper Hudson
Line, schedule adjustments will allow for installation of concrete ties until
June 2010. Poughkeepsie, New Hamburg and Beacon customers in all time periods
will be affected by schedule changes requiring trains to depart earlier or
later, and in some cases, to travel up to seven minutes slower or 10 minutes
faster.

D.C. Metrorail speed restrictions in place on Red Line






Washington, D.C.’s Metro
has a 15 mph speed restriction in place on the Red Line between the Friendship
Heights and Bethesda Metrorail stations due to track work that is taking place
during the overnight hours to change out rail and rail fasteners. 

The speed
restrictions were installed late the week of March 15 after an assessment
identified the immediate need to replace running rail and fasteners on both
tracks between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metrorail stations.

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