Ballast doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. For those outside of the industry, the flashy signals, rail and crossties are what railroad lines are made of.
Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval and Cicero Town President Larry Dominick joined Metra Acting Chairman Larry Huggins and Executive Director/CEO Alex Clifford on August 7 at a groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation of Metra’s Cicero Station on the BNSF Line.
The effort to establish Section 130 hazard-elimination at railroad crossings in Louisville, Ken., near Wilson Avenue and Woodland Avenue, has taken a major step forward with the project receiving $1.8 million in funding for improvements.
Train, engine and mechanical forces represented by the United Transportation Union on shortline Western Rail Road in Texas have ratified a new agreement reached with mediation assistance from the National Mediation Board.
Union Pacific is enhancing Illinois and Iowa’s transportation infrastructure with a $24 million investment.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said that pre-construction associated with the Central Subway tunnel will begin on August 13 in North Beach. The work involves relocating utility lines on a half-block section of Columbus Avenue between Union and Powell streets.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of a major upgrade of the Seattle Maintenance Facility in Washington State has been completed by Amtrak and its partners. The facilities support Amtrak operations and maintenance agreements in the Pacific Northwest for the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, Amtrak Cascades and Sounder commuter trains.
Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) will move in excess of 15,000 tons (30 million lbs.) a day of aggregate for the extension of the elevated runway over U.S. 1 and the FEC mainline.
The Pecos Valley Southern Railroad (PVSR) will begin operating as a subsidiary of Watco Transportation Services, LLC, under a long-term lease agreement reached with PVSR. The operations will transition to Watco effective September 1, 2012.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded an on-call contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for construction services in support of the agency’s efforts to implement accelerated rail services along a high-speed rail corridor between Pontiac/Detroit, Mich., and Chicago, Ill.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $106 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement and expansion projects in Washington this year.
The completion of the work to rehabilitate seven stations along the West End D Line in Brooklyn, N.Y., is now complete.
For the first time in the nearly 150-year history of the railroad, San Francisco Bay-area’s Caltrain average weekday ridership is more than 50,000, according to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.
RailComm has been selected to provide a wireless remote control 3rd rail and switch heater system for Port Authority Trans-Hudson’s (PATH) Harrison Yard in New Jersey.
Union Pacific was named the 2011 Provider of the Year by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Vehicle Services Americas Inc. (WWL). This award evaluates railroad, truck and short sea companies to determine the best overall logistics excellence provider in the areas of quality, performance and customer service.
Norfolk Southern made two personnel changes to broaden the experience of its senior management team.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and a newly-formed GWI subsidiary, KeRail Inc. have entered into a long-term agreement with Tata Steel Minerals Canada Ltd. for KeRail to provide rail transportation services to the 4.2 million tons per annum direct shipping iron ore mine TSMC is developing near Schefferville, Quebec, Canada, in the Labrador Trough (the Mine). In addition, KeRail will construct an approximately 21-kilometer (13-mile) rail line that will connect TSMC’s mine to the Tshiuetin Rail Transportation interchange point in Schefferville.
Patriot Rail Corp., operator of shortline and regional freight railroads, appointed Arthur Shoener to the board of directors of the company. In this role, Shoener will provide executive support and oversight in company proceedings.
Norfolk Southern recently completed $20.5 million of track, bridge and signal improvements along its major coal line through the Monongahela Valley in Pennsylvania in a record seven days. To ensure coal customers in Southwest Pennsylvania continue to receive consistent and reliable rail service, Norfolk Southern schedules a maintenance blitz each July to coincide with the coal miners’ annual weeklong summer break.
Harsco Corporation hired Patrick Decker as president and chief executive officer, effective September 10, 2012.