Earlier this month, more than 525 CSX employees worked to complete the company’s 2014 maintenance “Jamboree” on a section of its network in the Southeast, replacing about 68,000 ties and 200,000 feet of rail and completing nearly 120 miles of surfacing work.
The Hudson Bay Railway line reopened on July 5, 2014, with freight train 295 arriving in Churchill, SK, Canada, carrying supplies for the community after OmniTRAX Canada suspended service due to permafrost issues.
The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors approved a $2.019-billion operating budget that holds fares stable for the fifth consecutive fiscal year and a $1.203-billion capital program that supports continued investments in infrastructure and equipment to maintain the system in a state of good repair for Fiscal Year 2015.
The Indiana Rail Road (INRD) is investing millions of dollars in private capital on the north end of its Indianapolis Subdivision this summer, which will result in faster, quieter-moving trains and smooth grade crossings.
Work to expand the rail unloading capacity of the West Coast Reduction facility at Port Metro Vancouver has been completed.
Minneapolis and the Metropolitan Council (Met Council) have reached a tentative agreement regarding the plan to build the Southwest Light Rail Project from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, Minn.
Global Partners LP (Global) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) will develop a unit train terminal in Port Arthur, Texas.
The town of Cary, N.C., North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and CSX are teaming up to give a major intersection in Cary a facelift.
The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.6-million grant to the city of Madison, Ind., to upgrade critical railroad infrastructure to support increased commerce.
GO Transit’s West Toronto Diamond (WTD) continues its progress and marked a milestone in May when the east tunnel opened to rail traffic.
Watco has installed two to general manager positions at Great Northwest Railroad (GRNW) and the company’s Wallula switching site.
Stacy Grant has accepted the position of general manager for the GRMW. Grant will be responsible for supervising daily operations, specifically focusing on improving productivity, efficiency and safety. He has been with Watco Transportation Services since September of 2004 when he began working as a conductor for the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad (PCC). He then served as a trainmaster on the GRNW before being named assistant general manager of the GRNW and the PCC.
Travis Chamberlain has accepted the position of general manager for the Wallula switching site. Chamberlain will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the site and will report directly to the director of Switching Operations. His duties will be to coordinate efforts between all railroad departments and to achieve performance goals with optimum safety, economy, efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring profitability of all departments.
Chamberlain previously worked in the paper industry at Boise for 11 years before joining the Watco Team in May of this year.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on July 2 issued a Notice of Recommended Award to Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Chantilly, Va., to design and build the rail yard and maintenance facility for Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
Five railroad crossings will be closed within the next week in Beaumont, Texas, while Union Pacific crews make repairs; all closings are expected to last one day, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On July 3, repairs will be made at the crossing on Coburn Drive; on July 4, the crossing on Todd Street will see repairs; on July 5, the crossing on Langham Road will see repairs; on July 6, the UP crossing on Keith Road will be closed to through traffic for repairs and on July 7, the crossing on S. Major Drive will see repairs last.
John Goldman, vice president of the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (L&I) has been promoted to president, effective July 11, succeeding Mike Stolzman, who is joining Colo Railroad Builders in Houston, Texas.
Kraemer Boulevard is now open to traffic as Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) puts finishing touches on a new grade separation that separates car traffic from the busy freight rail line that now travels overhead.
Axion International Holdings, Inc., has received its fifth purchase order for ECOTRAX® rail ties to be shipped to Europe.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the 114-mile Fresno to Bakersfield Section of the California high-speed train system. The ROD is the last step in the National Environmental Policy Act process and clears the way to break ground on the project.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has allocated $510 million to 83 transportation projects, including upwards of $113 million for rail-related projects.
Union Pacific (UP) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are making a significant investment in Chicago’s Metra West Line. Each will invest $45 million for the construction of a new third mainline track on the line from River Forest to Melrose Park and then from West Chicago to Geneva.
“Today, we are investing in jobs that will help solidify Illinois’ status as the premier rail center of the nation,” Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said. “This final piece of the West Line improvement program will enhance commuter and freight travel on one of our state’s busiest rail lines. Building world-class infrastructure is vital to a healthy economy and today’s investment will help get us there.”
The West Line improvements are designed to ensure smoother traffic flow and reduce conflicts between the passenger and freight trains that share the line. Earlier projects completed by Metra and UP modernized the signal system and added crossovers to make freight movement more efficient. A third phase on the West Line, improving the Lombard and Wheaton Metra stations, will be finished in 2015. The West Line third track construction is the final step that will allow the 59 Metra trains and 70 freight trains that use the line each day to operate at the same time, a critical step to improving the line’s reliability and efficiency.
The announcement was made during a celebration to mark the completion of a Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) rail project that included the construction of a rail overpass, the rehabilitation of two passenger stations and the addition of pedestrian tunnels in Bellwood and Berkeley and signal and track improvements along the UP/Metra West Line. The project created and supported 1,000 jobs and was funded primarily through a $52-million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant, a $27 million commitment from UP and other freight railroad partners, other federal funding of $3 million and a $615,000 investment by the state of Illinois.
“Our nation’s system of bridges, rail and roads is the strength of the nation, tying us together and giving us access to the world,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). “Chicago remains the busiest rail hub in the United States, with more than 1,000 trains passing through the region every day. Protecting and investing in our nation’s infrastructure and specifically in Illinois’ transportation network, is one of my top priorities.”
“This is a new day for Metra, one in which we want to ensure that every project we execute puts commuters first,” Metra Chairman Martin Oberman said. “We are confident the West Line improvements will greatly improve the commuter experience.”
A study released by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) shows cost estimates for a proposed passenger line between Mooresville and Charlotte, N.C., rose significantly due to new infrastructure needs rather than using existing infrastructure.