Pacific and Arctic Railway & Navigation Company (PARN) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 959 reached a tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement on March 29, 2012, covering the combined crafts and classes of shop crafts and maintenance-of-way employees.
Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad in Michigan has been using RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller train control system to dispatch their railroad since 2007. The DOC System at LS&I will soon be able to be accessed through web-enabled software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority revised its Business Plan to launch high-speed rail service, capable of traveling 220 miles-per-hour, from Merced to the San Fernando Valley, within 10 years.
The editors of Railway Track & Structures are pleased to bring you “Rail Brief,” a weekly e-mail newsletter that brings breaking news about rail engineering and maintenance-of-way to your inbox. Whether it occurs on or off the track, RT&S “Rail Brief” will cover advancing projects, developing technologies and other updates on rail infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking innovative proposals from small businesses to address research needs facing the Department’s agencies. On April 2, U.S. DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration/John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center released the final Fiscal Year 2012 solicitation for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The solicitation contains eight research topic descriptions and invites small businesses to submit research proposals no later than June 5, 2012. The solicitation will be available online at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir.
The Transportation for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees all transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), released proposals to balance the agency’s upcoming two-year budget. The proposals make a significant investment in maintenance that will increase Muni’s reliability, reduce overtime through adequate staffing and focus on key initiatives such as the Transit Effectiveness Project.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road is expanding its Quiet Car pilot program to include all peak hour trains on the Far Rockaway Branch and select rush hour trains on the Hempstead, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches beginning Monday, April 2.
Leaders from the Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC) and Regional Transportation Authority called on Congress to act now on extending national transportation funding ahead of a Friday deadline that, if missed, could put the region’s transportation system and entire economy in limbo.
By the end of 2012, Amtrak expects to more than triple the number of track-miles on its own railroad where Positive Train Control safety technology is installed.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police officers went on strike at 2:00 p.m., March 21.
While SEPTA management was hoping to negotiate a new contract without a strike, it has implemented a contingency plan to deal with this situation.
Last month, I wrote about safety as it pertains to the elimination of the Harriman awards. Safety is again at the forefront, this time thanks to legislation introduced to the Illinois General Assembly.
RailComm has been selected to provide the GCOR dispatch system for Genesee and Wyoming’s Arizona Eastern Railway. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) train control system will be accessed through a web-enabled Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model.
Southern California’s Caltrain will conduct construction on the San Bruno Grade Seperation Project and perform maintenance at several locations.
John Orrison has joined HDR as the practice leader for railroad operations. He is based in the firm’s Fort Worth, Texas, office. His responsibilities include developing and expanding HDR’s freight rail program in North America and abroad.
Effective March 15, 2012, Norfolk Southern lowered the railroad operating speed limits on certain sections of the Michigan Line between Dearborn and Kalamazoo that handle both Amtrak’s passenger service and Norfolk Southern’s freight service. These lower speed limits, 25-30 mph, have been imposed to reflect the maximum safe operating speeds for the line, given the line’s condition.
The Chicago Transit Authority previewed upcoming track renewal work that will affect primarily weekend service in the Loop beginning in mid-April through late-2012. The project will involve special trackwork at the Loop junctions and the replacement of nearly 11,500 feet of elevated rail and track components that were installed in the mid-1980s, which are nearing the end of their useful life.
The replacement of century-old catenary wire that powers the New York Metro-North New Haven Line trains will resume on Monday March 19th, on two tracks between Southport and Bridgeport and will continue through the end of November.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will expand the operation of test trains along the LACMTA Expo Line corridor beginning Sunday, March 18, running trains from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week, on a schedule of every 12 minutes to simulate regular service on the line once the system opens in early 2012.
Invensys Rail Corp. and Lilee Systems have joined forces to bring a new Wayside Messaging Server (WMS) to PTC applications across North America. Invensys Rail will provide sales, application engineering and field service support for the WMS-2000, which was developed by Lilee.