Beginning on December 4, Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) trains will be operating on a revised schedule as contractors begin work on the next phase of the Ben Franklin Bridge rehabilitation project, which connects Philadelphia, Pa., and Camden, N.J. The new schedule will affect service between midday Thursday and early Monday morning and will remain in effect until early February 2015.
Through its updated Watchlist for 2014, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is raising awareness about the safety issues that pose the greatest risk to Canada’s marine, rail and air transportation sectors.
Trimble has acquired Nexala, a provider of enterprise solutions for the rail industry, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a safety advisory to the rail industry to better protect rail employees working on rights-of-way under the supervision of a dispatcher.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he is pleased with actions taken by BNSF in response to the comprehensive review and analysis of rail operations and infrastructure around Casselton, N.D., following the Nov. 13 derailment, the second derailment in the area within the last year.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is conducting a voluntary safety examination of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) rail and bus transit system in response to the CTA’s formal request for safety collaboration earlier this year.
The purpose of the examination is to help CTA assess the strengths and weaknesses of the safety of operations and identify areas where the agency can further reduce risks and make other safety improvements.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a special investigation report on common organizational factors in five Metro North Railroad accidents between May 2013 and March 2014.
Watco Transportation Services has promoted Ron Martin to vice president of transportation safety and training and Michael Smith to director of engineering safety and training.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) will be performing a major switch renewal and maintenance-related work on the B, Q and F lines in Brooklyn for two consecutive weeks beginning November 21 until December 1.
As the season for cold and snowy weather approaches, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) is ready for winter operations. NYCT said it is leaning on lessons from the 2013-2014 winter that brought 14 significant storms and more than 50 inches of snow.
Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) received approval from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board to award contracts totaling $34.6 million for the purchase of inward- and outward-facing cameras in the cabs of their rail fleets.
On November 13, 2014, an eastbound BNSF train carrying lumber and paper product in Casselton, N.D., derailed 21 cars that subsequently struck a passing westbound train derailing 12 empty tank cars. BNSF said the underlying cause of the derailment appears to be a broken rail. No injuries were reported.
BNSF crews worked through the night to clear the area and opened both tracks late November 14. BNSF is working with the Federal Railroad Administration to learn what factors led to the break. The railroad said the track was visually inspected earlier November 13 with no issues and has been regularly inspected in accord with BNSF’s track inspection program, which complies with federal standards.
BNSF stated, “As we continue working to understand what occurred in this incident, we will also undertake a broad-based review of the infrastructure in this vicinity to assure the residents of Casselton of its integrity.”
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple is urging BNSF to perform an exhaustive inspection of the track system in the Casselton area.
“I was pleased to hear that Matt Rose plans to have BNSF make a special priority to perform a complete analysis of rail track both east and west of Casselton,” Dalrymple said. “He assured me that the analysis will be comprehensive and will include a thorough inspection of rail, base, ties, crossing areas and other infrastructure.
“While we continue to press the railroad industry to improve rail safety, we are also moving forward on safer rail tank cars and a stronger state role in rail inspections,” Dalrymple said.
As the temperature drops, Chicago-area Metra has taken a variety of steps this year to be better equipped to deal with cold and snowy weather and better prepared to deliver critical information to its passengers.
Two North American companies won top honors for Bentley System, Inc.’s Be Inspired Awards, part of Bentley’s annual Year in Infrastructure Conference, held in London, U.K., Nov. 4-6. Bentley provides software solutions to engineers, architects and constructors for sustaining intelligent infrastructure. The awards recognize users’ efforts to improve the world’s infrastructure.
RailComm has been selected to provide remote control to multiple switch locations and install a shove track protection system at a Class 1 hump yard located in North Carolina.
RailComm has been chosen to install and provide control to multiple switches throughout the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) terminal.
After more than two years of construction, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Expo Phase 2 reached a significant milestone as crews tied together the electrical components of Phase 2 of the line with Phase 1 at the Culver City station on Nov. 8 and 9.
Metrolinx in Toronto, Canada, will upgrade and modernize the entire signaling system within the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC) starting next year, an improvement that will provide long-term benefits to both transit operations and customers.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a final rule that strengthens training requirements for railroad employees and contractors who perform safety-related work.
On November 10, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit’s (NYCT) FASTRACK program returns to the F line between Greenwich Village in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.