The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) broke ground August 29 on the new Cermak Green Line station, a $50-million construction project that will energize the area around McCormick Place and provide an additional transportation option for the Near South Side.
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) rail transit project could resume construction as early as September after the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) approved the archaeological survey reports. The approval also allows HART to begin permit applications.
Union Pacific and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon have signed a master access agreement and a memorandum of understanding.
The Alaska Railroad Corporation is looking for someone to fill the position of president and chief executive officer.
OmniTRAX, Inc., hired Pierre-Luc Mathieu as chief strategy officer. In his role, Mathieu will have the primary responsibility for strategy development, service expansion, new market entry and mergers and acquisitions processes.
At the request of the U.S. Department of State, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Colo., hosted a high-level Ethiopian delegation on August 20 to research transit solutions to improve the availability, quality and efficient delivery of transportation services to the disabled in their nation.
“We are pleased to respond to this request from the state department’s International Visitor Leadership Program,” stated Phil Washington, RTD general manager. “It is humbling to be recognized both in America and internationally for our light-rail system and how we continue to pursue ways to improve transportation delivery to disabled community members.”
Delegation members represent the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC), the Addis Ababa Road and Transport Bureau and the National Association of Physical Handicap. ERC officials have expressed interest in ensuring that the light-rail transport now under construction, the first in Sub-Saharan Africa, will be a state-of-the-art facility and meet internationally accepted disability standards.
In Chicago, Metra has selected Deputy Executive Director/Chief Operations Officer Donald Orseno, a lifelong railroader, as the interim executive director/CEO.
Vossloh AG is stepping up its presence in North America and opening a production plant for its rail fastening systems in the U.S. The fitting out of the facility will start in the third quarter of 2013, with plant commissioning followed by regular production scheduled to begin after mid-2014. There will be 50 new jobs at the plant in Waco, Texas.
The state of New Jersey is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy to design NJ TransitGrid, a first-of-its-kind electrical microgrid capable of supplying highly-reliable power during storms or other times when the traditional centralized grid is compromised.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has awarded a contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide construction management services for transit projects throughout its system.
Elected officials and community leaders are rallying in support of Caltrain‘s $20-million request for federal funding to help electrify and upgrade the performance, operating efficiency, capacity, safety and reliability of the passenger rail service.
Richard J. “Rick” Corman, founder of R. J. Corman Railroad Group, died the morning of August 23, 2013, following a 12-year battle with multiple myeloma. Corman died at his home in Nicholasville, Ky., surrounded by his family. He was 58.
VIA Rail Canada has suspended service between Matapédia, New Carlisle and Gaspé, as a result of Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG)’s rail infrastructure problems in Quebec.
Watco Companies hired Jeff Van Schaick as assistant vice president, government affairs.
In Denver, Colo., the Regional Transportation District (RTD) celebrates milestones on its Eagle P3 project and I-225 Rail Line.
Sound Transit celebrated 10 years of light-rail service on its Tacoma Link August 21.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has awarded more than $4.9 million to intermodal projects in the state. FDOT selected four projects to fund from a total of eight applications received in the FY 2012/2013 funding cycle.
The next segment of a $40-million facelift of the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Massapequa Station started August 21, as the railroad continues the work it began in the spring on a two-year rehabilitation project.
Work is underway to help stabilize slopes and stop landslides along the Pacific Northwest’s only north-south passenger rail corridor.
The new $103-million West Haven passenger rail station, which is used by New Haven Line customers and operated by Metro-North Railroad under contract to Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), is now open.