The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board approved a 20-year, $70.7-million contract to the Harris Corporation of Rochester for the design, construction and maintenance of an enhanced radio system for the MTA Police Department.
Positive Train Control (PTC) was again in the spotlight this week, as the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing June 24 on “The State of Positive Train Control in the United States.”
Metrolink says Positive Train Control (PTC) is in Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD) across its entire 341-mile network earlier this month, making it the first railroad in the nation to have PTC running during regular service on all of its hosted lines.
Sound Transit contractors have completed initial work to integrate and test University Link light-rail signal and power systems as part of the push to open the extension in early 2016.
BNSF plans to contribute $50,000 to help study potential solutions to ease congestion at railroad crossings along the Edmonds waterfront in the state of Washington.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named the winners of its annual Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards, as well as the Rail Transit Team Achievement Award during its annual Rail Conference taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The League of Railway Industry Women (LRIW) released the agenda for its annual conference, which will be held in conjunction with Railway Interchange 2015, taking place October 4-7 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) says transportation and safety teams from Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) and KCS met in Laredo, Texas, for a safety blitz, which covered observation and testing of safety behaviors, such as slip trip and fall prevention and switching techniques; star rules for vehicles, equipment and tools inspections; securing equipment and air brake testing and General Code of Operating Rules, such as shove movements and safe and efficient switching.
With the Congressionally-mandated December 31, 2015, deadline for many freight lines and all intercity and commuter rail systems to install, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has been working continuously over the past seven years to build and install a Positive Train Control (PTC) system across its regional rail network.
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced the “Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act” on June 19. The senators say the bill is written to “improve passenger rail safety, reauthorize Amtrak services and improve existing rail infrastructure.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Operation Lifesaver, Inc., formed a partnership to promote safety at Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road crossings.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) awarded a $1.23-billion contract to construct a 60-plus mile portion of high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco to the joint venture team of Dragados USA and Flatiron.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently conducted an inspection of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) rail and bus systems that identified “organizational deficiencies and operational concerns that significantly limit WMATA’s ability to recognize and resolve safety issues.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) completed the $23 million acquisition of the Framingham Secondary Rail Line, a 21-mile segment of rail that connects Framingham and Mansfield, from CSX.
Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX) has acquired SENSR from Reference LLC, located in Elkader, Iowa. The company is now known as SENSR Monitoring Technologies, LLC (SMT), a wholly- owned subsidiary of GREX.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) says that frequent storms, rain and high water have created a number of challenges on its network this spring. The most significant of these are trees with roots saturated due to heavy rain, falling onto the tracks; power outages affecting signal equipment and grade crossing warning devices; track washouts and driftwood from high water gathering around bridges.
RailComm completed negotiations with energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan for a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contract for remote rail yard control at its Deepwater Terminal in Pasadena, Texas.
Union Pacific plans to invest about $23 million in its infrastructure in Nevada, $46 million in Arizona and $23 million in New Mexico.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will begin a modernization project on its Route 101/102 (Media/Sharon Hill) trolley lines June 15.