Amtrak previews major projects to advance in 2012
With demand for intercity passenger rail service on the rise, Amtrak is moving forward with an aggressive agenda for 2012 and building for the future while strengthening current services.
With demand for intercity passenger rail service on the rise, Amtrak is moving forward with an aggressive agenda for 2012 and building for the future while strengthening current services.
L.B. Foster Company’s Pueblo, Colo., rail products plant has been chosen by IndustryWeek magazine as one of 10 North American manufacturing facilities to receive the publication’s 2011 Best Plants Award. IndustryWeek’s website reported L.B. Foster’s rail joints and bars facility has been recognized for excellence in manufacturing. The magazine notes that the plant demonstrates extraordinary continuous improvement in the workplace and sustained efforts to provide customer satisfaction.
Hawaii’s Honolulu Rail Transit Authority awarded a $38.8 million contract to AECOM Technical Services, Inc., to design the project’s airport section of the elevated rail guideway.
Sonoma Marin Area Rapid Transit in Southern California has selected Stacy and Witbeck/Herzog to build Phase 1 of the train’s backbone between Santa Rosa and San Rafael, Calif.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded more than $186 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation for a high-speed rail project that will reduce travel times and put Americans back to work this spring.
Unitrac Railroad Materials has hired Tony Chambers as its Southeast regional sales manager.
Dear Railway Track & Structures and Rail Group News readers,
Happy New Year. January 1 marked my first day as publisher of the Simmons-Boardman Rail Division, which consists of Railway Age, International Railway Journal and Railway Track & Structures.
Skanska signed a design-build contract to construct a 16-kilometer (9.9-mile) extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system near San Francisco, Calif. Skanska is leading a joint venture with Shimmick Construction and Herzog Contracting Corporation.
Atlantic Track promoted Ricky Knox to the newly created position of Southeast regional manager. Knox has been with Atlantic Track since 2004 and has been in the railroad industry for more than 20 years.
One year ago, the Federal Transit Administration gave TriMet permission to authorize Kiewit Infrastructure West to begin design and construction of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge, the first bridge to be built over the Willamette River in more than 40 years. In that time, more than 1 million pages of calculations have gone into the engineering of the bridge, now being built in the river. Drilling for the first of 12 shafts is complete and crews placed a rebar cage in advance of concrete, which was poured on Friday, Dec. 23.
As a preventive measure, VIA Rail Canada will redirect passengers on board the Montreal/Gaspé train service onto buses for the Matapedia/Gaspé leg of the trip, in both directions. VIA has taken this decision, in consultation with the Société des chemins de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG), following questions raised as to the condition of the rail network in the area. The situation will remain as such until an updated notice is released.
Armtec Infrastructure Inc. has secured a number of rail infrastructure projects, valued at more than CA$30 million (US$29 million), within the Greater Toronto Area. These projects were anticipated as part of the previously announced CA$50 million (US$48.6 million) in new contracts that are expected to be booked during the fourth quarter.
EVRAZ plans to upgrade its Pueblo, Colo., rail facility. The upgrades are primarily focused on product quality and operational improvements and are also intended to expand head hardened rail manufacturing capacity.
Kansas City Southern President and CEO David Starling reviews 2011 and plans the next year’s progress for KCS.
Canadian National and the United Steelworkers Local 2004 have reached a tentative agreement to renew the labor contract for approximately 2,800 maintenance-of-way employees in Canada. The current agreement is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2011.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority is set to introduce FASTRACK, a new way of working on the rails. Beginning Monday, January 9, the 4, 5 and 6 lines will be shut down from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., suspending all Lexington Avenue Line service between Grand Central-42nd Street and Atlantic Avenue in both directions for four consecutive weeknights.
United States Department of Transportation awarded $511 million in TIGER III discretionary grants to 46 capital construction projects in 33 states, of which $279 million of funding will go to rail-related projects.
The U.S Department of Transportation awarded $10 million in TIGER funding to Seattle area’s Sound Transit in support of constructing an extension of Link light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to South 200th Street.
Canadian Pacific has completed the first year of infrastructure enhancements as part of an aggressive three-year plan to upgrade its North Main Line between Winnipeg, MB, and Edmonton, AB, Canada.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $10 million in federal resources to help upgrade the rail line near Devils Lake, N.D. These federal resources will be added to additional funding the state’s congressional delegation worked to secure from Amtrak and BNSF to help cover the cost for the project, which many deem critical to regional commerce.