The Association of American Railroads (AAR) joined the international rail transportation community in educating the public about the dangers of railroad grade crossings during the 8th Annual International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) June 10, 2016.
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (RBMN) purchased the 5.5-mile Locust Valley Line; the acquisition became effective on June 8, 2016.
Amtrak and the Maryland Transit Administration have invested $1.2 million in a new backup generator system at Baltimore Penn Station to ensure station readiness and reliability, as well as maintain continuity of critical station operations during extended utility outages.
As reported by Railway Age, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced on June 8, 2016 that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the top federal oversight agency for transit agencies, gave the CTA a perfect score on its FTA Triennial Review and found no deficiencies across multiple categories and departments.
In September 2015, XpressWest and China Railway International USA, Co., LTD. (CRI) commenced joint venture activities intended to advance the high-speed rail line planned to link Las Vegas, Nev., and Los Angeles, Calif.
The North American Maintenance Railway Club (NAMRC) named Ian Rauch, manager of Steel and OTM Sales at Omaha Track as its 2015-2016 Supplier of the Year.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on June 2, 2016, signed the FY 2017 Transportation Bill, which approves approximately $612.6 million in infrastructure improvements, including $33.4 million for rail. The bill includes an overhaul of the trespassing regulations to improve safety on Vermont’s rail lines.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Board of Directors has approved a contract for renovations of the historic Quincy station, one of CTA’s oldest stations built in 1897.
Applications are now being accepted for Washington state-funded grants and loans for projects that improve freight rail services. Funds will be available in July 2017.
New York state has awarded $16.3 million in grants through the Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program to projects that Gov. Andrew Cuomo said will strengthen infrastructure, as well as support economic development by leveraging an additional $12.8 million in additional public and private investments.
The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program has received 585 applications from across the country totaling $9.3 billion in requested funding – over 18 times more than the $500 million that will be awarded.
Union Pacific has named Rhonda Ferguson executive vice president and chief legal officer, effective July 11.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will celebrate 20 years in service this month. Notable milestones surrounding its 20 years includes more than 360 million passenger trips, 90 miles of rail, $8-billion in economic impact and $5 billion in private transit oriented development at or near rail stations.
LTK Engineering Services has promoted Dominic DiBrito to president, replacing George Dorshimer, who will be retiring, effective January 1, 2017.
Citing health reasons, CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau will step down on June 30, 2016. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Luc Jobin will succeed him.
Union Pacific plans to spend $33.7 million on improvements to its Nevada infrastructure in 2016. This year’s investment is on top of the $180 million UP spent in the state from 2011-2015.
Premier Kathleen Wynne visited the site of the future Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station at Highway 7 in York Region on June 6 to mark the completion of track work on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE).
The province of Ontario is committing more than CA$1 billion (US$779 million) toward the city of Ottawa’s light-rail transit (LRT) expansion project, which the province says will help grow the economy, reduce travel times and connect people to jobs.
On June 6, 2016, Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA-8) joined representatives from TRAC Lubricants and Coatings (TLC) and the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad for a product demonstration and rail industry discussion.
Canadian National is encouraging communities to submit input for corridor risk assessments along rail routes carrying significant amounts of dangerous goods.
