The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will provide a $50-million grant to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) in Austin, Texas, for the purchase of four additional MetroRail cars and help construct a permanent, expanded downtown rail station.
J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. (JLP) and STV, Inc., received a contract worth up to $10 million from the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) to provide on-call professional engineering design services for Metrolink.
IntegriCo Composites has received an order from a railroad in the U.S. for approximately 5,000 composite crossties for installation in their railway system.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a $1.8-million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to rehabilitate 12 miles of track on the state-owned rail line located between Erick and Sayre, Okla., that will enable faster speeds and increases in freight service along the line.
Axion International Holdings, Inc., has received a new purchase order of $890,000 for ECOTRAX® rail ties to be shipped to a large multi-national industrial company.
Alaska Railroad (ARRC) crews continue to make progress on plugging an 80-foot-long washout following high waters at Skookum Creek (ARRC milepost 59.7).
The incident began about 7:30 a.m. June 17, when high water eroded the trackbed, leaving the track suspended over the water. Alaska Railroad track maintenance crews, heavy equipment and a rockhauling work train have been working round-the clock for three days to plug the gap and re-route a high volume of water.
“Earlier this week, this area experienced significant isolated rainfall that measured as much as a half inch every 10-15 minutes for a sustained period,” said ARRC Vice President Engineering Clark Hopp. “We are essentially dealing with a new river channel that did not previously exist.”
While freight traffic is not affected, passenger train traffic southbound from Anchorage has been suspended since the incident occurred. A decision to restore passenger service will be made at 7p.m. on June 20 and is based on the progress of the repair efforts.
The railroad has not yet determined the final financial impact of the outage. However, ARRC says revenue losses are expected to reach tens of thousands of dollars due to refunds and cancellations. Track repair expenses will also be considerable, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Union Pacific will strengthen Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure by investing $11 million in the rail line between Rusk and near Eau Claire and between Black River Falls and Wyeville, Wis. The project, which is funded entirely by Union Pacific, began June 5 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of August.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board of Directors has awarded a $210-million contract for the South Coast Rail Project to Vanasee Hangen Brustlin/HNTB Corporation, officially moving the project from planning into construction.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is launching an emergency project on June 20, 2014, to repair the light-rail tracks and prevent further erosion of land around the Cold Spring Station due to heavy rains. Emergency work will require the temporary closure of the Mt. Washington, Cold Spring and Woodberry stations for approximately three weeks and MTA anticipates the project should be complete by July 11, 2014, weather permitting.
Alaska Railroad passenger train traffic southbound from Anchorage was interrupted June 17 due to high water damage to the track at Skookum Creek, located between Luebner Lake and Portage.
The Indiana Rail Road (INRD) outlines a new bridge project that will get underway in July and details its new and rebuilt fleet of ballast cars in the latest edition of its newsletter, “Mileposts.”
Unitrac Railroad Materials, Inc., is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. Since the company’s founding in 1989, Unitrac has offered railroad products, special trackwork and railroad services to customers nationwide.
Southton Rail Yard, a 300-acre dual rail-serve facility in San Antonio, Texas, designed for transloading energy-related products, celebrated its grand opening June 11.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the fiscal year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) funding bill on a vote of 229-192. The legislation includes funding for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies.
In its investigation report, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) determined that inadequate water drainage led to the collapse of an embankment, causing the derailment of a VIA Rail Canada train near Togo, Saskatchewan.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved construction authorization directing Metro Regional Transit Authority (MRTA) to install mast-mounted flashing lights and roadway gates at the 12th Street NW grade crossing located in the city of Canton, Stark County.
Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will conduct an operational review of procedures at Walk Bridge in Norwalk, Conn.
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has started installing the guideway for the rail system, placing the 50-ton segments on top of the columns in West Oahu, Hawaii.