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 San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) began a project in late March to rehabilitate aging rails on San Jose Avenue, adjacent to the Cam Beach Yard near Balboa Park Station.
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.
IntegriCo Composites is making a $20 million capital investment to establish a manufacturing facility near Springhill, La., that will produce transportation infrastructure components including crossties, rail crossings and industrial mats from landfill-bound plastic waste. The company also will relocate its corporate headquarters from Temple, Texas, to Webster Parish, La.
According to the Metropolitan Council, the Southwest Light Rail Transit staff in Minneapolis, Minn., has recommended building shallow tunnels for light- rail tracks and a bridge over a channel between two lakes for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Green Line Extension. Planners also recommended keeping Mitchell Station as the westernmost station in Eden Prairie.
New York state will make additional efforts to protect residents from potential disasters involving the transport of crude oil.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will connect North Texas commuter to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) four months early and under budget with the opening of DFW Airport Station August 18.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $334 million in funding to 53 projects, including $48 million to the Alameda Corridor East – Construction Authority (ACE) Puente Avenue Grade Separation Project.
On March 24, the N.C. Department of Transportation will begin a rail project to add 11 miles of second track to the Norfolk Southern line between Salisbury and Kannapolis. The work will involve upgrading some railroad crossings and permanently closing others, extending Kimball Road from Main Street to Center Avenue and constructing a bridge carrying the North Carolina Railroad tracks over Kimball Road.
Union Pacific will strengthen Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing nearly $11.8 million in the rail line between near Kansas City, Mo., and near Marshall, Mo. The project, funded entirely by UP, began March 18 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2, 2014.
The Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Purple Line light-rail project received Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation.
On March 18, members of the Senate and House Appropriation Committee toured the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Transportation Technology Center (TTC), near Pueblo, Colo., to learn firsthand about the activities being performed at the site.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s Your New Blue track and station improvement program for the Blue Line O’Hare branch will begin this weekend, with track closures between Western and Logan Square.
Denver Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) FasTracks broke ground March 20 on the North Metro Rail Line, a new passenger rail service that will improve transit options for Denver’s northern communities when it opens in 2018.
Englewood, N.J., Mayor Frank Huttle III, along with 11 other mayors in the state have formed a mayors’ commission to spearhead a plan to extend the northern portion of New Jersey Transit’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line through Bergen County.
A study by HNTB Corp. indicates that a passenger train linking New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., on existing freight tracks, with stops in between, could begin two daily trips, ultimately growing to regular service with a possible station near the New Orleans International Airport.
Union Pacific will strengthen transportation infrastructure in Nebraska and Iowa by investing nearly $4.5 million in the rail line between Omaha, Neb., and near Missouri Valley, Iowa. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began March 5 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of May.