At a rate of 73 percent,
voters across the country in 14 states approved 22 measures out of 30
state and local public transportation-related ballot initiatives, authorizing
nearly $500 million over the next five years.
St. Louis Metro’s
unprecedented long-range plan for public-transit development over the next 30
years has placed second in a global awards competition recognizing the
involvement of the public in innovative projects throughout the world. Metro
was honored by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) for
the level of participation by the public in the development of Moving Transit
Forward, the plan that offers a menu of transit solutions to meet the St. Louis
region’s needs over the next three decades.
Exhibit opportunities for
members of the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) at
Railway Interchange 2011, the first-of-its-kind combined trade show and
technical conference, are quickly disappearing. REMSA has confirmed more than
90 total exhibitors at its exhibition space in the Minneapolis convention
center and on and off the tracks at the nearby Humboldt Yard.
Joe McGee has been named vice
president and general manager at RailWorks Signals & Communications, Inc. He
is responsible for all of the company’s S&C operations throughout the
United States. McGee is a United States Air Force veteran with more than 30
years of industry experience. He most recently served as a senior project manager
with Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.
David A. Boaté, P.E., has joined Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and
construction management firm. Based in the firm’s New York City office, Boaté
serves as vice president and director of transit and rail for the Northeast
Region, responsible for the daily operational management, business development,
strategic growth, and profitability of the firm in the transit and rail
industries.
Canadian National Railway
Co. has signed a deal authorizing the moving of its tracks to make way for the
expansion of Gary/Chicago International Airport’s main runway, the Northwest
Indiana Times reports. Airport officials say the railroad inked the deal Nov. 2,
just three business days after the airport authority board approved the deal.
November 5-7, Washington,
D.C., Metro will undertake a major project on the Blue and Orange lines that
will impact rail service east of the Stadium-Armory Metrorail station and
conduct additional maintenance on the Blue and Yellow lines in Northern
Virginia. Rail riders traveling on these lines are advised to add an additional
40 minutes to their travel plans because some stations will be closed and
single-tracking operations will be in place elsewhere.
New York MTA Metro-North
Railroad will be operating substitute bus service on the New Canaan Branch
during weekday off-peak hours for the week of November 15 -19 to allow for tree
and brush clean-up before winter. The Power Department recently inspected the
branch and identified 16 locations where the foliage was too close to the
overhead catenary wires. To avoid putting train service at risk the first time
there is an ice or snow storm, it is necessary to take care of these spots now.
Los Angeles County
this week began a nearly half-million-dollar project aimed at preventing
earthquake damage to a railway bridge in Glendora, Calif., officials said, according
to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
The latest step in BART’s
efforts to improve facilities for bicyclists is a set of spiffy double-deck
racks that can hold 64 bikes inside the 19th St./Oakland, Calif., Station. Previously,
the only option for bicyclists who wanted to store bikes near the station were
the city-owned racks located outside on the street level, which were often
filled beyond capacity.
Fifteen years of service
and 30 million riders later, Vancouver’s West Coast Express commuter rail line had
reason to celebrate. Doug Kelsey, TransLink’s executive vice-president and president
of British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, Ltd., and Maple Ridge-Mission MLA
Marc Dalton joined hundreds of daily commuters at the Waterfront Station to
commemorate the anniversary.
BNSF is suing Kootenai
County, Idaho, over new regulations proposed for the railroad’s Hauser diesel
refueling depot, the Spokesman-Review reports.
When the Link light rail
system first began running in July 2009, Rainier Valley and Tukwilla residents
in south Seattle were upset with the noise.
Federal Signal
Corporation named Dennis J. Martin president and chief executive officer,
following the resignation of William H. Osborne. Martin, 60, has served on
Federal Signal’s Board of Directors since 2008.
BNSF Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Matt Rose today announced the promotion of Carl Ice to the
newly-created position of president and chief operating officer of BNSF Railway
Company, with responsibility for operations, marketing and technology services.
Beginning November 3 and
continuing as long as the weather permits, the MBTA contractor, J.F. White,
will be performing necessary track work to replace the deteriorating concrete
ties between Plymouth Station and the Rte. 3 Overhead Bridge in Kingston, Mass.
During this time Plymouth Station will be closed. Train service will be
provided to and from Kingston Station only.
Just days before an
election that could decide the fate of a planned high-speed rail line, state
and federal administrators quietly signed a deal to commit the state to
spending all $810 million of the federal stimulus cash allocated to the
Milwaukee-to-Madison route, transportation officials confirmed Nov. 1, the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
With support from Escanaba
and Lake Superior Railroad, officials in Ontonagon, Mich., are moving forward
with the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region working to
preserve the railroad located in Ontonagon, the Daily Mining Gazette reports.
Work will continue on the
new pedestrian underpass at the Santa Clara station. The underpass will connect
the north- and southbound platforms, allowing two trains to pass through the
station at the same time and improving safety for pedestrians in the station. Passengers
at the station are boarding the train from a temporary platform. Passengers are
asked to observe all posted signs and follow direction from identified
ambassadors in the station. The temporary platform will be in use for
approximately six months.
CN and North America
Stevedoring Company, LLC (NASCO) will construct of a new multi-modal steel
transloading facility in Chicago, the North American hub for steel
transportation. NASCO is a division of Quebec Stevedoring Company Ltd. (QSL).
