News and Opinion

Rail stimulus funds to bypass Northeast






The railroad tracks from
Boston to Washington – the busiest rail artery in the nation, and one that also
carries America’s only high-speed train, the Acela – have been virtually shut
out of $8 billion worth of federal stimulus money set aside for high-speed rail
projects because of a strict environmental review required by the Obama
administration, according to the Boston Globe. Because such a review would take
years, states along the Northeast rail corridor are not able to pursue stimulus
money for a variety of crucial upgrades.

Silicon Valley Project causing daytime lane closures in Milpitas






To advance the BART to
Silicon Valley Project parking spaces and lane closures will occur while crews
conduct work to identify utilities along Capitol Ave between Trimble Road and Montague
Expressway in Milpitas, Calif., Monday, December 21, 2009, through Thursday,
December 31, 2010, weekdays only, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (excluding lunch from
12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.). Utility investigation activities include quick vacuum
excavation in a one-foot x one-foot hole approximately five to six feet in
depth, extracting the material to expose and survey the utility, to confirm
utility and depth.

BNSF Beaumont project riles neighbors






Some Beaumont, Texas,
residents are outraged over a construction project near downtown that is
preventing some residents from being able to park in their own driveway, local
media report. BNSF is rehabilitating the tracks along Long Avenue and residents
say the construction is causing problems for the entire neighborhood.

NCDOT completes track restoration work between Greensboro and High Point






The N.C.
Department of Transportation, North Carolina Railroad Company and Norfolk
Southern have completed the restoration of a nine-mile section of track between
Greensboro and High Point. The new stretch of double track will help alleviate
bottleneck delays, improve freight rail capacity and passenger train
reliability. It will also provide future rail capacity for the
federally-designated Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor as well as NS’s
Crescent Corridor.

 

FTA approves advancement of Houston light rail project






The Federal Transit
Administration notified METRO that it has approved Houston’s University
Corridor Light Rail Transit project into the Preliminary Engineering phase of
the FTA’s New Starts program. METRO can now move forward with engineering
activities as publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and
approval of a Record of Decision are imminent.

Tie replacement for MBTA’s Old Colony Line






Massachusetts Bay Commuter
Railroad Company said that as the result of a critical ongoing concrete tie
replacement project on the Old Colony Line, a new schedule for the
Middleboro/Lakeville, and Plymouth/Kingston and Greenbush lines will go into
effect on January 11, 2010. These schedule changes better reflect actual travel
times that have resulted following implementation of a 50 mile-per-hour speed
restriction, which is essential for safe travel on the line.

VTA launches new Web page for upcoming service changes






To provide the latest
information about upcoming service modifications, California’s Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority launched a brand new Web page. The goal is to
make it easy for VTA customers to view the new bus and light rail schedules
with one click of a mouse. The detailed and visual information about service
changes can be found on www.vta.org/servicereductions. The new web page includes
a system map and a light rail transit map, specific route changes, and a
Frequently Asked Questions link. VTA’s service reduction will be in effect
beginning Monday, January 11, 2010.

County seeks signals at crossing near Hammond, Kan.






The Bourbon County, Kan.,
Commissioners are working hard to get signals installed at a dangerous railroad
crossing, The Fort Scott Tribune reports. Since earlier this summer, the
commission has been working on getting signals installed at the railroad
crossing on 225th Street, one-quarter of a mile south of Hammond.

Groundbreaking set for $10.2-million Mass. commuter rail project






PRESS RELEASE
 

As part of the
Patrick-Murray Administration’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Governor Deval
Patrick joined Congressman John Olver and local elected officials in Leominster,
Mass., to announce the groundbreaking of the first rail improvement project in
Massachusetts supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 

Metrolinx acquires full ownership of Toronto-Barrie corridor from CN






PRESS RELEASE

Metrolinx purchased from CN
the lower portion of the Newmarket Subdivision in central-north Toronto for
C$68 million. The transaction gives Metrolinx end-to-end ownership of the
60-mile-long Barrie-Bradford GO Train corridor between downtown Toronto and
Barrie, Ont. – a first for the government transit agency.

Stella-Jones signs letter of intent to acquire Tangent Rail Corporation






PRESS RELEASE

Stella-Jones Inc. has
signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Tangent Rail Corporation, a
provider of wood crosstie supply chain services to the railroad industry. This
acquisition will expand Stella-Jones’ capabilities within the U.S. railway tie
industry and provide the company with creosote manufacturing operations.
Tangent’s sales for the year ended December 31, 2009 are expected to reach
approximately US$175 million.

VTA Board approves $5.8 million Caltrain safety improvements






PRESS RELEASE

At the board meeting on
December 10, 2009, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of
Directors authorized $5.8 million for the construction of Caltrain safety
improvements. These improvements include modifications to railroad crossing
gates, installation of guardrails, fencing, pedestrian gates, emergency swing gates,
sidewalk, crossing panels and tactile warning panels as well as grading
modifications to crossings within the Joint Powers Board owned segment (between
Sunnyvale and Palo Alto).

Environmental statement filed for Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal






PRESS RELEASE

The final waiting period
has begun for the Final Environmental Impact Statement paperwork required for
the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal in Detroit, Crain’s Detroit Business
reports. The terminal project, between Wyoming and Livernois avenues south of
I-94, has a $445-million price tag in 2006 dollars (for the preferred
alternative) and is designed to consolidate train and trucking infrastructure.

SMART gets $2.5 million for commute-rail work






PRESS RELEASE

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail
Transit district in California has received $2.5 million in federal funds for
preliminary engineering and environmental work on its planned commuter rail
line, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports. The funds were in the Fiscal Year
2010 Omnibus bill, which the Senate passed on Dec. 13, according to
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.


BART Board awards Oakland Airport Connector contract

The struggling Bay Area economy just received a big boost thanks to the BART Board, whose vote also means BART customers will finally have a swift, world-class train-to-plane connection between the Coliseum BART Station and the Oakland Airport. After two decades of planning and debate, the Board of Directors voted seven to one to award California-based Flatiron/Parsons Joint Venture the contract to design and build the 3.2-mile automated people mover. The Board also voted seven to one to award Doppelmayr Cable Car, Inc., the contract to operate and maintain the connector once built.

CREATE could boost high-speed rail projects

High-speed rail is a glamorous idea — it’s fun to imagine a train streaking through the cornfields from Chicago to St. Louis in four hours. Less glamorous are some of the fixes that need to be made to Chicago’s notoriously slow freight rail system. Talk about projects like "signalize interlocking" and "grade separation," and eyes glaze over, The Chicago Sun Times reports.

Leadership changes for LA Metrolink

After a closed session personnel discussion amongst the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority Keith Millhouse announced that Metrolink CEO David Solow would change his role at the agency effective December 15, 2009. The Board of Directors and Solow have agreed that he will step down as CEO and for the balance of this fiscal year, until June 30, 2010, he will remain with the agency devoting full time to the interagency collaborations necessary for Metrolink to implement safety enhancements, including Positive Train Control, and interoperability agreements.

Durbin reports major funding for Illinois projects

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that the final Omnibus Appropriations Act that includes $126,432,544 in funding for several Illinois projects was approved by a joint House and Senate Conference Committee of which Durbin is a member. The House and Senate are expected to take up and pass the legislation before the end of the year. The bill will then go to the President for his signature.