(The following commentary
appeared in The Virginian-Pilot
September 26, 2010.) The Tide’s financial mismanagement
will cost Norfolk’s citizens millions of dollars more than originally planned. That’s
hardly news.
Michigan Tech is working on
what it believes is a first-ever collaborative study between the U.S. and the European
Union to improve railway education.
Suffolk,
Va., City Council members viewed a proposal to create a combined Amtrak and
Hampton Roads Transit station in downtown Suffolk, near the Saratoga
neighborhood, the Suffolk News Herald reports. City leaders pinpointed the
former site of the Golden Peanut Company, in between Saratoga and Wellons
streets, as a suitable location for a train and bus transportation hub. The
site still includes the company’s abandoned buildings, which feature broken
windows, graffiti and at least one tree growing on the roof.
Michel Labrecque, chairman
of Montreal’s STM Board of directors, said the agency signed the Sustainable
Development Charter of Union internationale des transports publics (UITP) in
Brussels.
West Lake Street in Ft.
Collins, Colo., will be closed to all traffic at the BNSF railroad tracks west
of College Avenue for track repairs and improvements, the Coloradoan reports. The
work is scheduled to begin Sept. 28 and continue through Oct. 5, weather
permitting. A detour route will be provided to direct through traffic to use
College Avenue and Centre Avenue.
Even in a time of
belt-tightening and dreams deferred, a long-sought CTA project is in the works,
offering the promise of improved transportation and economic rebirth for poorly
served Chicago communities, according to a story by Jon Hilkevitch in the Chicago
Tribune.
The Illinois Department of
Transportation has selected Hanson Professional Services of Springfield to
evaluate environmental consequences of building a new rail line between St.
Louis and Chicago for high-speed passenger trains, the State Journal-Register
reports. Hanson will work with the Parsons Transportation Group, a branch of
the construction and engineering firm of Parsons Corp., headquartered in
Pasadena, Calif.
As part of the Sound
Transit 2 plan approved by Metropolitan Seattle voters in 2008, the agency is
starting the formal planning process for mass transit between Northgate and
Lynnwood with early scoping. Sound Transit wants to hear from residents because
public input received during this early scoping process will help us identify
the best way to serve a given community.
Kansas and Oklahoma
officials already are at work on a development plan for rail passenger service
between the Kansas City area and Oklahoma City, with a stop in Topeka, even
though they haven’t actually seen Washington’s money yet, the Topeka Capital
Journal reports. The Federal Railroad Administration recently announced the
approval of a $250,000 grant to the Kansas Department of Transportation to do
the planning.
Work to improve the train
station in Burlington, N.C., should begin this fall or winter, with about
$685,000 worth of improvements being added there, the Times-News reports. The
station, an Amtrak hub on the Raleigh-to-Charlotte line, will get a new backup
electric generator, video security system and passenger information display
system. The size of the boarding platform will be doubled in length, allowing
the train to stop only once to board and unload passengers.
Recent flooding caused
little damage locally on the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, the
Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minn., reports. Mike LoVecchio, spokesman for
Canadian Pacific Railway, which owns DM&E, said no damage occurred on the
east-west line, which passes through Rochester, but that a small washout
suspended traffic on the north-south line near Owatonna. The line was expected
to be restored to service shortly, LoVecchio said.
Los Angeles Metro Blue
Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes for two
weekends beginning September 24, due to construction of the Expo light rail
line, which will connect with the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles.
Work will be done on the
new pedestrian underpass at the Santa Clara, Calif., 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.
On October 1-2, Sunne Lane
and Harvey Drive near the Pleasant Hill, Calif., BART Station will be closed to
traffic. This closure is to allow for the set-up and ceremonies for the grand
opening of the Contra Costa Centre Transit Village and the Robert I. Schroder
Overcrossing that will be held in the Town Square on October 2.
Nearly 1,000 construction
grant applications for more than $19 billion from all 50 states, U.S.
territories and the District of Columbia far exceeded the $600 million in
TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II dollars the
U.S. Department of Transportation can award for infrastructure projects ranging
from highways and bridges to transit and ports, Secretary Ray LaHood said
following the August deadline for submissions.
When the Sound Transit
Board began work Sept. 23 on the 2011 budget, it signaled the kickoff of a
process that will realign agency project and service priorities in response to
the national recession’s impact on local tax revenues.
Metrolinx, Infrastructure
Ontario and the Toronto Transit continue to move forward on a commitment to
improving public transit in the Greater Toronto Area with the release of a
request for proposals to the three teams short-listed for the new Sheppard East
Maintenance and Storage Facility project.
Houston’s NEW METRO is
hosting a public hearing on its FY2011 budget at noon Sept. 27 and the public
is encouraged to attend. In a break from past practice, the budget will be
presented by METRO’s President & CEO George Greanias.
Gary/Chicago
International Airport officials are hopeful an agreement on moving railroad
tracks blocking airport expansion can be hammered out within a month, perhaps
allowing some work on the project to begin this year, the Times of Northwest
Indiana reports.
As the city ponders how
to pay for light-rail budget overruns, the Hampton Roads Transit board took
action Sept. 23 to help control project costs, The Virginian-Pilot reports. The
board approved changes in the final large contract for rail construction that
HRT President and CEO Philip Shucet said will allow the agency to avoid
spending an additional "few million dollars."
