The OneRail Coalition
last week sent a letter (see below) to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman
Patty Murray urging increased support for railroad investment in H.R. 3288, the
FY2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.
Doug Smith’s article ("Metrolink
system’s toll: 244," 9/25) regarding the history of incidents and fatalities on
the Metrolink rail network was long on damning rhetoric and data but short on
reporting progress on a critical national matter – improving the safety of a
rail system that is shared by freight trains, Amtrak and commuter trains.
Railroad safety is a shared responsibility of regulatory agencies, railroad
owners and operators and the local jurisdictions with streets that cross
tracks.
Norfolk Southern has
launched a new Website focusing on the benefits of its corridor and
public-private partnership projects. The Web site, TheFutureNeedsUs.com <http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/>, describes projects to increase rail freight transportation
capacity and improve mobility and the environment. Information is provided for
projects in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West
Virginia, where governors Riley, Barbour, Rendell, Bredesen, Kaine and Manchin
are leaders in supporting transportation solutions.
The National Gateway
coalition has been honored as "Competitiveness Project of the Year"
by the North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum, a leading infrastructure
identification and development group. The award recognizes the National Gateway
as the "project that contributes most to the [North American] region’s
capacity for global competitiveness."
At
the public’s first opportunity to weigh in on the immediate future of Maine
railroads, the message was clear: Make them work for Maine businesses, the
Bangor Daily News reports. About 25 people from railroads, economic development
groups and government agencies gathered in Bangor to discuss the development of
the Maine Rail Plan. The state has hired consulting firm HNTB Corp. to formulate
a blueprint for improving rail access in Maine, for both freight and
passengers.
Work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program, which will enhance safety at 25 grade crossings
in San Mateo County, continues at Broadway and Oak Grove Avenue in Burlingame.
The work will take place from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, between the hours of 8 p.m.
and 4 a.m. Throughout the project area, at least one lane of the impacted
street will remain open.
RailComm, a leading
provider of software-based train control and railroad/passenger rail management
information systems, has been ranked by Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5,000 list of the
fastest-growing private companies in the country. RailComm was recognized based
on its revenue growth of 208.2 percent from 2005 to 2008 and ranked 1,528 on
the overall list. RailComm was also ranked 93rd amongst the top
software development companies. This is RailComm’s third year in a row to be
recognized on the Inc. 5,000 list.
The Iowa Department of
Transportation, in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation,
is seeking public input concerning the environmental assessment of proposed
routes for intercity passenger rail service between Iowa City and Chicago.
Released for public review on Sept. 25, the EA will be presented and discussed
at a public input meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Moline, Ill.
The federal Surface
Transportation Board has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for
the Alaska Railroad Corporation application to construct and operate a rail
line between North Pole and Delta Junction. Known as the Northern Rail
Extension, the project would offer safe freight and passenger rail service to
communities southeast of North Pole; support agricultural, mining and
petrochemical industries; and provide year-round reliable access to military
training areas.
The St. Louis Metro’s
Board Chairman, Jeffrey Watson, said that the Board of Commissioners reached an
agreement with Bob Baer to become the Agency’s permanent chief executive.
The U.S. Department of
Transportation received nearly 1,400 applications from all 50 states,
territories and the District of Columbia vying for a share of $1.5 billion the
department will award for innovative transportation projects that show
significant economic and environmental promise for the nation, a region, or
metropolitan area, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
Canadian Pacific Railway
has been quietly advancing plans for a new $400-million rail tunnel under the
Detroit River and will probably start digging two years from now, the Canwest
News Service reports. A construction permit for the tunnel has already been
issued in the U.S., sources said, but the environmental assessment process has
just begun on the Canadian side and will take up to 18 months.
In the biggest move in
decades to renovate Connecticut’s freight rail system, the state is seeking
more than $109 million in grants to refurbish or rebuild deteriorated tracks in
Middletown, Hartford, East Windsor, Danbury and elsewhere, according to The
Hartford Courant.
On October 1, Union
Pacific Chairman and CEO Jim Young, Director of Iowa Department of
Transportation Nancy Richardson and Boone Mayor John Slight will officially
open and name the new railroad bridge just west of Boone, Iowa, that is one of
the highest double-track railroad bridges in North America coming in at 2,813
feet long and 190 feet high above the Des Moines River. After remarks from Young, Director
Richardson and Mayor Slight at the UP depot in Boone, officials and media will
board a train to go look at the new bridge close up. The public is invited to
attend the remarks at the UP depot.
Revenue service testing
for both the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit line extension and Northstar Commuter
Rail will begin in mid-October. The trains will run on the regular schedule,
but will not yet be available to the public. Northstar and LRT extension
service will begin on Monday, Nov. 16.
In a move that places Los
Angeles County in contention to receive its fair share of future federal rail
funding, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of
Directors voted to pursue long-term funding agreements through the US.
Department of Transportation to build the Westside Subway Extension and
Regional Connector projects.
Houston METRO’s Title VI
program has been approved by the Federal Transit Administration – another step
toward federal Full Funding Grant Agreements for the build out of Houston’s
light-rail system. After a thorough study,
the FTA’s Office of Civil Rights ruled METRO’s program is complete and in
compliance with requirements related to Title VI. This compliance is necessary
to apply for the FTA’s New Starts program – the federal government’s primary
financial resource for supporting major transit "guideway" capital
investments such as light rail.
The ripple effects of
what would happen if funding hadn’t been secured for the BNSF railroad bridge
between Burlington, Iowa, and Gulfport, Ill., could have been grim, according
to the Burlington Hawkeye. On top
of the obvious safety concerns — despite daily inspections — delivery of
goods would be delayed as inspections took days and trains crossed the bridge
one at a time.
The State of Wisconsin has
authorized a total of $30.6 million in loans and grants to help construct,
preserve or upgrade rail-related facilities across the state, the Business
Journal of Milwaukee reports. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said 10 state awards as
part of overall efforts to support job growth and Wisconsin’s agricultural
economy.
When BNSF employee Daryle
Haugen decided to retire, his decision on timing wasn’t based on stock price or
some family trip he had been waiting to take, according to a story in the
railroad’s employee newsletter. It had everything to do with finishing one last
project. Haugen, who was a
Structures foreman, on the Twin Cities Subdivision when he retired in August,
was preparing to retire when he was asked to take on the Delano, Minn., bridge.