The Board of Directors of Chicago’s Metra approved a $93-million contract to construct the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program P1 project, know as the Englewood Flyover at its meeting on Monday.
U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff joined Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and top safety and transit officials to celebrate a legislative victory that will ensure that transit passengers in the United States who board a light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail or transit bus will travel on a system governed by robust federal safety oversight for the first time.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signed an agreement to improve coordination between the two agencies in enforcing the whistleblower provision of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA).
The Red River Valley & Western Railroad Company (RRV&W), a shortline railroad that provides local rail freight service to mostly rural North Dakota communities formerly served by the Burlington Northern, now BNSF Railway, will mark its 25th anniversary July 19.
CSX Corporation hosted a dedication ceremony for the new Fifth Street Bridge in Niles, Ohio. The upgraded bridge’s higher vertical clearance helps clear the way for CSX’s upgraded, double-stack freight rail corridor, the National Gateway, linking East Coast sea ports with the CSX Northwest Ohio Terminal and other Midwest distribution and manufacturing hubs.
In July, KCS’ U.S. transportation team is swapping its regular Safety Tuesday messages with a month-long outreach and a testing blitz focused on restricted speed compliance.
Federal and Illinois state officials, along with representatives of the town of Normal and Amtrak dedicated a multimodal transportation center to serve as a station for Amtrak rail and motorcoach passengers, as well as local transit buses.
RailComm has been chosen to provide Domain Operations Controller train control system for the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation. The DOC system will have functionality for Track Warrant Control through its web-enabled software-as-a-service delivery method.
Diamonds, frogs, turnouts and other special trackwork make difficult manuevers on the railroad possible.
Quality, reliability and safety are issues suppliers look to improve when it comes to the subject of welding rail.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to install flashing lights and gates at five grade crossings in Fairfield, Henry, Logan, Preble and Shelby counties.
Small in size, fasteners keep a tight grip on track.
Keeping track in place is imporant to all railroads, whether it’s a Class 1, regional, shortline or transit line. The following pages highlight this year’s most advanced fastening systems and an overall market outlook.
Earlier this month more than 900 CSX employees worked to complete the company’s 2012 maintenance “Jamboree” on a section of its network in the Southeast.
NJ Transit Board of Directors approved a Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) operating budget and capital program that supports safe, reliable and cost-effective service for the nearly 250 million customer trips provided by the state’s rail, bus and light-rail network each year.
A cleaner, brighter and more welcoming Granville Red Line station will reopen Friday, July 13, after a six-week temporary closure as part of the $86 million Red Line North Interim Improvement project.
North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded a contract to preserve the bascule span bridge on the Carolina Coastal Railroad over the Newport River in Carteret County.
In collaboration with various sectors of the rail industry, the Association of American Railroads says that the nation’s major freight, intercity passenger, commuter railroads and rail supply companies expect to hire more than 5,000 veterans in 2012. The rail industry’s commitment is part of the White House Joining Forces initiative, a nationwide effort to recognize, honor and support America’s veterans and military families.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law to begin the next phase of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, which is designed to create jobs, strengthen the transportation system and support economic growth across Illinois.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in California has continued track improvement work on the Muni Metro system. From July 13 to July 16, SFMTA will install new track switches on the L Taraval Line between 22nd and 23rd avenues and at 35th Avenue.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and California Governor Edmund Brown Jr., visited the Port of Oakland Army Base redevelopment site in California on Monday, July 9, 2012, to see where the port will be constructing the first phase of its rail project that received $15 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funding.
The Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal (OHIT) Rail Access project of the Port of Oakland is expected to improve rail access to and from the port and expand the port’s rail capacity, leading to faster and cleaner goods movement in Northern California, while also providing rail access for the proposed Oakland Army Base redevelopment. These federal funds, along with additional local and state funding, will support the transportation project.
“This $15 million grant from the federal government boosts state and local efforts to create thousands of jobs by investing nearly $1.5 billion in Bay Area transportation projects. We’re not just rebuilding our infrastructure, we are also rebuilding our middle class,” stated Governor Brown.
The Port of Oakland handles 99 percent of all containerized goods in Northern California and is the only major U.S. West Coast container port that handles more exports than imports.
“I am very pleased this federal funding we fought for is coming to the Port of Oakland, where it will create jobs and make important infrastructure improvements. The Port of Oakland’s ship-to-rail exchange project is an excellent investment of federal funds in local and national economies because it both creates jobs and it improves critical public infrastructure in the Bay Area,” said Rep Barbara Lee (D-CA.). “This $15 million TIGER grant for the Port of Oakland is a clear example of the success of the TIGER grant program and why we must preserve and protect TIGER grants from efforts to end the funding.”
The federal funding will be matched more than one-to-one to launch the first phase of the OHIT Rail Access project, which is part of the joint City-Port OAB redevelopment plan.
This OHIT rail project is expected to deliver greater efficiencies in the Port of Oakland’s rail operations, create additional capacity for cargo movement at the seaport, reduce congestion on local roads and highways, create jobs and promote sustainable economic growth in the region.
The project includes building a new arrival track and high-speed turnout from Union Pacific’s mainline, two track leads into the port’s new Joint Intermodal Terminal and a new manifest yard (Knight Yard) to replace the former Oakland Army Base Yard. Knight Yard will be able to handle 100-150 rail cars per day.
The combined City of Oakland redevelopment and the Port’s first phase rail access project on the former Oakland Army Base property is approximately a $500 million investment.
