News and Opinion

Koppers extends sales contract with BNSF






Koppers
Inc., a subsidiary of Koppers Holdings Inc., and Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Corporation have agreed to a seven-year extension of an existing
contract for railroad crossties and various other products and services. The
agreement extends the existing contract, which runs through December 31, 2010,
for an additional seven years through December 31, 2017. Revenues from BNSF
under this contract amounted to approximately $57 million in 2008.


Government of Canada, VIA Rail plan new station for Oshawa






At a ceremony in Oshawa,
Ontario, Colin Carrie, Member of Parliament for Oshawa; Oshawa Mayor John Gray,
and Mr. Pierre Santoni, VIA Rail’s National Sales Director, announced VIA’s
plans for a new station with improved and expanded facilities. VIA estimates
that it will invest as much as C$7 million for the new station and related
improvements from recent capital funding for VIA announced by the Government of
Canada. Of the project’s total cost, $3 million will come from the government’s
Economic Action Plan.




RailComm DOC® Yard Automation System in production at CSXT Selkirk






CSX Transportation has
placed RailComm’s DOC® Yard Automation System into production at
their Selkirk facility in New York. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller server-based
control system provides wireless remote control from the yard tower to 48 GETS
HydraSwitchTM machine locations. The DOC® System features eNtrance
and eXit routing and stacked route planning capability, providing the tower
operator with complete control of all routes within the yard.


Rebuilding Wisconsin rail line to create jobs






Plymouth, Wis., officials
say that the city is now recruiting at least three startup manufacturers
capable of creating hundreds of jobs thanks to a planned project to restore
freight rail service from Plymouth to Sheboygan Falls, the Sheboygan Press
reports. The companies, which city officials declined to name citing
confidentiality agreements, include one manufacturer that could employ up to
500 people and two others that could create 150 jobs combined – and officials
said more are expected to follow.

CSXT to revamp some eastern Ohio rails, bridges






A nearly $850,000 million
public and private effort to connect mid-Atlantic ports to Midwest U.S.
population and manufacturing markets using double-stack trains has railroad
improvement projects scheduled for Trumbull and Mahoning counties, according to
the Warren, Ohio, Tribune Chronicle. What’s going to be done locally includes
bridge replacement and other projects necessary to provide the vertical
clearance to allow train cars hauling two shipping containers stacked on top of
one another.

Port of Seattle announces new partners in rail corridor






The Port of Seattle will
be joined by several local agencies in preserving the Eastside Rail Corridor
and placing it in public ownership. King County, Sound Transit, the City of
Redmond, Puget Sound Energy, and the Cascade Water Alliance will partner with
the port in maximizing the corridor’s benefit for the region.

Rail-customer advocates say BNSF deal highlights need for reform






There was an almost
euphoric tone to the news last week when the nation’s beloved sugar daddy,
Warren Buffett, sprung for the rest of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., a
big part of Lincoln’s economy, Nebraska’s and the nation’s, the Lincoln, Neb.,
Journal Star reports. The guys on CNBC acknowledged they just couldn’t get
enough of their videos of BNSF trains chugging mightily across America’s TV
screens. A hard-headed business decision can pull at least a couple of carloads
of railroad nostalgia, if the whistle is far enough away.

Osmose celebrates its 75 Anniversary






In the fall of 1934,
several Buffalo businessmen joined forces to create the Osmose Wood Preserving
Company of America, building on patents for a unique, non-pressurized wood
preservation. During the following 75 years,  Osmose continued to advance the wood preservation science
and grew into various related divisions serving the railroad, utility and consumer
marketplaces. Close relationships with an evolving customer base encouraged
Osmose to embark on infrastructure inspection, maintenance and repair solutions
for the railroad industry.

Metro-North Railroad faces safety mandate






Like other railroads
across the country, Metro-North Railroad is considering how to outfit its
trains to comply with a federal safety technology mandate that would alert
engineers when trains become dangerously close, the Connecticut Post reports.

 

Pittsburgh North Shore Intersection to see lane closures Nov. 9-14






Pittsburgh area motorists
can expect intermittent lane closures Nov. 9-14 near the intersection of
Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street on the North Shore due to construction
activity in the area. Contractors will intermittently close lanes beginning Nov.
9 at 6:00 a.m. and ending at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. Work will be
conducted around the clock, and police will help direct motorists through open
lanes.


Pennsylvania, four other states seek $300 million to improve rail lines






Pennsylvania and four other
states are seeking stimulus money to make upgrades to their rail systems,
including the proposed intermodal terminal in Greencastle, the Chambersburg
Public Opinion Website reports. Pennsylvania was a co-signer of an application
for $300 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, according to
PennDOT spokesperson Rich Kirkpatrick.

Bridge to be constructed over railroad tracks by 2013







Drivers on Allen Road in
Woodhaven, Mich., will be traveling under the railroad tracks near Van Horn
Road by 2013, Wayne County officials said, according to local newspapers.

 County
and engineering officials from Wade Trim and Hennessey Engineering met at City
Hall to discuss the project and answer questions from residents.





Hallandale Beach meeting covers proposed rail and train services






Residents were updated on
an ongoing transit study during a recent public workshop in Hallandale Beach, Fla.,
the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. 

The workshop, at the Cultural
Community Center, is part of a series of meetings offered to residents to
gather input on the South Florida East Coast Corridor Transit Analysis Study. 

The
study, managed by the Florida Department of Transportation, is exploring
options to mitigate roadway congestion in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach
counties.





Fridley Station elevators, mechanical and electrical pass inspections






The majority of
construction activities at the Fridley, Minn., Northstar commuter rail station
are complete. Milling and overlay of 61st Way was completed the week of Nov. 2.
All three station elevators have passed inspection. Plumbing/mechanical and
electrical passed inspections are set for the week of Nov. 9. Installation of
station signage and landscaping continue.

Metra proposes four more stations in McHenry County






A proposed $500-million
project to improve commuter train service in Chicago and its suburbs includes
adding four stops in McHenry County, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prairie Grove
and Johnsburg would get train depots. Those communities are along a branch line
off the Metra UP Northwest Line that veers north near Crystal lake, Ill., to
the city of McHenry. The other proposed stops would be about 1.5 miles apart
along tracks that run parallel to U.S. Highway 14. Those stops would be between
existing downtown depots in Crystal Lake and Woodstock.

Final weekend for downtown San Jose rail rehab project






Weekend motorists, cyclists
and pedestrians using the intersection of Almaden Boulevard and San Carlos
Street, and VTA light rail riders using or passing through the Convention
Center Light Rail Station insane Jose, Calif., should allow more time for their
trips the weekend of Nov. 7-8.

BNSF, BLET reach tentative agreement






BNSF
has reached a tentative agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
and Trainmen to settle wage and work rule matters concerning BNSF’s locomotive
engineers for the major round of collective bargaining that will begin Jan. 1,
2010.

Historic railway yanked away for Sioux City project






It’s been decades since
select ground just east of Floyd Boulevard in Sioux City, Iowa, was exposed to
sun and other elements, the Sioux City Journal reports. Now, the area is being
laid bare by workers moving southward, pulling out old railroad spikes and
prying up the steel track.