Granite names Rantala to head business development
Granite Construction Incorporated named Richard Rantala senior vice president of business development, reporting to Granite Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Miller.
Rebuilding a legacy
Dependable, long-term funding allowed SEPTA to take on a $5 billion backlog of state-of-good-repair projects.
Grade crossings: The annual report
Whether they are made up of concrete, rubber or another substance, grade-crossing surface suppliers continue to make safety a top priority.
Advances in rail grinding
Rail grinding service providers look to supply precise, efficient and flexible equipment.
O-Train Confederation Line kicks off track installation with laying of first rail
Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament (Ottawa–Orléans), Bob Chiarelli, Member of Provincial Parliament (Ottawa West–Nepean) and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson installed the first official rail of the O-Train Confederation Line light-rail transit project June 12.
KCS says MOW crews keep operations safe in challenging spring weather
Kansas City Southern (KCS) says that frequent storms, rain and high water have created a number of challenges on its network this spring. The most significant of these are trees with roots saturated due to heavy rain, falling onto the tracks; power outages affecting signal equipment and grade crossing warning devices; track washouts and driftwood from high water gathering around bridges.
DSEIS for LACMTA’s Regional Connector project released
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project, an underground light-rail system under construction that will connect the existing LACMTA Gold, Blue and Expo lines in downtown Los Angeles.
RailComm finalizes rail yard SaaS contract with Kinder Morgan
RailComm completed negotiations with energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan for a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contract for remote rail yard control at its Deepwater Terminal in Pasadena, Texas.
UP plans $92 million investment in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico properties in 2015
Union Pacific plans to invest about $23 million in its infrastructure in Nevada, $46 million in Arizona and $23 million in New Mexico.
BART Board approves FY16 budget
With record ridership stretching Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) resources, the board of directors voted to direct money to initiatives designed to increase train passenger capacity and to improve on-time performance through a $1.57 billion FY16 budget.
SEPTA to begin modernization project next week
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will begin a modernization project on its Route 101/102 (Media/Sharon Hill) trolley lines June 15.
AAR: Freight railroads making measurable strides toward PTC implementation
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger said that America’s freight rail industry is making progress on positive train control (PTC) and remains committed to ensure all is being done to safely reach the goal of nationwide interoperability.
CHSRA picks “Rail Delivery Partner” for new phase of program
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) Board of Directors approved a Rail Delivery Partner (RDP) contract, led by Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., which CHSRA says takes an expanded approach to the planned high-speed rail program.
HART awards contract to build three rail stations
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit awarded a $78.9-million construction contract to Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company to build three rail stations in the Waipahu area at West Loch, Waipahu Transit Center and Leeward Community College.
Former FRA Administrator Szabo named executive director of CMAP
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) will soon have a new executive director, Joseph Szabo.
Union Pacific plans $85 million investment in Washington and Oregon property
Union Pacific‘s infrastructure in Oregon and Washington state will see $85 million in track and signal work that the railroad says will enhance employee, community and customer safety while increasing rail operating efficiency.
NTSB says evidence does not point to phone use in Amtrak 188 accident
The National Transportation Safety Board says analysis of phone records of the locomotive engineer operating Amtrak 188, Brandon Bostian, did not indicate the phone was in use at the time of the accident, which occurred on May 12.
Metro-North, LIRR say they’re in compliance with FRA safety advisory
As a result of work completed in March 2014 in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Emergency Order 29, Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad are already in compliance with the recommendations made recently to all U.S. passenger railroads by the Federal Railroad Administration in its Safety Advisory 2015-03.
NTSB issues recommendation to address WMATA third rail power supply
In its ongoing investigation of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) train accident at L’Enfant Plaza on January 12, 2015, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators found problems with certain electrical connections in WMATA’s system that require immediate action and issued a safety recommendation.
FRA issues safety advisory to prevent speeding passenger trains
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a safety advisory recommending actions that passenger railroads take to prevent trains from speeding. The advisory is the latest in a series of steps FRA has taken to keep passenger railroads safe for the traveling public.