The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded two contracts for the East Side Access project, the transportation megaproject that is connecting Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) customers to Grand Central Terminal.
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is starting a $120-million construction program designed to protect the LIRR’s Long Beach Branch from the kind of devastating damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
A major expansion at Norfolk Southern’s (NS) Bellevue Yard in Ohio is nearing completion and is expected to wrap up construction by the end of this year.
The state of Illinois will make a $223-million state capital investment that will create hundreds of jobs and restart Amtrak service between Rockford and Chicago beginning in 2015.
Canada’s Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt, has issued a Section 31 Notice and Order to VIA Rail to immediately address safety issues at six railway crossings in the Barrhaven community of Ottawa.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved seven grade crossing projects in Columbiana, Defiance, Mahoning, Putnam, Seneca and Summit counties.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) revealed its intention to issue a proposed rule requiring two-person train crews on crude oil trains and establishing minimum crew size standards for most mainline freight and passenger rail operations. The FRA also intends to advance a rulemaking on train securement and recommends a rulemaking on the movement of hazardous materials.
Amtrak awarded Michael Baker Jr., Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker International, a three-year, $4.2 million dollar contract to provide construction management and inspection services for five major projects as part of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Amtrak Hudson Line Improvements Program.
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), launched a new public service advertising (PSA) campaign called See Tracks? Think Train!, which aims to reduce pedestrian and driver injuries and fatalities around railroad tracks by highlighting behaviors that put people at risk.
Kinkisharyo, a North American manufacturer of low-floor light-rail cars, awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Protran Technology LLC to outfit more than 500 railcars with the Protracker Roadway Worker Protection System (RWPS).
U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) led a letter from 16 senators, calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to support new investment and resources for a Safe Transportation of Energy Products Fund to address existing and emerging issues related to the transportation of Bakken crude and other energy products. The Senators also called for increased investment for inspection personnel.
Personnel from VIA Rail Canada will be monitoring the grade crossing area located near Fallowfield Station in Ottawa, Ontario, following several reports of faulty signals. The area encompasses the crossings at Fallowfield Road, Woodroffe Avenue and the OC Transpo Transitway.
The Chicago Transit Authority is changing its procedures concerning the scheduling of rail operators, the result of a comprehensive internal agency review of scheduling procedures following the March 24, 2014 incident at the O’Hare Blue Line station where an operator fell asleep at the controls and launched part of the train into an escalator.
A record number of attendees joined researchers from Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Association of American Railroads 19th Annual Research Review April 1-2, 2014. This year’s theme was “Innovative Technology Developments in North American Railways.”
The Senate Finance Committee passed legislation, Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act, on April 3 renewing a set of provisions known as “tax extenders.”
The Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee published a series of recommendations to improve roadway worker projection when trackwork occurs where adjacent track is present. Between 1997 and 2012, 25 percent of roadway worker fatal accidents have occurred on adjacent track.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) published its report on an April 2013 Canadian Pacific accident and found poor drainage and water-damaged track bed led to 17 cars derailing.
Wabtec Corporation has signed contracts for $16.6 million with Alaska Railroad Corporation to provide Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment and services, including computer-aided dispatch and back office systems. The systems will be installed on the railroad’s 525 miles of controlled track, which are used for both freight and regularly scheduled passenger service.
A peek at Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) priorities for the 2014-2015 budget shows an increased focus on employee safety and keeping aging equipment well-maintained for reliability and passenger safety.
New York state will make additional efforts to protect residents from potential disasters involving the transport of crude oil.