ARRC crews continue washout repair efforts

Alaska Railroad (ARRC) crews continue to make progress on plugging an 80-foot-long washout following high waters at Skookum Creek (ARRC milepost 59.7).

The incident began about 7:30 a.m. June 17, when high water eroded the trackbed, leaving the track suspended over the water. Alaska Railroad track maintenance crews, heavy equipment and a rockhauling work train have been working round-the clock for three days to plug the gap and re-route a high volume of water.

“Earlier this week, this area experienced significant isolated rainfall that measured as much as a half inch every 10-15 minutes for a sustained period,” said ARRC Vice President Engineering Clark Hopp. “We are essentially dealing with a new river channel that did not previously exist.”

While freight traffic is not affected, passenger train traffic southbound from Anchorage has been suspended since the incident occurred. A decision to restore passenger service will be made at 7p.m. on June 20 and is based on the progress of the repair efforts.

The railroad has not yet determined the final financial impact of the outage. However, ARRC says revenue losses are expected to reach tens of thousands of dollars due to refunds and cancellations. Track repair expenses will also be considerable, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Maryland Transit Administration performing emergency light-rail repairs

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is launching an emergency project on June 20, 2014, to repair the light-rail tracks and prevent further erosion of land around the Cold Spring Station due to heavy rains. Emergency work will require the temporary closure of the Mt. Washington, Cold Spring and Woodberry stations for approximately three weeks and MTA anticipates the project should be complete by July 11, 2014, weather permitting.

Two appointments made to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Two representatives, Kathleen Fox and Faye Ackermans, have been appointed to new positions at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Fox, who has enjoyed a four-decade career in the aviation sector, including membership of the Transportation Safety Board since 2007, will become the board’s next chairperson. Ackermans, a 25-year veteran of the rail industry, has been appointed as a part-time member of the Transportation Safety Board.

Unitrac celebrates 25th anniversary

Unitrac Railroad Materials, Inc., is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. Since the company’s founding in 1989, Unitrac has offered railroad products, special trackwork and railroad services to customers nationwide.