CTA to rebuild 10-mile stretch of Red Line
The Chicago Transit Authority plans to take on one of the biggest CTA construction projects in CTA history: the complete reconstruction of the South Red Line from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street.
SANDAG begins construction on Sorrento to Miramar Double Track Project
The San Diego Association of Governments started construction on Phase 1 of the Sorrento to Miramar Double Track Project, one of 20 capital improvement projects now in development along San Diego County’s 60-mile segment of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor (LOSSAN).
Paul Haggis to lead CP Board
Canadian Pacific elected Paul Haggis to chairman of the company’s board of directors.
BNSF to invest $80 million in Arizona track maintenance
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $80 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement projects in Arizona this year.
UP plans $19 million capital program in Colorado and Wyoming
Union Pacific is enhancing transportation infrastructure in Colorado and Wyoming by investing more than $19 million.
APTA: Public transportation ridership surged in first quarter
Public transportation ridership surged in the first quarter of 2012, as Americans took nearly 2.7 billion trips, an increase of five percent over the first quarter of last year, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association. This was the fifth consecutive quarter of U.S. public transit ridership increase, as 125.7 million more trips were taken than the first quarter of 2011.
M/W workers on M&NA ratify first agreement with UTU
United Transportation Union-represented maintenance-of-way employees on Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad, who chose the UTU as their bargaining representative in January, have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement.
LACMTA begins advanced utility relocation work for Crenshaw/LAX light-rail
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun the advanced utility relocation work for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor construction project, which is the first contract awarded under LACMTA’s new Project Labor Agreement, a pact between LACMTA and the building trades to implement a targeted hiring program that will help provide jobs to economically disadvantaged workers.
Holland buys L.B. Foster’s railway securement business
L.B. Foster Company has completed the sale of its railway securement business to Holland, L.P. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. L.B. Foster acquired the shipping systems division as part of its acquisition of Portec Rail Products, Inc., in December 2010.
KCS set to increase speed on segments of its Gulfport to Hattiesburg line
Kansas City Southern is set to increase train speed over some segments of its Gulfport to Hattiesburg, Miss., line. Effective June 8, speeds will move from 10 to 25 mph, but a 10 mph speed limit will continue through downtown Wiggins for the time being.
WMATA’s GM and CEO responds to NTSB report
On May 17, the National Transportation Safety Board issued three reports involving a derailment, rear-end collision and an incident where a hi-rail maintenance vehicle struck two wayside workers on Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority property.
Caltrans awards funds for California transit projects
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) awarded approximately $350 million in grants to improve public transit across California. An estimated 80 projects will upgrade transit service, purchase eco-friendly buses, modernize transit stations and create jobs throughout the state. The grants are funded through Proposition 1B, the 2006 voter-approved transportation bond, which is providing $3.6 billion over a 10-year period to improve public transit in California.
AECOM to design Toronto’s Air Rail Link spur
AECOM was named lead design subconsultant to a joint venture contracted to design, build and finance a spur line and passenger station as part of Ontario’s Air Rail Link (ARL). The ARL will connect the existing Georgetown GO transit line and link the city’s two busiest transportation hubs – Union Station downtown and Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Protran Technology awarded contract in Brazil
On June 1st, Protran Technology was awarded its first major contract from Brazil’s Belo Horizonte Metro for the “Protracker / PTC” track worker protection overlay system for advance warning of approaching trains.
Ottawa Transportation Committee to review interim report on Western LRT environmental assessment
The Transportation Committee in Ottawa, ON, Canada, will consider an interim report of the environmental assessment on the western light-rail expansion at its meeting on June 6, 2012.
Grain shippers rate UP as top-performing railroad
For the second year in a row, Union Pacific was selected as the top-performing railroad by U.S. agricultural shippers in the third annual Soy Transportation Coalition Railroad Report Card.
RailAdvisor.com launches new website
A new website for the railroad industry is now available to the public. RailAdvisor.com was created to offer solutions and to inform the industry of a product, service, event or technical concept. The website is designed with categories for solutions, product/service offerings, contacts, news, railway terminology and forums.
In memoriam: Dr. Arnold D. Kerr
Dr. Arnold D. Kerr passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 84.
Back-to-work legislation enacted, CP workers return to job
The Restoring Rail Service Act passed in the Canadian Senate and received the Royal Assent, effectively ending the strike at Canadian Pacific, which began on May 23. CP workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference will return to work on Friday, June 1.
East Side Access third tunnel bore complete
On the night of May 29, crews working on the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s East Side Access project brought a 642-ton tunnel boring machine to a halt underneath Sunnyside Yard in Queens seven weeks ahead of schedule, completing the third of four tunnels the MTA is building in Queens.