A group of farmers from Rathwell,
Man., Canada, and the surrounding area are hoping to purchase a shortline
railway to keep their grain shipments on track, the Central Plains Herald
Leader reports. Harold Purkess, a retired farmer from Holland, who is interim
president of River Hills Railroad Inc., said the organization is made up of a
group of farmers and interested individuals who are investing in the project
and preserving their rail line.
BNSF
Railway Company announced a planned 2010 capital commitment program of $2.4
billion, which is expected to be approximately $240 million lower than 2009 due
to fewer expected locomotive acquisitions in 2010. BNSF currently expects to
spend about $2.1 billion for track, signal systems, structures, and freight
cars, and to upgrade technologies, including the unfunded mandate for positive
train control. The Company also anticipates acquiring approximately 170
locomotives at a cost of about $320 million.
An Alaska Railroad bridge
crew will complete a new pedestrian bridge connected to the outside of the new
bridge that was constructed in 2007/2008 over Billion Slough at Alaska Railroad
milepost 227.9. This federally funded project includes construction of a new
pedestrian walkway to replace the existing Chase Trail Bridge nearby.
There will be no train
service along the Long Beach Branch January 23-24 and January 30-31 due to the
installation of two new MTA Long Island Rail Road bridges over Powell Creek and
Hog Island Channel. Buses will serve LIRR customers between Long Beach and Valley
Stream on both weekends. Regular weekday train service will not be affected by
the project.
BART has received the
Federal Transit Administration’s letter asking for further analysis of the
Oakland Airport Connector project’s impact on minority communities under Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over the past decade, BART has diligently
worked with the FTA to meet all its requirements and as a result, the FTA has
consistently signed off on every aspect of the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC).
In fact, as recently as December, the FTA informed BART it had approved the
project for what’s called "pre-award authority" to continue advancing
the project. It also invited BART to complete the steps to secure award of $25
million in federal New Starts funding and award of $70 million in Stimulus
funds. At the time, there was no mention that additional documentation was
needed.
Throughout the President’s
Day Holiday weekend, Metro in the District of Columbia area will close the Rosslyn
Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange Lines and the Arlington Cemetery
Metrorail station on the Blue Line from 10 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12 to closing,
Monday, Feb. 15, while it undertakes a major track rehabilitation project.
Normal service will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 5 a.m.
David K. Maas, P.E., assistant
vice president, will lead TranSystems’ consulting services to support rail
industry clients with the implementation of Positive Train Control. He will
direct program management and technical support services including GIS mapping
and track database management services involving data capture, data extraction
and data validation services for track database systems to support PTC
implementation; program management services for commercial power installation
applications for wayside equipment; and related technical assistance and
consulting services to support the rail industry in the implementation of
Positive Train Control.
Hampton Roads, Va.,
Transit welcomed the call for a public audit of the light rail project as a
significant step toward ensuring accountability of The Tide’s management and
oversight, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports.
It’s unlikely the SMART
rail line linking Sonoma and Marin, Calif., counties will be finished by 2014
as promised to voters because the agency running the train project is wrestling
with a $155-million shortfall brought on by a stumbling economy, the Contra
Costa Times reports.
Continuing talks on
making the area more environmentally friendly focused Tuesday night on
expanding the use of trains, buses and bicycles countywide, according to the
Elgin Courier News, The Elgin, Ill., Community Network hosted a discussion at
Gail Borden Public Library that looked at the future of transportation in the
area. Among those attending were representatives from Metra, Kane County
Division of Transportation and Schaumburg-based engineering firm TranSystems,
the company contracted to draft the city’s Bikeway Master Plan.
Property owners in
Whitefish’s Railroad District and east of the middle school received good news
last week – lab results from 25 soil-borings revealed little or no
contamination from underground diesel fuel plumes originating in the BNSF Superfund
site, the Whitefish Pilot reports.
As the years pass, it
becomes more vital to introduce and educate the next generation to the railroad
industry. To aid in this cause, AREMA has developed a Mentoring Program to
benefit the AREMA Student Members. The association is currently seeking mentors
to influence the next generation as part of this Mentoring Program.
Measure R money isn’t
just for road projects’ it can now be used to purchase railroad tracks, the
Foothills Sun-Gazette reports. The Tulare County, Calif., Board of Supervisors
approved an amendment to the Measure R expenditure plan that will allow the
county to purchase railroad fixtures including ties, ballast, tracks and
signals to ensure that the property is maintained for rail use.
The Surface
Transportation Board is requesting feedback from Chicago-area communities
affected by the merger of Canadian National Railway with the Elgin, Joliet
& Eastern Railway Co. The Board will also audit CN’s informational reports
that the railroad is required to file with the STB as a condition of the
merger.
MTA NYC Transit said that
effective Wednesday, January 20, 2010, MTA Staten Island Railway will begin
fare collection at the newly constructed Tompkinsville Stationhouse. The $6.9-million
Tompkinsville Fare Collection Project included the construction of a stationhouse
entrance, the installation of turnstiles, cameras, fare vending and
communications equipment.
Crystal Lake, Ill.,
officials have approved a pre-annexation agreement for a 17-acre site, where
Metra plans to build a commuter train stop, the Chicago Tribune reports. The
station, between the Woodstock and Crystal Lake stations, would cost an
estimated $5 million and take four years to open, Metra officials say. It is
part of a planned expansion to the Union Pacific Northwest line.
As part of the Obama
Administration’s efforts to highlight the local impact of economic stimulus
programs, U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios met with Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert at the
Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel construction site to highlight the use of
Build America Bonds in North Texas infrastructure projects. The Build America
Bonds program has provided $64 billion in low-cost borrowing to date for state
and local governments across the country, including almost $3 billion in North
Texas.
Sound Transit commuter rail
service between Everett, Wash., and Seattle is shut down at least until the
evening of Jan. 21 because of a mudslide across the tracks, the Everett Herald
reports. The slide hit around 7:30 a.m. Jan. 19 in north Seattle, blocking the
tracks and forcing passengers on two of the four Sounder commuter trains to
disembark at Edmonds Station and ride buses the rest of the way to Seattle,
according to Sound Transit.
The City College of New
York (CCNY) said that a scholarship in honor of James L. Lammie, former Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. has been endowed by
Richard Ravitch, the Lieutenant Governor of New York.
The UTU, BLET, the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, the Brotherhood of
Railroad Signalmen and the American Train Dispatchers Association have asked
the FRA to deny an Amtrak request to waive permanently the existing mandatory
and safety-critical functions governing passenger-platform snow removal outside
the Northeast Corridor.