North American Video has been awarded a long-term contract to service all camera, access control, alarm and e-phone systems for Colorado’s Regional Transportation District Light Rail system.
As part of the contract, NAV will station its personnel on site to handle all service items that arise on any of RTD’s light rail locations. The contract calls for an increase in staff in 2012 to handle the new West Corridor.
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority said that a number of railroad grade crossings in Cumberland County will be reconstructed as part of the Downeaster expansion project. The track work will ensure that grade crossings remain in a state of good repair for the safe crossing of train and vehicular traffic. Reconstruction of seven Portland crossings has already been completed.
The crossings included in the work are Walton, Riverside, Congress, Read and Woodford streets and Forest and Allen avenues.
The two-day process involves removing the pavement and track, installing a pre-built track section, tamping and aligning track, installing rubber flangeway railseals and final pavement placement.
Safety tests began in San Diego on July 10 to ensure that newly installed equipment for its quiet zone would function properly. This test, the first of seven that certify equipment function at 12 public crossings, is required before new vehicular and pedestrian gates can be installed, which are expected to arrive in August 2011.
In addition, a test train made a total of eight roundtrips from Old Town Station through downtown to check the accuracy and responsiveness of upgraded railroad signal devices that activate gates at public crossings.
Plans call for all safety enhancements, including gates, medians, traffic signals and warning lights to be operational by spring 2012. Shortly thereafter, the tracks between Laurel Street and Fifth Ave., will qualify as a quiet zone.
KWG Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Canada Chrome Corp., received formal acknowledgement from the Registrar of Shortline Railways of receipt of its application for a licence to construct and operate a shortline railway under Ontario’s Shortline Railways Act.
"This is one small step in a long journey but it is a seminal one and we look forward to working with Ontario and its railway regulators on moving forward our proposed Ring of Fire Railroad," said Canada Chrome Vice President Bruce Hodgman.
Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, along with 19 other senators, requested $2.2 billion for Amtrak’s intercity passenger rail service in a letter to senate appropriators.
The 18 democrats and two independents pointed to Amtrak’s continuous ridership gains, fuel efficiency, as well as the negative impact reduced funding would have on capacity and infrastructure investment as reasons for the request.
Virginia’s Amtrak routes have seen significant ridership gains over the past decade, 32.9 percent for Newport News to Washington and 43.4 percent for Lynchburg to Washington.
"As Virginia seeks solutions to its critical transportation problems, I will continue to fight for strategic infrastructure investments," said Sen. Webb.
To view the letter, click here .
Axion International has signed a non-binding letter of intent with Sicut Holding Limited to establish a global joint venture to capitalize on the worldwide railroad tie market through the manufacture and sale of recycled structural composite ties/sleepers. The joint venture will be 65 percent owned by Axion and 35 percent owned by Sicut.
The new joint venture will be called Axion Rail, LLC, and will be established specifically to sell RSC ties to the global rail-tie market. This includes those in the large European markets, such as the UK, which replaces approximately 1 million sleepers annually, France, at 1.2 million sleepers annually and Germany at roughly 1 million sleepers annually.
"Axion Rail will expand our economies of scale, so we can more effectively leverage our worldwide recycling pipeline to generate efficiencies in sourcing recycled plastic streams, enhance our supply chain management and ultimately lower our manufacturing costs," said Steve Silverman, Axion’s president and CEO.
An improved tunnel alignment will be included in Ottawa’s Light Rail Transit project. This new alignment, one block North to Queen Street in Ottawa, Ontario, allows the tunnel to be constructed at a significantly reduced depth and remain under the street. Instead of twelve stories underground, the new alignment will be four stories underground, making the tunnel less expensive and reducing risk.
"The plan released today proposes a new alignment and a more practical tunnel that makes a lot more sense," said Ottawa’s Mayor, Jim Watson. "The resulting product, the first phase of our light rail transit system, will be a significant improvement and it will be less costly than the previous plan."
These improvements came as a result of the new council direction to re-evaluate the previous project assumptions. With the benefit of extensive engineering done over the past eight months, a less costly option was found. This means that the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project can be delivered for $1.74 billion in 2009 dollars or $2.1 billion in inflation adjusted dollars.
"I am very pleased that our work has paid off," said Mayor Watson. "This council will continue to put pressure on the private sector to innovate during the procurement phase and deliver the best possible project for the taxpayers of Ottawa."
Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unveiled the framework for a controversial multi-year surface transportation proposal to reauthorize highway, highway safety, transit and rail programs. Democratic leaders on the committee responded at an afternoon news conference on Capitol Hill.
Excepts from the response follow:
"While we have yet to see much of the details of this legislation, based on the funding levels alone, it appears that this bill can best be called the ‘Republican Road to Ruin’ because it would take our Nation in the wrong direction," said U.S. Representative Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) "The dramatic, mindless cuts proposed to surface transportation programs will destroy nearly 500,000 American jobs next year alone, undermine our nation’s long-term economic competitiveness and jeopardize our economic recovery."
The most recent multi-year surface transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) expired in September 2009, and the program has continued to operate through temporary extensions. Breaking with committee precedent and tradition, the current proposal was drafted by the majority with no consultation or input from the Minority. Rahall warned the "my way or the highway" approach in developing the current reauthorization could undermine efforts to enact a long-term surface authorization.
"I have had the privilege of serving on this committee for 34 years now, my entire tenure in Congress, and this is the first time the majority and minority stand apart," said Rahall. "We have always worked together to develop bipartisan surface transportation bills that had the overwhelming support of the committee and the House. Unfortunately, the Republicans are developing a bill, a bill we still have not yet seen, designed to pass the House with only 218 Republican votes. This approach breaks the best traditions of our Committee and is a missed opportunity to enact a long-term surface transportation bill."
By cutting $109 billion in surface transportation investments, the Republican bill ignores the well-documented and long-neglected infrastructure deficit. China currently spends nine percent of its Gross Domestic Product per year on infrastructure investments. India spends five percent of its GDP on infrastructure. The United States only invests 1.9 percent. While construction unemployment hovers around 16 percent, Republicans are proposing to slash these family wage jobs by one third.
"While our competitors are moving forward, this bill will leave us stuck in a ditch, putting American businesses at a disadvantage with companies around the world," said Rahall.
A statement by American Public Transportation Association President William Millar was released Friday, July 7 regarding the recent surface transportation proposal.
His statement follows:
"APTA commends the leadership of Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for moving forward with developing a six-year, multi-modal surface transportation authorization bill. The Chairman’s efforts to expand project financing, streamline project delivery and simplify federal grant programs are important components of the proposal. However, the bill’s investment levels, which are severely limited under the House-passed budget resolution and its rules, are woefully short of what is required to address the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure investment needs.
"With high gas prices and a slow economy, now is not the time to implement cuts of more than 30 percent in public transportation funding. This lack of investment in the nation’s public transportation infrastructure will have a chilling effect on our country’s ability to create jobs and provide access to jobs necessary to move the economy forward. One dollar invested in our public transportation infrastructure generates four dollars in economic return.
"This proposal would severely underfund critical elements of the federal transit program. The funding will not permit public transit agencies to address the costs of getting the existing systems to a state of good repair, which the U.S. DOT has estimated as a one-time cost of $78 billion, let alone meet the growing demand for public transportation services in the United States. It will severely curtail the purchase of new buses and trains, reduce critical maintenance and safety programs, and could cut operating funds for transit systems in small communities and rural areas.
"While we commend Chairman Mica’s efforts to leverage federal dollars through the various financing projects, there is no substitute for actual investment.
"We strongly urge the Congress to move forward with a bill that increases transportation investment or at the very least, maintains current funding levels. We look forward to gaining more details of this proposal and welcome the opportunity to work with the U.S. House and the Senate in funding the critical needs of the nation’s public transportation systems."
The upcoming extension of Sound Transit’s light rail in the Seattle area to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond, Wash., reached a major milestone with the distribution of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the East Link light rail project.
The Final EIS documents the numerous benefits of connecting the region’s largest population and employment centers with fast, frequent and reliable mass transit service, as well as project impacts and required mitigation. The publication positions the Sound Transit Board to select an East Link route and stations on July 28 or thereafter.
By 2030, the East Link project is forecasted to move up to 50,000 riders each weekday.
After the route and stations are selected and Sound Transit receives Federal Transit Administration approval through a Record of Decision, the project will move into final design. Sound Transit is expected to start construction of East Link in 2015 or 2016 and launch passenger service in 2022 or 2023.
"The years of work summarized in this document position us to turn our region’s vision of fast and reliable mass transit into real tracks, trains and stations. We are now poised to move forward," said Sound Transit Board and Bellevue City Council Member Claudia Balducci. "The time we’ve spent on detailed analysis and involving the public give Sound Transit and the City of Bellevue the information needed to cooperatively identify the route and mitigation options in Bellevue that will deliver the best results."
The upcoming meetings of the Sound Transit Board and the Board’s Capital Projects and Executive Committees will include review of the Final EIS, which includes more detailed analysis of the preferred alternatives the Board identified last year, as well as all of the other alternatives studied in the Draft and Supplemental Draft EIS documents.
The official issuance date for the Final EIS is July 15, 2011.
Invensys Rail has been selected by Network Rail to deliver one of Britain’s resignalling schemes at London Bridge Station and the approaching railway.
This contract, under which will be a series of individual commission contracts, commences in August 2011 and runs through to the completion of the Thameslink project in December 2018.
Simon Kirby, Network Rail’s director of investment projects, said, "This is a great example of how we are changing the way we work to encourage more innovation, deliver projects in a smarter way and get better value for money. By involving our delivery partners at an early stage, the industry will be able to deliver one of the most complex station, track and signalling projects being undertaken on the railway network in a generation."
The scope of Invensys Rail’s work will encompass the detailed design, installation, testing and commissioning of signalling and telecoms systems. This includes the introduction of the company’s ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and ETCS (European Train Control System) solutions, which will be overlaid in the London Bridge area to enable all train movements to be controlled automatically, delivering 24 trains per hour in each direction on the Thameslink core route at the program’s completion in 2018.
Commenting on the contract award Invensys Rail’s UK Managing Director, Nick Crossfield said, "Naturally we are absolutely delighted to have won this important work, allowing us to remain at the heart of one of Europe’s most prestigious and technically challenging rail infrastructure projects.
The Thameslink Programme reaches a key milestone in December 2011, when the first 12-car trains begin to run through central London. The transformation of London Bridge station, and associated railway work, will get underway fully in 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. It will be the final piece of the Thameslink program, which will provide a much-needed capacity boost to cater for increasing passenger numbers.
Additionally, Invensys Rail has delivered the first critical phase of the Malaysia’s Seremban to Gemas Double Tracking Project in time for planned commencement of the suburban passenger service to Sungai Gadut.
The project forms part of the Malaysian Government’s RM$3.45 billion (US$1.2 billion) Seremban-Gemas double tracking and electrification project due for completion in December 2012.
Phase I included modification and extension of Seremban station, a new station and interlocking at Sungai Gadut and a 10km (6.2 mile) block section between stations which includes the halt of Senawang.
Invensys Rail’s Regional Manager, Owen Clenick, commented, "The dedication and tenacity of our international teams to deliver the project on time was second to none and shows the lengths that Invensys Rail will go to deliver on time for its customer".
Brad Chase, formerly senior vice president at Kleysen Group LP in Winnipeg, a company handling commodities throughout Canada and the United States via rail and truck transportation, has been named president of OmniTRAX Canada, Inc.
"I look forward to pursuing business opportunities for OmniTRAX that also benefit Canada, and particularly, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the North," said Chase. "We will make strategic capital investments, seek joint ventures and work with all levels of government to ensure that the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill contribute to the success of Canada’s Northern Strategy."
Chase joined Kleysen in 2001 to lead the Intermodal Business unit. He was responsible for strategic planning and business development and was instrumental in the company’s growth.
"Brad’s leadership abilities, transportation background and deal-making skills are keys to expanding our operations and partnerships in Canada," said Gary Long, president and CEO of OmniTRAX, Inc. "His appointment as president of OmniTRAX Canada shows our commitment to the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway in Manitoba, the economic development of Nunavut, as well as our rail assets in Saskatchewan and British Columbia."
Chase will be based at the OmniTRAX Canada offices in Winnipeg and have oversight of the company’s operations in Canada, including the Port of Churchill, North America’s only deepwater Arctic port; the Hudson Bay Railway, which delivers goods to businesses and communities in Manitoba along 1,017 km of track; the Carlton Trail Railway, based in Saskatchewan; and the Kettle Falls International Railway connecting British Columbia to the United States.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a legislation to reform mass transit in the Chicago region by creating a universal fare card for riders of the CTA, Metra and Pace and taking the first step towards making free wireless internet available on buses and trains throughout the region. The new law also requires Metra to provide web-based, real-time train arrival information and lays the groundwork for the installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on Metra passenger trains.
"These improvements will make public transit a more robust and convenient travel option, boosting economic development and increasing access to schools and universities throughout the region," said Governor Quinn.
House Bill 3597 requires the Regional Transportation Authority to implement a universal fare card system for the CTA, Metra and Pace by 2015. A universal fare card would ensure access to all forms of public transportation in the region by allowing transfers between transit systems.
The new law was sponsored by Chicago Alderman Will Burns during his time as state representative and State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago).
House Bill 3597 passed the Illinois General Assembly unanimously and takes effect immediately.
As reported by Railway Age:
As expected, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) Thursday unveiled a six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, totaling $230 billion, roughly 20% less than the previous bill, SAFETEA-LU, and also significantly less than a $500 billion reauthorization bill introduced to Congress, but never passed, in 2009.
Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has said future spending should not exceed funding available in the Highway Trust Fund, which has been supplemented by general revenue in recent years. Federal transit funding assistance and even highway funding directed to the states would decrease as a result.
The bill’s effort to reduce costs includes revamping or terminating numerous programs, and removing any requirement for states to offer "transportation enhancements" such as pedestrian and bicycle improvements, though saving generated by the latter change would be marginal at best. The bill also would not allow states to impose tolls on existing interstate highway lanes, though tolls could be imposed on new highway lanes and on existing federal (U.S. number) roads.
Mica’s bill also rejects any increase in the federal fuels tax, last changed in 1993 and already producing lower revenue due in part to more efficient automotive fuel use and alternative-fuel vehicles.
Negative reaction to the Mica bill, some of it bipartisan, preceded the bill’s introduction. Rep. Ear Blumenauer (D-Ore.), an ardent advocate of light rail, streetcar, and bicycle transportation, said, "The proposed funding levels in this reauthorization are disastrously stingy and do not meet the minimum levels required to keep America’s transportation network safe and our economy competitive." He added, "Funding at these levels will result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and roads, railways and bridges with structural deficiencies that threaten our communities."
The U.S. Department of Transportation has taken a major step toward approval of a $640.8 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Westside Subway Extension.
The $640.8 million federal loan commitment would help fund the construction of a high-capacity, nine-mile extension of the LACMTA Purple Line subway from the existing Wilshire/Western station to a proposed Westwood/Veterans Affairs Hospital station once negotiations are complete.
"[This] is a critical step towards creating an ambitious, multi-faceted transit network and putting Angelenos back to work," Mayor and Chair of the LACMTA Antonio Villaraigosa said.
On March 1, 2011, LAMCTA had written a letter of interest to the USDOT outlining its interest in a TIFIA loan for the Westside Subway Extension and the Regional Connector. The USDOT selected the Westside Subway Extension [and seven other projects] from a pool of 34 project sponsors that were seeking a total of over $14 billion in TIFIA loans to help finance some $48 billion of new capital investments. LACMTA must now submit a final TIFIA application with USDOT and await formal approval of our Westside Subway Extension loan over the next several months.
The Westside Subway extension is part of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LACMTA’s 30/10 Initiative, a $14.8 billion plan to build 30 years of transit projects in the next decade.
The loan will be repaid with funds collected under Measure R, a half-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles voters in 2008.
CSX Corporation promoted David Baggs to vice president of capital markets and investor relations, effective immediately. Previously, he was assistant vice president of treasury and investor relations.
Baggs directs the company’s interaction with the investment community through earnings reports, analyst meetings, conferences and other channels. In addition, he leads CSX’s banking relationships and capital markets activities associated with a debt portfolio of more than $8 billion.
"David is a veteran leader of CSX and an outstanding resource for our investors and partners in the financial community," said Oscar Munoz, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
In 25 years with CSX, Baggs has held positions in finance, economic analysis, corporate strategy, treasury and investor relations.
Adam Inselbuch will join Watco as executive vice president and chief financial officer on July 11, 2011. Inselbuch will oversee the implementation of all financial aspects of Watco’s strategic plan and will be responsible for the finance, accounting, strategic sourcing and revenue accounting functions.
Inselbuch joins Watco from South Street Ventures, LLC, of New York where he served as managing director for the past year.
"We have worked with Adam on several projects and are confident that his experience and rail industry relationships will be an asset to Watco," said Watco President Terry Towner.
"Adam will be leading our finance and support teams that provide the information necessary for our Watco team to meet the daily needs of our Customers." Towner said.
Rick Baden, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer, will assume the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer with responsibilities for all business segments, as well as information technology, marketing and strategic analysis. Baden will also lead international operations.
The Indiana Southern Railroad and the International Association of Machinists reached a tentative collective-bargaining agreement on June 29, 2011, covering the craft and class of Mechanical and Maintenance of Way, according to the National Mediation Board.
In California, the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit acting Executive Director Farhad Mansourian issued a statement declaring that the future rail line in Marin and Sonoma is alive and well.
"When I took over as acting executive director, I promised the SMART Board of Directors that I would help reassess a variety of project assumptions, including construction costs and the financial picture and give them a status report," said Mansourian. "I’ve been doing exactly that and as in all large public works projects, there are many moving parts with new information emerging on a regular basis."
Mansourian is the public works director for Marin County who is on loan to SMART while the agency searches for a permanent general manager.
"SMART is a visionary, large-scale transportation project," stated SMART Chairwoman, Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown. "Our acting executive director is examining every assumption and the risk factors associated with SMART. We are moving toward finalizing design, permitting and construction issues just as any project must."
"Prior attempts to trim $88 million to balance the SMART budget included some cuts that would produce short-term gain and long term pain," said Mansourian. "Therefore, I have examined options that would allow the SMART Board to reconsider some of these cuts, by exploring new revenue sources that do not involve asking the voters for more money."
Mansourian continued, "From concept to the stage we’re at (30 perent of design completed) is a complex, time-consuming cost refinement process. We are examining and analyzing the data and I am planning to bring full disclosure of the status of the project and its financing to a public meeting of the SMART board in August."
"The expertise and organizational change that SMART now has in place is exactly what has been needed," said SMART Vice-Chair, Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold. "This is the critical element in restoring public confidence in the project. The entire SMART team is now committed to 100 percent transparency and the fiscal prudence that a project like this requires. I pledge to the public that the SMART Board is committed to executing the entire 70-mile project, starting with the Santa Rosa to San Rafael portion, in this same manner."
The voters of Marin and Sonoma passed a quarter-cent sales tax to fund the SMART service in 2008. SMART is planning the first leg of the system that will run between Santa Rosa and San Rafael, looking toward opening the rail service in2014.
The City of Ottawa in Ontario Canada released a Request for Qualifications for Ottawa Light Rail Transit Project: Tunney’s Pasture to Blair Station as outlined and approved by City Council on May 25, 2011.
The document outlines the evaluation criteria that will be used to identify respondents with the skills and experience to deliver Ottawa’s Light Rail Transit project.
Respondents will need to demonstrate their success in design, management, construction, system integration, testing, commissioning and maintenance of high capacity Light Rail Transit projects of similar scope and size as the OLRT project.
An independent Fairness Commissioner will oversee the evaluation process to protect the city’s interests and ensure an equal playing field from potential bidders. There are also lobbying restrictions in place to prevent firms from lobbying council or staff outside of the formal submission process.
Respondents will have until September 13, 2011 to make submissions. The city will take one month to complete evaluations and will publish a short list of qualified respondents in October, 2011.
The pre-qualified respondents will be invited to respond to the OLRT Request for Proposal.
The RFP process will last nine months, after which the winning firm will complete negotiations with the city. The final contract is due to be signed by December 2012 and construction will be completed within five years.
