Amtrak awarded Michael Baker Jr., Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker International, a three-year, $4.2 million dollar contract to provide construction management and inspection services for five major projects as part of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Amtrak Hudson Line Improvements Program.
Kinkisharyo, a North American manufacturer of low-floor light-rail cars, awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Protran Technology LLC to outfit more than 500 railcars with the Protracker Roadway Worker Protection System (RWPS).
Union Pacific Railroad began work to improve infrastructure in Nebraska and by investing more than $9 million in the rail line between near Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Arlington, Neb. The project began April 1 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month.
A record number of attendees joined researchers from Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Association of American Railroads 19th Annual Research Review April 1-2, 2014. This year’s theme was “Innovative Technology Developments in North American Railways.”
The Senate Finance Committee passed legislation, Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act, on April 3 renewing a set of provisions known as “tax extenders.”
The Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee published a series of recommendations to improve roadway worker projection when trackwork occurs where adjacent track is present. Between 1997 and 2012, 25 percent of roadway worker fatal accidents have occurred on adjacent track.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) began a project in late March to rehabilitate aging rails on San Jose Avenue, adjacent to the Cam Beach Yard near Balboa Park Station.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) published its report on an April 2013 Canadian Pacific accident and found poor drainage and water-damaged track bed led to 17 cars derailing.
A peek at Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) priorities for the 2014-2015 budget shows an increased focus on employee safety and keeping aging equipment well-maintained for reliability and passenger safety.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved eight highway-rail grade crossing projects in Lucas, Seneca, Stark and Wood counties.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will connect North Texas commuter to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) four months early and under budget with the opening of DFW Airport Station August 18.
On March 24, the N.C. Department of Transportation will begin a rail project to add 11 miles of second track to the Norfolk Southern line between Salisbury and Kannapolis. The work will involve upgrading some railroad crossings and permanently closing others, extending Kimball Road from Main Street to Center Avenue and constructing a bridge carrying the North Carolina Railroad tracks over Kimball Road.
Union Pacific will strengthen Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing nearly $11.8 million in the rail line between near Kansas City, Mo., and near Marshall, Mo. The project, funded entirely by UP, began March 18 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2, 2014.
The Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Purple Line light-rail project received Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s Your New Blue track and station improvement program for the Blue Line O’Hare branch will begin this weekend, with track closures between Western and Logan Square.
Denver Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) FasTracks broke ground March 20 on the North Metro Rail Line, a new passenger rail service that will improve transit options for Denver’s northern communities when it opens in 2018.
Englewood, N.J., Mayor Frank Huttle III, along with 11 other mayors in the state have formed a mayors’ commission to spearhead a plan to extend the northern portion of New Jersey Transit’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line through Bergen County.
A study by HNTB Corp. indicates that a passenger train linking New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., on existing freight tracks, with stops in between, could begin two daily trips, ultimately growing to regular service with a possible station near the New Orleans International Airport.
Caltrain will begin service for passengers at its newly grade-separated San Bruno Station April 1.
