A new report details how the Northeast Corridor (NEC), carrying 750,000 daily Amtrak and commuter passengers, is a critical national asset, an economic engine for the U.S. and contributes about $50 billion a year to the national economy.
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.”
According to the Metropolitan Council, the Southwest Light Rail Transit staff in Minneapolis, Minn., has recommended building shallow tunnels for light- rail tracks and a bridge over a channel between two lakes for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Green Line Extension. Planners also recommended keeping Mitchell Station as the westernmost station in Eden Prairie.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $334 million in funding to 53 projects, including $48 million to the Alameda Corridor East – Construction Authority (ACE) Puente Avenue Grade Separation Project.
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.
Orange County Transportation Authority (OTCA) has opened the first grade separation project of seven in its OC Bridges program and has opened Placentia Avenue to traffic where BNSF now crosses over the road.
Atkins has been awarded a construction management services contract by the Fort Worth & Western Railroad (FWWR) for a bridge and retaining wall construction project adjacent to FWWR’s operational facilities on East Long Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas.
Railway Age magazine has named Coos Bay Rail Link the 2014 Short Line Railroad of the Year, and Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Co. its 2014 Regional Railroad of the Year. The awards will be presented at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s annual meeting in San Diego, Calif., Friday, April 25, 2014.
According to an estimate released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the nation’s freight railroads project they will spend approximately $26 billion to build, maintain and upgrade their nationwide rail network this year.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has released its recommendations for authorization of the transportation bill that is set to expire at the end of September 2014.
Oregon’s Columbia River Crossing project will shut down completely by May 31, 2014, after the Oregon Legislature adjourned without reinstating construction funds for the CRC I-5 Bridge Replacement project March 7, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Construction has started on the Evergreen Line tunnel in Vancouver, BC, Canada, with the use of tunnel boring machine named “Alice,” after Alice Wilson, Canada’s first female geologist.
Amtrak plans to move forward on key improvement projects in 2014, including continued installation of positive train control (PTC), the start of major construction to upgrade Northeast Corridor high-speed rail and expansion of station accessibility for passengers with disabilities.
An underpass that is an integral element of the Valley View Avenue Grade Separation Project in California is scheduled to open in April with the full project slated for completion in August.
TriMet‘s Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Bridge over the Willamette River is now connected to land in the South Waterfront area, making the overall 7.3-mile transit project 70 percent complete.
President Obama proposed a $302-billion, four-year surface transportation reauthorization effort while visiting the historic Union Depot train station in Saint Paul, Minn.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) received five qualified bids for the next 60-mile phase of high-speed rail construction from Fresno to the Tulare-Kern County line near Bakersfield, which will be worth $1.5 to $2 billion.
The N.C. Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Piedmont Improvement Program (PIP), a $520-million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project to improve the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte, celebrated a major milestone with the laying of the first section of track.