Mike Ogborn will retire from OmniTRAX, Inc., as its managing director and executive vice president. Ogborn began his career with OmniTRAX representing it before the Interstate Commerce Commission and other venues in the mid-1980’s and then spent the next 20 years working within the company in various capacities. After retirement, he will continue to serve the company as a member of the OmniTRAX Advisory Board and will provide consulting services to it.
Seattle’s Sound Transit Link light rail turns three years old, amid continued steady ridership growth since opening day. Link has carried an estimated 21.6 million riders since it opened July 18, 2009.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to install flashing lights and gates at two grade crossings.
Hundreds of U.S. and Canadian buyers will make their way to InnoTrans this year at the Messe Berlin Exhibition Grounds in Berlin, Germany. Show dates are September 18-21, 2012.
The Chicago Transit Authority unveiled a $205 million initiative that will rehabilitate and modernize the agency’s bus and rail maintenance facilities, which will benefit commuters and the local economy with the creation of more than new 500 jobs.
The Bechtel Corporation-led team building Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor extension project completed construction of the aerial guideway that will carry Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority trains and passengers over major highways and through
Smart Sand and Canadian Pacific Railway have entered into a long-term partnership, under which the two companies will supply and ship premium, Northern White frac sand to the unconventional oil and gas industry in North America producing regions (including the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations and the Utica and Marcellus Shales). The two companies also announced the partnership’s first initiative: building a new frac sand transload facility, expected to be the region’s largest, in Makoti, N.D., that will serve the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin beginning in early 2013.
Crouch Engineering has plans for expansion, including a top-to-bottom review of personnel and departments. The changes come as a part of the firm’s plans for future expansion after more than two decades servicing America’s railways.
The City of Ottawa has received Federal Environmental Assessment approval for the Ottawa Light Rail Transit (OLRT) project from the Canadian government.
CSX Corporation hosted a dedication ceremony for the new Fifth Street Bridge in Niles, Ohio. The upgraded bridge’s higher vertical clearance helps clear the way for CSX’s upgraded, double-stack freight rail corridor, the National Gateway, linking East Coast sea ports with the CSX Northwest Ohio Terminal and other Midwest distribution and manufacturing hubs.
Federal and Illinois state officials, along with representatives of the town of Normal and Amtrak dedicated a multimodal transportation center to serve as a station for Amtrak rail and motorcoach passengers, as well as local transit buses.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to install flashing lights and gates at five grade crossings in Fairfield, Henry, Logan, Preble and Shelby counties.
Earlier this month more than 900 CSX employees worked to complete the company’s 2012 maintenance “Jamboree” on a section of its network in the Southeast.
NJ Transit Board of Directors approved a Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) operating budget and capital program that supports safe, reliable and cost-effective service for the nearly 250 million customer trips provided by the state’s rail, bus and light-rail network each year.
A cleaner, brighter and more welcoming Granville Red Line station will reopen Friday, July 13, after a six-week temporary closure as part of the $86 million Red Line North Interim Improvement project.
North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded a contract to preserve the bascule span bridge on the Carolina Coastal Railroad over the Newport River in Carteret County.
In collaboration with various sectors of the rail industry, the Association of American Railroads says that the nation’s major freight, intercity passenger, commuter railroads and rail supply companies expect to hire more than 5,000 veterans in 2012. The rail industry’s commitment is part of the White House Joining Forces initiative, a nationwide effort to recognize, honor and support America’s veterans and military families.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law to begin the next phase of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, which is designed to create jobs, strengthen the transportation system and support economic growth across Illinois.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in California has continued track improvement work on the Muni Metro system. From July 13 to July 16, SFMTA will install new track switches on the L Taraval Line between 22nd and 23rd avenues and at 35th Avenue.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and California Governor Edmund Brown Jr., visited the Port of Oakland Army Base redevelopment site in California on Monday, July 9, 2012, to see where the port will be constructing the first phase of its rail project that received $15 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funding.
The Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal (OHIT) Rail Access project of the Port of Oakland is expected to improve rail access to and from the port and expand the port’s rail capacity, leading to faster and cleaner goods movement in Northern California, while also providing rail access for the proposed Oakland Army Base redevelopment. These federal funds, along with additional local and state funding, will support the transportation project.
“This $15 million grant from the federal government boosts state and local efforts to create thousands of jobs by investing nearly $1.5 billion in Bay Area transportation projects. We’re not just rebuilding our infrastructure, we are also rebuilding our middle class,” stated Governor Brown.
The Port of Oakland handles 99 percent of all containerized goods in Northern California and is the only major U.S. West Coast container port that handles more exports than imports.
“I am very pleased this federal funding we fought for is coming to the Port of Oakland, where it will create jobs and make important infrastructure improvements. The Port of Oakland’s ship-to-rail exchange project is an excellent investment of federal funds in local and national economies because it both creates jobs and it improves critical public infrastructure in the Bay Area,” said Rep Barbara Lee (D-CA.). “This $15 million TIGER grant for the Port of Oakland is a clear example of the success of the TIGER grant program and why we must preserve and protect TIGER grants from efforts to end the funding.”
The federal funding will be matched more than one-to-one to launch the first phase of the OHIT Rail Access project, which is part of the joint City-Port OAB redevelopment plan.
This OHIT rail project is expected to deliver greater efficiencies in the Port of Oakland’s rail operations, create additional capacity for cargo movement at the seaport, reduce congestion on local roads and highways, create jobs and promote sustainable economic growth in the region.
The project includes building a new arrival track and high-speed turnout from Union Pacific’s mainline, two track leads into the port’s new Joint Intermodal Terminal and a new manifest yard (Knight Yard) to replace the former Oakland Army Base Yard. Knight Yard will be able to handle 100-150 rail cars per day.
The combined City of Oakland redevelopment and the Port’s first phase rail access project on the former Oakland Army Base property is approximately a $500 million investment.
