House committee approves bill with reduced 2015 transportation budget
The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill on May 21 with a vote of 28-21.
The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill on May 21 with a vote of 28-21.
SunRail passenger rail service began May 1 in Central Florida along a 32-mile route comprised of 12 stations between DeBary and south Orlando. The new service marks completion of the first phase of the $1-billion Central Florida Commuter Rail Transit (CFCRT) project.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) was granted $1.25-billion dollars in federal funds, as well as approved for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Loan to help pay for the Purple Line Extension Project.
Cincinnati’s streetcar project is the unexpected recipient of an extra $268,000 via a rail-related grant Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) received.
Union Pacific will strengthen Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing $9 million in the rail line between Sedalia and Pleasant Hill, Mo. The project began May 15 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) is ready to start a two-year, $103-million track rehabilitation project on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which connects the New Jersey and Philadelphia portions of the system.
MTA Metro-North Railroad has announced details of a sweeping series of reforms it is undertaking to better ensure the safety of its customers and employees. The reforms address factors identified during several serious safety incidents over the past year, as well as issues identified by an in-depth Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) review of its operating practices that took place this past winter.
Union Pacific Railroad is in the midst of a $39.5-million track renewal project in Nebraska. The work, which began May 6, is being performed between Clarks and Schuyler and is scheduled to be completed by mid-July.
Transport Canada is proposing regulations that will provide Transport Canada with new enforcement tools for railway companies that violate the Railway Safety Act.
Elected officials joined Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) representatives to reveal reconstruction plans for Levittown Station. SEPTA says the project will enhance service for customers at a key station along the Trenton Regional Rail Line and represents one of many critical improvement projects under SEPTA’s renewed “Catching Up” capital improvement program.
A plan to develop a new intermodal terminal that was to be served by CSX in Harborcreek Township, Erie County, Pa., has stalled following negative community reaction to the project.
Union Pacific’s Board of Directors approved an additional $150 million in capital expenditures, bringing the railroad’s total 2014 capital spending plan to $4.1 billion.
Metra officials gave U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) an up-close look at why Metra needs to replace an aging, single-track bridge that carries the Milwaukee West Line over the Fox River near Elgin, Ill.
The application period for the sixth round of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants recently ended. Once again, USDOT says the request for funds far exceeds what is available. The 797 eligible applications, compared to 585 in 2013, request $9.5 billion, 15 times the $600 million set aside for the program.
U.S. Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, respectively, urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to increase safety resources for shortline railroads, which make up one third of the nation’s rail network, but lack the funding and support that larger, Class 1 railroads receive.
An ongoing power upgrade for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line has achieved a major milestone with the installation of a second new transformer at Mount Vernon, providing additional redundancy and increased capacity.
Chicago’s Metra, Union Pacific, the Village of Lombard, Ill., and DuPage County officials broke ground May 14 on more than $9.7-million in improvements at the Lombard Station along the UP West Line, including a new pedestrian underpass, rebuilt platforms and new platform canopies.
By 2035, transit ridership along the Columbia Pike and the Crystal City-Pentagon City corridors is expected to more than double, according to updated ridership forecasts released by Arlington County, Va., with more than 62 percent of projected daily transit trips to be on streetcar versus bus.
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. (BBII), was chosen by the city of Charlotte to build the track and systems components of the new Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) LYNX Blue Line Extension, as well as the Blue Line Capacity Expansion Project.
The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) released its proposed bill text for the MAP-21 Reauthorization Act (S. 2322). The six-year legislation plans to maintain highway program funds at current levels plus inflation.