The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is making $500 million available for the seventh round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program.
The Regional Transportation District of Denver’s (RTD) first two commuter rail cars rolled onto the East Rail Line for their first trip from Union Station to Denver International Airport April 3. The rail cars were pulled along the new tracks from Union Station along the 23 mile-long route at a pace of roughly 10 miles per hour. This kicks off a year-long schedule of testing and commissioning prior to opening day in 2016.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx sent a six-year transportation bill to Congress.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) plans to suspend weekend service on the Fitchburg Line from April 25 until November 22.
Two bills of substantial importance to railroads—Staggers Rail Act revisions as part of reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), and extension of the deadline to implement Positive Train Control (PTC)—took meaningful steps forward March 25, gaining the imprimatur of the Senate Commerce Committee.
The Long Island Rail Road’s $45-million Colonial Road Improvement Project is now underway. The Colonial Road Bridge will close to vehicular traffic March 30 and contractors prepare to demolish the 115-year old bridge that spans the tracks in the Village of Thomaston near the LIRR’s Great Neck Station.
Newark Penn Station, the gateway for New Jersey rail travel throughout the region, turned 80 years old March 23.
Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) and Mike Quigley (D-IL-5) introduced the Reassuring Adequate Investment in Lifesaving Systems (RAILS) Act, which reauthorizes the Rail Safety Technology Grant program to improve the safety of the nation’s railroads.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and Metro-North Railroad this spring will be making critical repairs on the Devon Bridge on the New Haven commuter rail line and doing maintenance work on the line’s Waterbury Branch.
U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) introduced the Track, Railroad, and Infrastructure Network (TRAIN) Act, which the senators say will reform the environmental permitting process for rail projects in order to facilitate a more efficient way to approve rail infrastructure.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) called for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to do a “Deep Dive” examination into measures to reduce collisions and deaths following what he called “a significant increase” in these accidents at grade crossings.
AXION International Holdings, Inc., received $1 million in orders for ECOTRAX® rail ties to be installed in a northeast-based transit line’s rail yard and station.
The Metrolink Board of Directors unanimously appointed Art Leahy to chief executive officer, effective April 20.
U.S. Rep. and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Jeff Denham (R-CA) joined representatives from HDR, Inc., and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) for a tour of the Colton Crossing Rail-to-Rail Grade Separation Project.
The U.S. railroad industry has been scrambling since 2008 to meet the requirements of an unfunded federal government mandate—namely, having Positive Train Control installed and fully operational by Dec. 31, 2015 on 60,000 miles of track where hazmat and passenger trains operate. Parallel to the PTC initiative has been a battle waged on Capitol Hill to extend the end-of-the-year deadline. That effort may be paying off, and the railroads may one day be grateful that they have a Thune on their side.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded New Jersey Transit $147,086,000 through the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program for repair, recovery and resiliency projects associated with Superstorm Sandy.
Metrolink reached a critical milestone March 2, 2015, by launching Positive Train Control (PTC) in revenue service demonstration (RSD) along the its San Bernardino Line between Los Angeles and San Bernardino, Calif.
The Massachusetts Department of Transporations(MassDOT) Board of Directors voted unanimously to make Frank DePaola, currently serving as highway administrator and MassDOT’s chief operating officer, interim general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), effective March 4, 2015.
In southern California, full Metrolink service on the agency’s Ventura County Line resumed Feb. 25 after a vehicle on the tracks was struck the morning of Feb. 24. 24 by Metrolink Ventura County train 102.
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has finalized the design for the new station in Hicksville, a $120-million investment meant to revitalize the region’s busiest transit hub and kick-start residential and commercial development in the hamlet’s downtown.