OFF Track Maintenance

NCDOT halts grade separation project, will continue to study rail safety

After hearing concerns from citizens and re-evaluating the project budget, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has decided not to proceed with the design and construction of the 24th Street grade separation project in Kannapolis at this time. Instead, the department will conduct an in-depth study to determine the most effective location for the project with the fewest effects on residents, business owners and the environment.

Watco Transportation Services names AVP transportation safety

Keith Barksdale has accepted the position of assistant vice president of transportation safety at Watco Transportation Services. As assistant vice president of transportation safety, his responsibilities include leading the regional safety quality and assurance managers in carrying safety initiatives to the field level and ensure that the company has rule compliance on existing programs.

Sen. Schumer: FRA OKs Niagara Falls Intermodal Center funding

The Federal Railroad Administration has finalized the grant agreement with local stakeholders unlocking $16.5 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funding for the Niagara Falls Intermodal Transportation Center in New York. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer wrote to FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo in July, urging the administrator to finalize this important grant agreement and allow this long awaited project to finally move forward.

University of Alberta opens rail research facility

The University of Alberta in Canada has launched a new partnership that will support jobs and long-term success in the Canadian rail sector. This new partnership, the Canadian Rail Research laboratory, is a joint initiative between the Government of Canada, Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures (AITF), the Association of American Railroads, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National and the University of Alberta.

FRA proposes rule on system safety programs

The Federal Railroad Administration prepared a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs (SSP) to further improve the safety of their operations. 

KCS maintenance pattern ensures consistent service

KCS president and CEO Dave Starling, executive vice president and chief operating officer Dave Ebbrecht and several others from the transportation, engineering, mechanical, sales and marketing and purchasing teams participated in an inspection trip of the lines between Heavener, Okla. and Shreveport, La., between Shreveport and Wylie, Texas, and south from Shreveport to the intermodal shipper facility in Kendleton, Texas.

BNSF expands Bakken Oil transport capacity to one million barrels per day

BNSF has increased capacity in 2012 to enable the railroad to haul one million barrels per day out of the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana. This increased capacity will allow the energy industry to continue the record expansion of oil production in the Williston Basin and to ship the new production to markets throughout the U.S.

RailAmerica launches new industrial development website

RailAmerica, Inc., now has a new industrial development website that will help current and prospective customers who are interested in building or expanding a rail-served facility or developing transloading solutions. Additionally, this tool provides a listing of all locations accessible to RailAmerica railroads.

Twin Cities’ Central Corridor project installs first of 14 substations

Crews have completed placement of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Central Corridor light-rail line’s first traction-power substation just south of the Raymond Avenue Station. Fourteen substations, located about one mile apart, will convert alternating electrical current to direct current, which will power the light-rail vehicles using a system of overhead catenary wires. Throughout the next year, the 13 other substations will be installed at a rate of one a month.

L.B. Foster sells Precise Structural Products

L.B. Foster Company has completed of the sale of Precise Structural Products to Cianbro Fabrication and Coating Corporation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Precise Structural Products is engaged in manufacturing fabricated steel products for the highway, bridge, transit and construction markets and providing custom fabrication and related services including welding, sawing, cambering, blasting and painting.

Richmond to Hampton Roads HSR Project receives Final Environmental Impact Statement approval

The Federal Railroad Administration and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) have issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for two routes connecting the Hampton Roads area to Richmond and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor in Virginia. The newly identified route south of the James River recommends a new, 90-110 mph alignment from downtown Norfolk through Petersburg to Richmond, while maintaining Amtrak’s current service from Newport News through Williamsburg to Richmond.