A 98.84 percent majority of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members working for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) have voted to authorize a strike when a mandatory 30-day cooling off period under the Railway Labor Act comes to an end in less than two weeks.
HDR, Inc., has hired Tom Waldron as transit market sector director, based in HDR’s New York City office. His responsibilities include setting HDR’s vision and initiatives for continued growth and expansion in transit across North America and globally.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s (GWI) newly-established subsidiary, Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, Inc., has completed the acquisition of the west end of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) rail line from Canadian Pacific for approximately $210 million plus approximately $7.5 million for the purchase of certain inventory, equipment and vehicles.
Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia have selected Parsons Transportation Group to help manage Arlington’s streetcar program, which includes the Columbia Pike streetcar segment that the two counties are jointly building.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence joined representatives from Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration and Norfolk Southern on May 29 to kick off the $71.4-million Indiana Gateway project to improve rail lines between Porter, Ind., and the Illinois state line.
On June 2, Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit’s (NYCT) FASTRACK program will return to Manhattan stations along the N, Q and R lines. For four consecutive weeknights the N, Q and R trains will not stop at stations in Manhattan.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Appropriations Committee, Armed Services Committee, Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee, joined representatives from Harsco Rail and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) May 28 for a tour of Harsco Rail’s manufacturing facility and headquarters in Columbia, S.C.
The Department of Transportation has awarded a combined $235 million in federal grants to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy inflicted on New Jersey Transit and Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail systems in late October 2012.
Union Pacific celebrated the grand opening of its New Mexico rail facility May 28, which officially opened April 1. The 2,200-acre site will create value for UP customers and produce greater logistics efficiencies along Union Pacific’s critical Sunset Route, the rail line running 760 miles from El Paso, Texas, to Los Angeles, Calif.
Sand Springs Railway Company is being acquired by Sand Springs Holdings, LLC, a managed affiliate of OmniTRAX, Inc. The Sand Springs Railway, which runs freight service between Sand Springs and Tulsa, Okla., on 32 miles of track, will commence operations no later than July 31, 2014.
In Minneapolis, Minn., Hennepin County recently opened a new multimodal transportation hub named Target Field Station, which connects the Metro Transit Blue and Green lines and Northstar Commuter Rail.
Norfolk Southern‘s President James Squires will assume additional responsibilities in the marketing and operations divisions in line with the company’s normal succession planning process.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will conduct a track renewal project on a portion of its Route 11 trolley line from June 1-August 30, 2014.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority transferred care and control of the first phase of the Silver Line to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on May 27.
WMATA has up to 90 days for testing and training prior to opening the line for passenger service this summer. The opening date will be set by the WMATA Board of Directors in the near future.
When it opens this summer, Silver Line service will run from Wiehle-Reston East station to Largo Town Center, with trains every six minutes during rush hour and every 12 to 20 minutes at other times. Five new stations will be added to the system: McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East.
Work also has begun on Phase 2 of the project, which will connect the system with Herndon, Washington Dulles International Airport and points in Loudoun County, Va.
The Canadian government has guaranteed up to CA$150 million (US$138 million) for the Valley Line Stage 1 Light Rail Transit expansion project in Edmonton, AB, under the New Building Canada Fund-Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component, bringing the total federal contribution to the project up to CA$400 million (US$386 million).
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit’s (NYCT) FASTRACK maintenance program came to the A, C, B and D Central Park West line in Manhattan last week. Hundreds of NYCT employees performed a range of cleaning and maintenance tasks of station and tunnel infrastructure, signal equipment and track and third rail components.
Ashcroft Terminal, an inland transloading facility in British Columbia that is a member of the Canadian government’s Asian Pacific Corridor, completed an expansion project designed to improve the flow of goods by rail and give local industry a competitive edge in international trade.
The N.C. Department of Transportation awarded more than $16 million to 40 projects across the state through the Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program.
Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of Canadian National, in a speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said that dangerous goods are an integral part of everyday life and that CN has an unwavering commitment to moving all traffic safely.
Stella-Jones Inc. has completed the acquisition of the wood treating facilities of Boatright Railroad Products, Inc., located in Montevallo and Clanton, Ala. These facilities manufacture, sell and distribute creosote and borate-treated crossties, as well as switch ties, tie plugs and bridge timbers to railroads and railroad contractors. Sales for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2013, reached $73.5 million.