News and Opinion

City wants to pursue higher priced railroad repairs






Britt, Iowa, city
officials are considering a costlier option in an effort to avoid future
repairs to several damaged railroad crossings within the city, the Britt Summit
reports. At its regular February meeting, the Britt City Council instructed
Mayor David Mitchell to continue exploring a reconstruction option for three
separate crossings throughout the city, an option that could cost the city an
additional $10-12,000 per crossing but ensure a longer life span for each
track.

 

Miami-Dade Transit renames Metromover facility to honor employee 







During a special
ceremony on Feb. 18, Miami-Dade County officials renamed the Metromover
facility in downtown Miami to posthumously honor Miami-Dade Transit employee
Joseph Bryant. Bryant was a dedicated employee for 28 years, of which 15 years
were spent in the Metromover Maintenance Division, where Bryant rose through
the ranks to become a Metromover maintenance supervisor before losing his life
while on duty the evening of June 19, 2009.


SEPTA weekend construction to alter Broad Street Line service






Two separate construction
projects in Philadelphia will alter SEPTA’s Broad Street Line service the
weekend of Feb 19-21. From 8 p.m. Feb. 19 through 4 p.m. Feb. 21, Broad Street
line trains will not stop at Fairmount Station as construction continues at
Spring Garden Station. Riders traveling northbound who wish to go to Fairmount
Avenue will have to exit the Broad Street Subway at Spring Garden Street and
transfer to the Route C bus. Southbound passengers will have to exit at Girard
Avenue to transfer to the Route C bus to Fairmount Avenue.


R. J. Corman Railroad Group receives TIGER grant






Slide 1

The
Commonwealth of Kentucky and the U. S. Department of Transportation said that
R. J. Corman Railroad Group’s Appalachian Regional Shortline Project has been
awarded a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant
of $17,551,028.  This
transportation infrastructure grant will be matched by a 20 percent company
investment of $4,187,758 and by $200,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky bringing
the total project investment to $21,938,786. These funds will enable the rehabilitation
of hundreds of miles on five unconnected shortline railroads in Kentucky,
Tennessee and West Virginia. 

CSX congratulates National Gateway Coalition on receiving TIGER funds






Slide 1

CSX congratulated Ohio
Governor Ted Strickland, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, West Virginia Governor
Joe Manchin and the National Gateway coalition on the award of $98 million in
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant money. The
funds will go immediately to construction projects that enhance the use of fuel-efficient
and environmentally-friendly freight rail.

Secretary LaHood announces funding for over 50 transportation projects






Slide 1

One year to the day after
President Obama signed the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into
law, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will announce Recovery Act awards
to states, tribal governments, cities, counties and transit agencies across the
country to fund 51 innovative transportation projects.

Two-Year lane closing on for Dulles Metrorail starts Feb. 22






Slide 1

The right
lane of southbound Route 123 between Scotts Crossing Road and the I-495 Capital
Beltway Inner Loop will close for approximately two years beginning on or about
Monday, Feb. 22. The closing had been previously scheduled to begin on or about
Feb. 8 but the recent snowstorms forced a delay.

Chicago rail projects getting a $100-million federal boost






A program to reduce train
congestion in the Chicago area is getting a major boost with $100 million in
federal stimulus money for 16 rail projects, officials said Feb. 16, the Chicago
Tribune reports. That’s good news for frustrated Metra and Amtrak passengers,
harried motorists and anxious shippers who are victims of affected by snarled
freight train traffic, officials said. And as part of the stimulus program’s
primary goal, the program is expected to create thousands of jobs.

 

L. B. Foster Company to acquire Portec Rail Products






L. B. Foster Company and
Portec Rail Products, Inc., both headquartered in Pittsburgh, jointly announced
the signing of an Agreement and Plan of Merger under which L. B. Foster will
make, through its wholly owned acquisition subsidiary, a cash tender offer to
acquire all of Portec’s outstanding shares of common stock for $11.71 per share

HRT chief asks for state investigation of light-rail project






Hampton Roads Transit’s
new president and CEO, Philip Shucet, called for the inspector general to
investigate the agency’s light-rail project and business practices, The
Virginian-Pilot reports. HRT in recent months has been faulted for amassing
more than $100 million in cost overruns on Norfolk’s starter light-rail line
and for failing to pursue a suspected embezzlement of $80,000.

Koppers expands crosstie procurement business






Koppers Inc., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Koppers Holdings Inc. said it has completed a
transaction with Barham-Sevier Tie Company, Inc. to acquire a crosstie
procurement business that includes land and equipment for an undisclosed
purchase price. The asset purchase from Barham-Sevier is expected to result in
total additional revenues of approximately $8 to $10 million on an annual basis.


Committee OKs federal funding of Milwaukee-Madison rail link






The Wisconsin Legislature’s
Joint Finance Committee agreed Feb. 16 to accept $822 million in federal
stimulus funds for high-speed rail linking Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, but
not before lawmakers wrangled over whether the project was necessary, the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The funds had been sought by Gov. Jim Doyle
to link the three cities – and potentially the Twin Cities. The vote represents
the final action for Wisconsin to tap the stimulus funding for rail.

Detroit gets $25-million push for light rail corridor






A light rail plan along
Woodward to connect downtown Detroit with New Center will get a $25-million
infusion of federal money, officials briefed on the matter told The Detroit
News. The federal funds — to be announced Feb. 17 — are a big boost for the
M-1 Rail Project, which would represent Detroit’s first foray into rail-based
public transit since the opening of the People Mover in 1987.

Feds kick-start NYC train-station project






Sidetracked for nearly four
years, an ambitious plan to convert the Farley Post Office into a train station
named after Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan got a jump-start when the federal
government kicked in $83.3 million in stimulus funds to put the project back on
track, the New York Daily News reports. The funding gives the state the $267
million it needs to begin Moynihan Station’s first phase, which will create new
access to rail platforms beneath the post office and expanded rail facilities
in Penn Station across the street.

DCTA board appoints new president






Jim Cline was recently
selected as the new president of the Denton County Transportation Authority,
local media report. Cline will begin his new position on March 1. Denton County
is part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.

Metra approves final design for CREATE’s Englewood Flyover






The CREATE Program partners are pleased to announce
that the Chicago area’s Metra Board of Directors has approved the final design
contract for the 63rd and State Improvement Project (CREATE Project P1, Englewood
Flyover). TranSystems Corp. was awarded the $5.65-million contract. The flyover
will carry the north-south Metra Rock Island commuter rail line over the
east-west Norfolk Southern/Amtrak line (a federally designated High Speed Rail
Corridor), eliminating conflict between 68 Metra Rock Island trains and
approximately 60 freight and Amtrak trains that presently cross at grade each day.

Ian Jarvis appointed Vancouver, B.C., TransLink CEO






TransLink’s Board of
Directors has chosen to go with organizational and regional experience in its
choice of a new leader for the organization by appointing one of TransLink’s
original executives, Ian Jarvis, as the transportation authority’s new Chief
Executive Officer. The Board appointed Jarvis interim CEO last November and,
according to Chair Dale Parker, the decision to forego an executive search for
a permanent replacement for Tom Prendergast was based on Jarvis’ ‘deep and long
experience’ in the organization and the strong endorsement he received within
TransLink and from its stakeholders.

St. Louis Metro Transit Board advances long-range plan






Helping more people get
to work and stimulating job growth and economic development are the goals of a
30-year long-range plan unanimously approved Feb. 12 by the St. Louis Metro Transit
Board of Commissioners. Called "Moving Transit Forward," the plan for the
future of transit in the region presents the results of nearly a year of
in-depth study by Metro officials and staff from the East-West Gateway Council
of Governments (EWGCG), the region’s planning agency.

BART statement on FTA letter on Oakland Connector






BART has received FTA
Administrator Peter Rogoff’s letter stating that the FTA has rejected BART’s
plan to meet the FTA’s standards of full compliance with Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act. This letter cites no substantive deficiencies in BART’s latest
draft action plan to correct Title VI deficiencies identified in a December
2009 audit. Instead, the basis of the FTA Administrator’s rejection rests
solely on the fact that BART’s plan contains a timetable with an end date
beyond September 30, 2010-the deadline for awarding stimulus fund grants.