The Port of New Orleans Board of Commissioners awarded a $13.3-million construction contract to Hard Rock Construction LLC for the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal improvement project. Hard Rock Construction, of Metairie, La., was the lowest of eight bidders.
Effective September 1, Kansas City Southern will increase train speed on portions of its line from Gulfport to Hattiesburg, Miss., from 25 miles per hour to 49 miles per hour.
Canada’s Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt issued a statement in response to the release of the Transportation Safety Board’s (TSB) final report from its investigation into the July 6, 2013 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn joined local and state officials August 19 to break ground on a $29.6-million grade separation project in Lynwood, Ill., which will improve traffic flow and safety at the U.S. Route 30 and Canadian National crossing.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigation into the July 2013 Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, concluded that a number of factors led to the accident.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and New Hampshire reached an agreement concerning a $1.4-million Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery (TIGER) 2013 grant for the New Hampshire Northcoast Rail Improvement Project, which will repair and improve sections of the rail line between Ossipee and Rochester.
The $64-million Sand Canyon Undercrossing Project in Irving, Calif., part of Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) OC Bridges program, is now open.
Union Pacific will strengthen Iowa’s transportation infrastructure by investing $6 million in the rail line between Burt and Goldfield, Iowa. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began July 25 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-October.
Larry Etherton, PE, retired director engineering, Norfolk Southern and former president of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), has assumed the role of interim executive director and chief executive officer of AREMA.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) a $35-million Core Capacity grant to lay the groundwork to improve service and capacity on a heavily-traveled segment of its aging North Red Line and Purple Line rail transit system.
Caltrain’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a $43.6-million capital budget, which will provide funding for bridge repair work in San Mateo, new safety improvements on the rail system and station modifications to allow for longer trains.
Siemens Rail Automation plans to combine and expand its manufacturing and engineering operations in the Pittsburgh area to specifically support Positive Train Control (PTC) projects, including a project to upgrade train control systems on two lines for the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The company plans to add 129 jobs, 68 in engineering and 61 in manufacturing, at its new location in Munhall, Pa.
Santa Fe, N.M., residents will see a higher level of safety at Rail Runner crossings in their area, following a review of the crossings by Rio Metro Regional Transit District, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and the city of Santa Fe.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (SCVTA) Warren Avenue grade separation project is now complete and will be open to traffic beginning August 11. This is just one of many projects that will make way for the SCVTA Bay Area Rapid Transportation (BART) Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reached an agreement with Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) to perform design work for a portion of the route for the new passenger rail service between Chicago and Moline. Next month, IDOT is planning to begin making improvements to accommodate service on the BNSF portion of the route.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been awarded a four-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract from the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania to provide professional engineering design services for light-rail transit systems.
Rail safety and innovation has been given an even greater emphasis at the federal level these days. The Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), based in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is at the heart of cutting edge research
The derailment of a CSX coal train on a railroad bridge in Ellicott City, Md., on August 20, 2012, was caused by a broken rail with evidence of rolling contact fatigue (RCF), according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Union Pacific employees achieved a 1.01 reportable safety incident rate for the first half of the year (through June 30, 2014), matching the best-ever rate achieved in the first half of 2011.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) made several organizational changes within the operations department.