L.B. Foster completing $9-million Hampton Roads transit contract






L.B. Foster Company of
Pittsburgh is delivering the final shipment of rail products in September under
a $9-million contract with Skanska USA Civil Southeast for use in the
construction of The Tide Light Rail System in Norfolk, Va. Hampton Roads
Transit, the regional transportation agency, is building the new 7.4-mile
light-rail line linking the Eastern Virginia Medical Center, downtown Norfolk
and Interstate 264.

CREATE program seeks $300-million TIGER Grant






The Illinois Department of
Transportation said it is seeking $300 million in federal stimulus funds for a
package of 16 projects that are part of the Chicago Region Environmental and
Transportation Efficiency Program. CREATE is a first-of-its-kind partnership
bringing together Illinois DOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation and
the Association of American Railroads. Illinois DOT is eligible for the funding
under the federal Transportation Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant
program established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition
to the $300 million being sought via the federal TIGER grant, CREATE partners
also have committed to an additional 39 percent match in funding – $117.4
million in state and private monies – for the program of projects outlined in
the application.

TriMet’s MAX Green Line opens, connecting three counties by light rail






TriMet’s MAX Green Line in
Portland, Ore., opened to the public on Saturday, September 12 and reached a
major milestone of connecting all three counties by light rail. TriMet’s fifth
MAX line extends from downtown Portland to Clackamas County. More than 40,000
trips were taken on the new Green Line on opening day.

CSXT to replace Mobile, Ala., swing bridge






CSX Transportation Inc. awarded
a $60-million contract to Scott Bridge Company of Opelika, Ala., for the
alteration of the 14-Mile Bridge over the Mobile River. The total project cost
is estimated at $72 million, which includes the construction contract to the
Scott Bridge Company. The project is being funded largely by the federal
government (approximately 94 percent) under the Truman-Hobbs Act, which is
administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Caltrain Construction, Maintenance update, Sept. 12-18






Work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program continues in Burlingame, San Mateo and Menlo Park
between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.: Broadway and Oak Grove Avenue,
Burlingame, Sept. 13-17; First and Ninth avenues, San Mateo, Sept. 14-17; and Encinal,
Glenwood and Ravenswood avenues, Menlo Park, Sept. 17-18. Throughout the
project area, at least one lane of the impacted street will remain open.
Flagmen will direct traffic and pedestrians around the construction.

Crews complete tile work in Northstar Fridley Station pedestrian tunnel






Crews continue to work on
the Northstar commuter rail line in Minnesota in preparation for a November
opening. LRT and Northstar system testing continues. Communications system
testing and programming continued at the LRT station. Punchlist work is ongoing
at the Northstar and LRT stations and in the stations in Coon Rapids, Anoka,
Elk River and Big Lake.


Frankfort, Ill, steps closer to Quiet Zone






The EJ&E Railway was
a major issue on the Frankfort, Ill., Village Board Meeting’s agenda, according to local newspapers. Since the purchase of
EJ&E, the Village of Frankfort has worked with Canadian National to make
the crossings safer and work with residents to provide any help they need with
noise along with providing a Quiet Zone in the area.

 

CN reaches mitigation agreement with Hawthorn Woods, Ill.






CN reached a voluntary
mitigation agreement with the Village of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., located
approximately 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, that addresses the
municipality’s environmental issues with CN’s acquisition of the principal
lines of the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company. CN completed the
acquisition on Jan. 31, 2009, and is running trains over the line.

RailComm awarded Contract for Denver RTD CTC, SCADA System






RailComm’s Domain
Operations Controller (DOC®) train control system has been selected
to replace the existing Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) office system for Denver
Regional Transportation District’s Central Corridor. RailComm’s DOC®:CTC
is a next generation computer-aided dispatching system used to centrally
control the CTC signal system and the Overhead Catenary System electrification
sub-stations.


Sound Transit construction update






Port of Seattle contractors
recently successfully installed the pedestrian bridge that connects the new
airport Link light rail station with the airport parking garage. Traffic was
temporarily detoured. The bridgework was a
significant step in the construction of the SeaTac/Airport light rail station.
Overall, work is coming along well and passenger service to the new station
will begin in December. Once that extension is made, passenger will be able to
ride a Link train from the airport all the way to downtown Seattle.

Montreal adds elevators at two 2 – Orange line stations






The Société de transport
de Montréal said Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM métro stations are now equipped
with elevators to reach the lower platform levels. As such, the STM is
providing better access to all clients traveling along the Orange line,
particularly those with functional limitations. The installation of elevators
in these two stations, in addition to Cartier, De La Concorde and Montmorency
stations, now brings the number of accessible stations on the Orange line up to
five. Henri-Bourassa, Bonaventure and Côte-Vertu stations will also be equipped
with elevators by early 2011.


LA Metro to hold hearings on Crenshaw Transit Corridor






After two years of
studying options for a new transit system for the Crenshaw Corridor, the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is encouraging public
comment on draft environmental documents at four public hearings scheduled
throughout the community in late September and early October.

Progress seen in LA train safety efforts, but there’s more to be done






One year after 25 people
died in a violent head-on collision between a Los Angeles Metrolink passenger
train and freight train, officials have cobbled together more than $74 million
to pay for an automatic train-stopping system along Southern California tracks
to keep it from happening again, The Riverside, Calif., Press-Enterprise
reports. Though they are pleased with the progress, a lot of ground remains to
be covered to meet a self-imposed 2012 deadline to install such a system on
passenger train routes.

 

New half-mile railroad bridge replaces historic Boone trestle








Freight trains have begun
moving across a new $43-million bridge over Iowa’s Des Moines River that
reportedly is the tallest double-track railroad structure in North America, the
Des Moines Register reports.

 The Boone High Bridge, which is 2,550 feet long
and 190 feet high, will improve operational efficiency and customer service on
Iowa’s busiest railroad corridor, said Mark Davis, a spokesman for the Union
Pacific Railroad, which commissioned the bridge project.

Amtrak agrees to join makeover of post office as Moynihan Station






Amtrak is back on board. After six months of negotiations
with state and city officials, the railroad agreed to join the long-delayed
makeover of Farley Post Office as Moynihan Station, according to the New York Daily News.

BMWED system federations merge






The governing bodies of
the Consolidated Rail System Federation and the Nickel Plate – Wheeling &
Lake Erie Federation, of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division
finalized a merger between the two federations. The newly merged federation will
retain the name, Consolidated Rail System Federation.

BNSF replacing track between Pasco, Yakima, Wash.






BNSF is replacing sections
of old track between Pasco and Yakima, Wash., local newspapers report. The $3-million
project, which started earlier this week, will help rehabilitate about 10 miles
of track, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.

Park Forest, Ill., CN appear ready to finalize agreement






By now, those of us who
usually drive between Sauk Trail and Indianwood Boulevard on Orchard Drive in
Park Forest have found new ways to get from here to there, according to a
column by Jerry Schnay in the Southtown Star. The village is replacing sewer
pipes in the area, the start of a three-year project that will eventually
result in the complete renovation of Orchard Drive, including a center turn
lane north of Lakewood Boulevard and two left-turn lanes at the intersection of
U.S. 30 at the north end of town.

RTA floats proposal for 3 new streetcar lines in New Orleans






New Orleans transit planners hope to expand
streetcar service to the North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue corridor,
Loyola Avenue and Convention Center Boulevard, The Times-Picayune reports. Armed with a $212-million financing plan for three
new streetcar lines that includes substantial local investment, Regional
Transit Authority officials are hopeful that federal officials will look kindly
on the ambitious project and agree to pick up more than half its cost.

 

Southwest Florida considers bringing back commuter trains






If you’re waiting on a
train in Southwest Florida, you might have a long wait – and when it does
arrive, it’ll be murder, reports the Naples News. The most consistent rail
service south of Arcadia is on the Seminole Gulf Railway Murder Mystery Dinner
Train. Those trips run a loop north from a station near Colonial Boulevard and
Metro Parkway to about the Charlotte County line five nights a week.

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