NYCT plans rail bridge and trackwork
New York City Transit will advance rehabilitation of a bridge and perform another round of FASTRACK improvements in the coming weeks.
Track Maintenance
California approves high-speed rail funding
On Friday, July 6, the California Senate followed the State Assembly in approving funds for the first 130 miles of the planned high-speed rail corridor. Voter-approved bonds to finance the project can now be sold with the bill’s passage.
REES 2012 a success for railway engineering education
A successful Railway Engineering Education Symposium (REES) was held June 11-13 in Overland Park, Kan. REES 2012 brought together 28 “student professors” and 21 instructors, who represented more than 30 universities from both the United States and Canada.
CN to build five sidings on B.C. North Line
Canadian National plans to construct five extended sidings on its B.C. North Line in 2012 as part of a multi-year capital program to expand freight train capacity to handle growing freight volumes along its important Edmonton, Alberta, to Prince Rupert, B.C., corridor.
Ingram resigns from CP’s Board of Directors
Tony Ingram has resigned from the Canadian Pacific Board of Directors. This is the third member of the board to resign in the past month following a tough proxy battle that came to a head at the railroad’s annual meeting in May in which then-president and CEO, Fred Green, stepped down.
OneRail Coalition eager to work with Congress on further improvements
The OneRail Coalition, a diverse group of rail stakeholders, issued a statement congratulating both parties and the House and the Senate for working together to advance transportation reauthorization legislation, which saves and creates millions of jobs by maintaining federal transportation spending at current levels.
Loudoun County on board with Dulles rail
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to fund Phase 2 of the planned rail extension to Dulles Airport. The county’s estimated portion of the project, which will extend Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Silver Line from Reston to Loudoun, is $270 million.
RTD recommends Kiewit proposal to complete full I-225 rail line
Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) staff recommended to the RTD Board of Directors to move forward with a proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Co., to complete the I-225 Light Rail Line to Peoria, Colo.
LACMTA gets FTA go ahead on Regional Connector Project
The Federal Transit Administration granted the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority a Record of Decision for the $1.37 billion Regional Connector Transit Corridor, officially certifying that the project has now satisfied all federal environmental guidelines.
Houston Metro celebrates six-mile mark on LRT extension
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas, has completed six miles on the light-rail transit extension. Six miles equals about 64,000 linear feet of track in the ground, leaving nine miles to go.
HDR acquires InfraConsult
HDR Engineering, Inc., has acquired InfraConsult LLC, an infrastructure management and advisory firm with five offices in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Hawaii. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Going forward, InfraConsult will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDR Engineering, Inc.
Ontario government pushes forward with previously approved transit plan
Ontario, Canada, is moving forward to deliver the largest transit expansion in the city of Toronto’s history, which will help ease congestion and create thousands of jobs.
FRA to study NEC improvements, proposes revised passenger emergency preparedness regs
The Federal Railroad Administration issued a Notice of Intent that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate potential passenger rail improvements on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Mass. The FRA is leading the planning and environmental evaluation of the NEC, an effort known as NEC Future, in close coordination with the involved states, the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission, Amtrak and other stakeholders.
UP celebrates 150 years
Founded July 1, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, Union Pacific today celebrates 150 years of building America. Starting by helping construct the first transcontinental railroad, surviving the country’s multiple economic crises, supporting America’s military men and women through conflicts and forging forward to overcome hurricanes, floods and droughts, Union Pacific remains on America’s landscape.
RTD breaks ground on two expansion projects
The Denver Regional Transportation District is breaking ground on two expansion projects. The final structure on the West Rail Line that will serve Denver, Lakewood, Golden and Jefferson County and the first segment of the Northwest Rail Line between Denver Union Station and south Westminster.
Hunter Harrison takes reins at CP
Canadian Pacific appointed Hunter Harrison as president and chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors.
Sound Transit sets budget, schedule for Northgate extension
The Seattle Sound Transit Board of Directors adopted a lifetime budget and schedule to extend light rail from the University of Washington to the Northgate area north of Seattle. Sound Transit expects to break ground on the North Link project this summer and open for service in 2021.
HART requests $1.55 billion in New Starts funding
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation submitted a request for $1.55 billion in federal New Starts funding for the Honolulu rail transit project.
Alaska Railroad to retain majority of federal funding
The Alaska Railroad Corporation was informed by the office of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) that ARRC will continue to receive funding near current levels through Federal Transit Administration formula funds.
KCS promotes Songer to vice president and chief engineer
Kansas City Southern promoted Jeff Songer from assistant vice president planning and administration for KCS’ U.S. engineering department to vice president and chief engineer of KCS U.S. subsidiary, closely coordinating with the leadership of its Mexican subsidiary, effective July 1.