The Denver, Colo., Regional Transportation District will open the West Rail Line to the public on April 26, 2013, eight months ahead of the originally scheduled opening date. The West Rail Line is the first FasTracks project to be completed and part of the current $4.2 billion investment in the region. Presently, 50 miles of new rail line are in construction or under contract to begin construction.
GO Transit in Toronto, Canada, celebrates its 45th year in operation and recognizes that milestone with a reflection on its history and successes.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $199 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement and expansion projects in Texas this year.
The Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific are upgrading Illinois’ high-speed route, Chicago-St. Louis, for future high-speed Amtrak trains. The improvements for 110-mph service include the installation of new premium rail with concrete ties and ballast; upgrades to bridges, culverts and drainage; signal and wayside equipment installations and upgrades and roadway-rail grade crossing improvements.
Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan joined Missouri and Illinois officials to kick off the Eads Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which will repair and restore the historic, 138-year old bridge and ensure safe and efficient light-rail service for thousands of people who use the bridge to cross the Mississippi River every day.
RailAmerica, Inc., stated that its board of directors is considering strategic alternatives, which may include a sale of the company. In connection with its evaluation, the company is engaged in preliminary discussions with third parties regarding a potential sale of the company.
The governments of Canada and Ontario announced funding to support a preliminary engineering study on a commuter rail link between Peterborough and Toronto, ON. Dean Del Mastro, member of Parliament for Peterborough and Jeff Leal, member of the Provincial Parliament for Peterborough, were joined by Tony Smith, founding president of the Shining Waters Railway, to confirm the successful negotiation of the funding agreements.
Engineering, project management and construction company, Bechtel, has been building Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in northern Virginia and has installed the final segment of the elevated Tysons East Guideway, signaling the close out of the heavy civil work needed on the project.
RailComm has been selected to expand its wireless remote control derail system at Indiana Harbor Belt’s RIP Track Facility. The customized local control panel, located within the shop, will be modified to include the new derail locations.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road plans to invest $211.5 million in Main Line infrastructure improvements, including a $55 million facelift for Hicksville Station. Other projects include a new bridge in Westbury and track drainage fix in Mineola.
Stu Towner has been promoted to the position of assis¬tant vice president of operations for Watco Transportation Services. Towner will be responsible for the continued development and improvement of safety, service, growth, people and efficiency in all areas of WTS. He will be responsible for and participate in, due diligence and transition of new acquisitions within WTS.
Gannett Fleming, Inc., has named Joel Lee vice president of the company and hired John Hugunin as senior project manager.
Canadian Pacific has received a 72-hour strike notice from the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents 4,800 engineers, conductors and rail traffic controllers in Canada.
Bay Area Rapid Transit near San Francisco will implement the last in a series of inflation-based fare increases when fares increase by 1.4 percent. Because BART fares are rounded to the nearest nickel, some fares will remain the same after the increase, including the minimum BART fare of $1.75, and the average fare will go up by five cents. Fares last increased in July 2009
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police Department released the See Say smartphone app. With this iPhone App, riders are able to instantly report suspicious activity on the MBTA to Transit Police. In just a few clicks, riders can share pictures, text and incident location details.
Seattle’s Sound Transit Deputy CEO Celia Kupersmith will retire effective August. 3.
“I have loved every moment at Sound Transit and am pleased by all we have accomplished in my time here but my two-year old grandson is calling so I am moving on to spend more time with him.”
Canadian Pacific Board of Directors appointed newly-elected Director, Stephen Tobias, as interim CEO. Tobias is a 40-year veteran of the railroad industry and former vice chair and chief operations officer of Norfolk Southern. In 2008, Tobias was awarded Railway Age magazine’s Railroader of the Year award.
The Regional Transportation Commission for Santa Cruz County in Southern California authorized the selection of Iowa Pacific Holdings to operate on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. The RTC will enter into an administration, coordination and license agreement with Iowa Pacific to conduct freight and passenger rail service, as well as maintain the line and provide general commercial insurance.
Hawaii’s Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation received the green light from the Federal Transit Administration to move forward with $21.8 million in work that includes a precasting yard that will create the concrete guideway for Oahu’s rail system.
Trimet in Portland, Ore., has been awarded $85 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help complete the Portland to Milwaukie light-rail line.
