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.

MTA NYC Transit to bring countdown clocks to lettered subway lines






A and C Line customers
headed downtown from six stations in Washington Heights and Harlem will benefit
from a new pilot project testing the delivery of next train arrival information
similar to that now in service along the L line and recently deployed in
several Bronx stations on the 6.

Nashville mayor eyes mass transit






If the convention center
was a colossal and contentious public project, wait until you see Nashville Mayor
Karl Dean’s next undertaking: a multi-year, multibillion-dollar effort to
renovate Middle Tennessee’s mass transportation system, the Tennessean reports.
The payback to residents of the greater Nashville area, Dean says, will be a
mass transit system to rival that of Denver, Charlotte and Austin.

Tampa, Fla., seeks to combine rail corridor plan






Rather than choosing
between North Tampa to Downtown and Downtown to West Shore corridors to launch
Tampa’s first light rail route, local planners may combine them in a funding
proposal to federal officials later this year, the Tribune reports. And plans
for the initial northern terminus for a light rail line could be extended to
the northeast beyond Skipper Road to the vicinity of Cross Creek, just beyond
Interstate 75, to make the project more attractive to potential federal
investments.

Rail spur plan crosses hurdle; on to final design






A proposed 3.3-mile rail
spur linking the Omya quarry on Foote Street in Middlebury, Vt., with the main
line west of the Otter Creek can now proceed to final design and property
acquisition, as the Federal Highway Administration has determined the estimated
$34.3-million project could meet federal environmental standards, the Addison
County Independent reports.

Treasure Coast officials focusing on Amtrak, not high-speed rail






When passenger rail
service returns to the Treasure Coast, travelers still will be expected to rely
upon their cars, the Indian River, Fla., Press Journal reports.

Revised plans proposed to quiet disruptive train horns






Proposed changes to
Scottsbluff, Neb., city intersections could put establishing a quiet zone
throughout the community on the fast track, the Star-Herald reports. City
Manager Rick Kuckkahn told the Scottsbluff City Council that a current plan "could
completely silence the town (of train horns)."

Railroad yards still help propel local economies






A morning swig from a
plastic milk jug, the refrigerator where it was kept and the spoon used to
shovel that first bite of breakfast – the journey these everyday items take
from raw materials to finished products started at local railroad yards,
according to the Redlands, Calif., Daily Facts.

Minneapolis light rail agency responds to Minnesota Public Radio lawsuit










On Feb. 5, MPR President
Bill Kling appeared on his radio network in an attempt to justify his lawsuit
against the Metropolitan Council over the Central Corridor light-rail transit project.

UP investing $29 million for track improvements near Houston, Texas






Union Pacific will improve
Houston’s transportation infrastructure with a $29 million investment to
improve the rail line that runs from Spring, Texas, to the Washington Avenue
Corridor. Work on the 23-mile stretch of railroad tracks will begin on the line
that parallels the Hardy Toll Road February 18. Crews also will make track
improvements to the rail line located along Washington Avenue between downtown
Houston and Hempstead Road.

Harsco Rail receives $6-million order from Washington Metro






Worldwide
industrial services and engineered products company Harsco Corporation said that
its Harsco Rail unit has been awarded a new $6-million order from the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for production of Utility Track
Vehicle (UTV) prime movers.

Work on LIRR spur could start in March






A New Jersey-based company
was awarded a $3.49-million construction contract to rebuild the Long Island Rail
Road rail spur that leads into the Calverton, N.Y., Enterprise Park and hopes
to get working on the railroad in March, local media report. The Riverhead Town
Board awarded the contract to Railroad Construction Co. Inc., of Paterson, the
lowest bidder. The highest bid came in at $6.7 million.

Railroad Crossroads






Although
a private company has found it uneconomical to maintain rail lines through
Aroostook County, Maine, it would be uneconomical for mills and other major
employers in the region to be left without rail service. This is the dilemma
facing state officials who are currently grappling with a budget shortfall of
nearly $440 million, according to an editorial in the Bangor Daily News.

Florida governor gives support for Jax-Miami rail line






Florida Gov. Charlie Crist
said that he plans meetings today with political and financial institutions in
South Florida that are interested in bringing to life the long-gone
Jacksonville-to-Miami passenger route along Florida East Coast Rail Road
tracks, the St. Augustine Record reports.

Caltrain construction, maintenance Feb. 14 – 21






Feb. 16-18, between the
hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., crews will be finishing up work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program. Work will take place at the following locations: Oak
Grove Avenue and Peninsula Avenue in Burlingame; Main Street and Chestnut
Street In Redwood City; Villa Terrace Avenue and First Avenue in San Mateo; Encinal
Avenue, Glenwood Avenue, Oak Grove Avenue and Ravenswood Avenue in Menlo Park;
and Fair Oaks Lane in Atherton.

NY MTA blasts snow from tracks






As swirling snow shrouded
eastern Queens, a yellow-and-black diesel train rumbled on the A subway line
towards the Rockaways, lights flashing, sirens sounding, the New York Daily
News reports. It was the peak of the
near-blizzard. Snowdrifts threatened to force suspension of subway service to
the peninsula. And NYC Transit had called in the artillery.

Moses Lake Wash., seeks funding to acquire rail segment






At a recent meeting, the
Moses Lake, Wash., City Council unanimously approved sending letters to
lawmakers requesting federal funding to purchase a segment (Segment 4) of the
Columbia Basin Railroad line that runs through the City of Moses. As part of
the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project, Segment 4 is slated to be vacated
once a new bypass segment (Segment 1) northeast of Moses Lake is built.

 

MER MEC S.p.A. accepted as UNISIG Associated Member






The
UNISIG Consortium (UNISIG) has accepted an application for Associated
Membership from MER MEC S.p.A., with effect from January 1, 2010. MER MEC,
based in Monopoli, Bari, Italy, is a developer and supplier of both onboard and
trackside railway signaling equipment. The company becomes the second new
Associated Member of UNISIG since its formation in 1999. 

LA Metro sets Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 community meetings






As environmental work
continues for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project, Los Angeles Metro
will hold four community scoping meetings on February 22-27 in Pico Rivera,
South El Monte, Montebello and Whittier to review two build alternatives: light
rail transit via State Route 60 and on Washington Boulevard in addition to a
transportation systems management (improving bus services), and a no-build
alternative.