Light rail won’t be
operational until May, yet many local residents already want it extended, The
Virginian-Pilot
reports. A recent survey of local attitudes found that more
than 91 percent of respondents want to see light rail go beyond Norfolk’s
7.4-mile starter line.
BNSF and the State of
Illinois have reached a preliminary agreement on how to spend $45 million in
state funds to upgrade the rail network at Galesburg, Ill., to help passenger
and freight trains operate efficiently on the shared track system, The Journal
of Commerce reports.
One of Canada’s oldest
industries could open new markets to Asia without the need for an expensive or
controversial pipeline to the West Coast, executives from both major railroads
said, the Calgary Herald reports.
A Mississippi man is
concerned about a railroad bridge he believes is too dangerous for trains to
cross, local television news reports. Adam Webb visits the Coldwater River
often, and is fearful of a bridge located along Highway 178 in Olive Branch,
Miss. Webb believes the bridge is going to collapse under the weight of a
train.
The town of Middlebury,
Vt., is applying for a $15,000 federal grant to plan for a local, passenger
rail station in anticipation of ramped-up train service along the western part
of the state, the Addison Independent reports.
The December 6 opening of
the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Rail Green Line means more than just
transportation from 15 new locations, it is the addition of 15 new pieces to
the transit agency’s acclaimed public art collection.
Los Angeles’ Metro will
hold a Community Open House on December 1, in the City of Hawthorne, Calif., to
update the community on various proposed sites for a maintenance facility
selected for environmental review as part of the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor
Project light rail line.
A deteriorated CTA bridge
on the Red Line has an important story to tell about the health of the rail
system’s viaducts, the Chicago Tribune reports. Each day, thousands of CTA
elevated trains operate across 564 bridges, many 80-to-100 years old.
In July 2005, former
Sioux Falls, S.D., Mayor Dave Munson stood on the east bank of the Big Sioux
River near the white monolith of the abandoned Zip Feed Mill, the Sioux Falls
Argus Leader reports. He looked west toward downtown and at rows of railroad
tracks before him and imagined the future. In his mind, new retail,
residential, commercial and entertainment development enlivened the east bank.
The tracks were gone.
The following closure is
required to perform construction related to the supporting piers for the new
Metrorail extension in the Miami area: Two-month closure of SR 112/Airport
Expressway westbound exit ramp to NW 27th Avenue.
The Chicago Transit
Authority joins the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Illinois
Department of Transportation (IDOT), Metra and Pace to present the 14th Annual
Transportation Symposium & Business Exchange. The symposium takes place on Tuesday, November 30 at the
Chicago Hilton and Towers.
The Maryland Transit Administration
(MTA) said that the entire northbound platform at the BWI MARC/Amtrak Station would
be open for passengers at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 24, 2010. A portion
of the northbound platform has been closed to MARC commuters and Amtrak
passengers during construction, but barriers will be removed Wednesday morning,
Nov. 24, and crews will complete final detail work after the holiday. The
improved, longer platform will open in time to ease the expected rush of
Thanksgiving holiday travelers.
A non-profit community
group that has earned accolades for efforts to keep New York City clean is
sending work crews out to help MTA Long Island Rail Road undo the unsightly
work of graffiti vandals scarring LIRR bridges, most in Greater Jamaica. The
LIRR is partnering in the pilot program with NYC Community Cleanup, an
organization that targets litter and vandalism by deploying non-violent
offenders doing community service time. NYC Community Cleanup is a creation of
the Center for Court Innovation in partnership with the state Office of Court
Administration, the Office of the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinator and the
Queens District Attorney and it develops innovative approaches to public safety
problems.
VIA Rail Canada has
selected KMI, a software firm based in Oakville, Ont., to upgrade the
corporation’s environmental and safety management systems. The C$270,000
contract, which is entirely funded by the Government of Canada’s Economic
Action Plan, will provide VIA with KMI’s integrated software to centralize
environment, health and safety data collection, event reporting and analysis
throughout the corporation’s coast-to-coast network. KMI’s Incident Management,
Corrective Action, and Reporting & Dashboard systems will be implemented at
all VIA locations across Canada by the end of the year.
North Bay cargo trains may
be closer to returning to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad now that a major
obstacle has been removed, the Santa Rosa, Calif., Press Democrat reports. U.S.
transportation regulators have ruled that the North Coast Railroad Authority
doesn’t need commuter rail’s okay to reopen the freight line.
When the strip mall along
Davenport, Iowa’s East River Drive and west of Mound Street came down in March,
a new view opened up, and many people noticed for the first time the tall
wooden railroad trestle behind the property, the Quad Cities Times reports. The
trestle is the only one like it in the Quad-Cities – possibly the only one like
it in Iowa or Illinois – and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places as a "contributing structure" within the Village of East Davenport’s
historic designation.
Spectrum Infrared, a
division of A.D.S., said that CN is utilizing its 5-hp railroad track switch
heaters at Victoria Bridge over the St. Lawrence River to ensure that the rail
switches operate reliably and efficiently during the upcoming winter. CN’s
Victoria Bridge carries both rail and road traffic, with rails in the middle
and roadways on both sides. The bridge links CN’s Montreal operations with its
network in southeastern Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Just over four years after
the first front loader of dirt was turned, the 28-mile, 20-station, $1.8-billion
Green Line will be complete on December 6, when it opens 24 miles and 15
stations, creating new light rail connections for Dallas Area Rapid Transit
(DART) customers from Pleasant Grove in the southeast to Farmers Branch and
Carrollton in the northwest. This is the longest single-day opening of electric
light rail in the United States since 1990.
The City of New Bedford and
the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) have set up an
informal design competition for a new station off Route 18 to be known as Whale’s
Tooth. The multi-modal station will be built as part of the South Coast Rail
project and may host a new local and intercity bus terminal. Mayor Scott W.
Lang and Kristina Egan, Director of South Coast Rail, MassDOT, made the
announcement in New Bedford City Hall.
Norfolk Southern
Corporation has issued its third annual sustainability report, available for
the first time exclusively on the company’s environmental website, Footprints,
at footprints.nscorp.com. The 2010 sustainability report describes Norfolk
Southern’s plans to achieve its new greenhouse gas emission reduction goal and
tracks initiatives in responsible economic, environmental, and social performance.
