The Office of the Auditor General of Canada issued its 2013 Fall Report and criticized Transport Canada’s safety management system (SMS) of the nation’s rail network saying the department “needs to address significant weaknesses in its oversight of safety management systems implemented by federal railway companies to manage safety risks on a day-to-day basis.”
It is expected that U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will introduce legislation on December 4 to fund U.S. transportation infrastructure in the nation now and into the future, reported the United Transportation Union.
The two bills will establish a series of pilot projects to further study the application of a vehicle-miles-traveled fee and establish a 15-cents-per-gallon increase to the federal gas tax.
“Increased vehicle-fuel efficiency allows for increased demands on our transportation system without contributing as much to its maintenance. An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office based on current driving patterns demonstrates the newest fuel economy standards for automobiles will result in a 21 percent reduction in Highway Trust Fund revenue by 2040,” Blumenauer said.
He pointed to already significant funding challenges and said that Congress has transferred $55 billion in general fund revenues to the Highway Trust Fund to avoid bankruptcy since 2009. When the current authorization expires, the Highway Trust Fund will require almost $15 billion a year in addition to existing gas tax receipts, merely to maintain 2009 funding levels.
“Our failure to adequately fund transportation infrastructure imposes huge costs on American citizens and businesses. Last year, congestion cost urban Americans $87.2 billion a year in time wasted sitting in traffic and higher transportation costs have pushed logistics costs to nearly 10 percent of our gross domestic product. A recent analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers suggests that the cost of our declining transportation system could result in the loss of 876,000 jobs by 2020. Until we tie our transportation revenues to our transportation demands, this situation will worsen.”
The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission noted that a vehicle-miles-traveled charge is the “the most promising alternative revenue measure” to the existing gas tax, while the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission reported that “a charge for each mile driven . . . has emerged as the consensus choice for the future.” Both commissions found that this system was efficient at raising revenue.
A number of states, including Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, Iowa, Texas and New York have tested pilot projects where they charged drivers for the number of miles they traveled rather than the fuel they consumed. The tests have proved convenient for drivers, demonstrated strong protections for personal privacy and have been easily administrable, he says.
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo, along with representatives of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Union Pacific, Amtrak and contractor OCCI, Inc., officially opened a new Union Pacific $28-million 1,200-foot railroad bridge across the Osage River, ahead of schedule and under budget.
Pacific Imperial Railroad (PIR), which runs freight services on the Desert Line, servicing the Tijuana-Tecate region of Baja California, Mexico and eastern San Diego County, has named David Rohal President of the company, effective December 1.
Michael Baker Jr., Inc., has been awarded a two-year, multimillion-dollar contract to provide construction management and construction inspection (CM/CI) services for the expansion of Norfolk Southern’s Rutherford Intermodal Facility near Harrisburg, Pa., which will double the capacity of the current facility.
The city of Bel Aire, Kan., has been awarded a funding package from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to construct a rail siding in the Bel Aire Sunflower Commerce Park.
A bipartisan coalition of 10 senators introduced legislation to establish a new infrastructure financing authority to help states and localities better leverage private funds to build and maintain the nation’s outdated infrastructure, including rail.
Growth has prompted Watco Transportation Services to realign its leadership team.
The Business Monitor has released its latest findings on Canada’s expanding infrastructure sector in its newly-published Canada Infrastructure Report, revising down its outlook for the overall construction industry in Canada for 2013 to 2.2 percent, but pointing to a strong railway sub-sector.
Kansas City Southern has reorganized several of its operations department functions.
Recent track upgrades meeting or exceeding all applicable Federal Railroad Administration standards will allow Union Pacific to increase the speed of its trains from 30 mph to 49 mph on nearly four miles of its rail line in Wichita, Kan., between near 63rd St. and just north of the Arkansas River.
Union Pacific will strengthen Nebraska’s transportation infrastructure by investing $2.4 million in the rail line between South Morrill and Joyce, Neb. The project began on November 7 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.
The North Carolina Railroad’s (NCRR) West Webb Avenue underpass at Glen Raven in Burlington, N.C., is getting a facelift. NCRR and Norfolk Southern Railway have contracted for cleaning and refurbishing the bridge and work started Monday, November 11.
The Greater Erie Industrial Development Corporation (GEIDC) has plans for a new intermodal facility in Harborcreek Township, Erie County, Pa.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Rail Division hosted a Rail Planning Forum in Chapel Hill November 12 focused on the role that rail transportation plays in the continued growth of North Carolina’s economy, key industries and its overall quality of life.
The Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc. (X Train), has terminated its agreement with Union Pacific, effective October 31, 2013, citing an alternative capital plan which will relieve the company from raising $100 million from its own equity to finance the Los Angeles to Las Vegas rail route.
United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (UTU-SMART) members of General Committee of Adjustment GO 065 employed by Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) recently ratified a new agreement governing their rates of pay and working conditions, according to SMART Vice President John Lesniewski.
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad (WSOR) hosted a group from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Engineering Program on September 24, 2013, who were learning about general maintenance and railroad inspections.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx visited CSX‘s Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal in Wood County on November 6.
Alaska Railroad Company (ARRC) named Chief Mechanical Officer (CMO) Doug Engebretson as chief operating officer (COO), a position left vacant when former COO Bill O’Leary was promoted to president & CEO on November 1. Engebretson’s promotion is effective November 8.