Purple Line Transit Partners, a consortium of Fluor Enterprises Inc., Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, LLC and Star America Purple Line, LLC, was selected as the preferred proponent to design-build, finance, operate and maintain the Purple Line project for the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA).
The first in a series of public meetings to consider the future of the proposed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line Extension (GLX) will be held March 2. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the MBTA are currently conducting a re-evaluation of the extension and invite the public to share their ideas about the project.
BNSF‘s 2016 capital expenditure program in North Dakota will be more than $100 million, which will focus on maintenance projects that help ensure BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable network. The largest component of this year’s capital plan in the state will be for replacing and upgrading rail, rail ties and ballast.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has scheduled three public meetings on the King of Prussia Rail Project.
In their first project of the year, the Kansas City Southern Maintenance of Way Production team relayed 25 miles of rail between Dequincy and DeRidder, La. As part of the job, they installed 175,000 tie plates, 175,000 rail anchors, 876,000 spikes and almost 13,000 feet of rail per day for a total of 264,000 feet of rail.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) expects to cut its projected fiscal 2017 operating deficit by 43 percent, the result, it says, of continued reductions in overtime spending and other costs and increases in revenue, such as real estate and advertising. T officials will detail the authority’s improving fiscal status during a meeting of its Fiscal Management and Control Board.
Less than a week before the rail industry gathers in Washington, D.C., to promote issues, such as the 45G shortline tax credit, legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress that would make the tax credit permanent.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has launched a new tool on its website that allows states and municipalities to request inspection reports for rail bridges in their communities.
STV has promoted Joseph North to senior vice president. A rail operations specialist and project manager with 40 years of experience in light rail, commuter rail, bus and paratransit operations, North is responsible for supporting STV’s major projects and developing new business.
BNSF‘s 2016 capital expenditure program in Missouri will be an estimated $140 million and will focus on maintenance projects that help ensure BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable network.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is soliciting applications for a new grant program authorized by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors has restored Sound Transit 2 funding for preliminary engineering on the Federal Way and Redmond Link extensions, giving staff the green light to move forward with further design on light-rail extensions from Kent/Des Moines to the Federal Way Transit Center and from Overlake to downtown Redmond.
In Kansas City, Mo., the KC Streetcar will begin public ridership May 6, 2016. Kansas City Mayor Sly James said the grand opening of the KC Streetcar is more than a celebration of the end of construction and opening of the line.
BNSF‘s 2016 capital expenditure program in Colorado will be nearly $100 million, which will be focused on maintenance projects that help ensure BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable network.
Kansas City Southern plans to invest approximately $5.6 million in 2016 in construction and improvement projects on its Shreveport Terminal Subdivision in Louisiana. The work will begin on March 8 and continue through March 22, including the installation of approximately 37,000 crossties and improvements to more than 20 public and private grade crossings in Shreveport.
A study released by the Van Horne Institute, based at the University of Calgary, suggests that it is feasible to build a railway for the transport of bitumen between Alberta to Alaska. The study was published by the Van Horne Institute with a Project Team including Shirocca Consulting, AECOM, Generating for Seven Generations, the University of Alaska and Michigan Tech Research Institute.
A study evaluating high-capacity transit options for Ann Arbor, Mich., and the University of Michigan found that a light-rail route would be the recommended mode of transport over other alternatives.
BNSF’s 2016 capital expenditure program in Nebraska will be more than $110 million, which will focus on maintenance projects that help BNSF to operate a safe and reliable network.
The economic benefits and number of passengers anticipated by the Coast-to-Coast Passenger Rail Ridership and Cost Estimate Study justify moving the Detroit to Grand Rapids, Mich., project forward, according to project manager Liz Treutel Callin, transportation policy associate for the Michigan Environmental Council.
The Railway Association of Canada has created a Parliamentary Rail Caucus to be chaired by Sherry Romanado, Liberal Member of Parliament for Longueuil-Charles-LeMoyne, Quebec, and co-chaired by Marilyn Gladu, Conservative Member of Parliament for Sarnia-Lambton, Ont.
