Norfolk Southern Corp. paid
nearly $12 million to purchase the 316 acres in McCalla, Ala., where it plans
to build a $112 million railroad hub, according to county records, The Birmingham
News reports. The railroad company bought land from six different property
owners in transactions ranging in price from $72,545.40 to more than $5.8
million, the property records show.
Amtrak has been working
hard to lure more business travelers to its trains, with advertisements highlighting
its advantages over air travel – roomier seats, power outlets on its Acela trains
and fewer annoyances, the New York Times reports. And its efforts have borne
some fruit: the number of riders on its Northeast corridor trains has been
rising.
In January, in addition to
the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday weekend closure of the
Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail station on the Red Line, Metro in Washington,
D.C., will replace fasteners, make tunnel repairs, and make repairs to a rail
switch that will help ensure reliable Metrorail service. Customers should
expect travel delays during the weekends of Jan. 8 to 10, Jan. 15 to 18, and
Jan. 29 to Jan. 31.
As construction to
replace the 80-year-old Vandeventer Bridge in St. Louis continues, work to
remove the old bridge will require a MetroLink system outage between the Grand
and Central West End MetroLink Stations from December 26 through January 3.
During this time, MetroBus shuttles will replace MetroLink light rail service between these two stations, enabling passengers to navigate around the
construction zone and continue their commutes.
Construction is complete on the Kansas City Southern rail line and
trains run through Victoria, Texas, daily, but there’s still more to go,
according to the Victoria Advocate. The next step is a bypass to offset rail
traffic through major arteries. It’s a work in progress and both KCS and the
Texas Department of Transportation are working toward a resolution, Victoria
County Judge Don Pozzi said.
One day after telling
City Council that light-rail construction costs will not exceed the latest
estimate of $328 million, Hampton Road Transit officials said that the price
could climb another $12 million, The Virginian-Pilot reports. During a
closed-door executive committee meeting, HRT consultants revealed that the
project, which was budgeted to cost $232 million when construction started,
could rise to about $340 million, a 47 percent increase, several board members
confirmed. They added that the projection is preliminary.
After years of waiting,
Burlington, Iowa, residents were rewarded for their patience with a Christmas
gift, The Hawkeye reports. At midnight Dec. 24, the city became a train horn
quiet zone. Earlier this month, quiet
zone status was granted by the Federal Railroad Administration based on safety
modifications to downtown railroad crossings.
The City of Mission, Texas,
is lobbying the U.S State Department to retain a permit to build another
international bridge, mere weeks after the completion of the Rio Grande
Valley’s newest crossing, according to The
Monitor.
There is no plan or funding to build another crossing, but Mission
city officials said they want to retain the 30-year-old permit because it
allows them to connect railroads on both sides of the border, something the
newly unveiled Anzalduas International Bridge does not.
Construction of a new
railroad siding in the west industrial park in Washington, Mo., could begin
late next spring or early summer if the city receives final approval of state
and federal grant funds it’s seeking, the Missourian reports. The city has
received the preliminary nod for more than $2 million in state economic
development grants to finance the "team track" rail siding at the end
of West Main Street, according to Dick Oldenburg, economic development director.
Union Pacific has
raised the roof on 15 of its tunnels over Donner Pass in the Sierra, allowing
double-stacked trains to cross the pass and go through Reno for the first time
on the way to Chicago, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. When the recession
ebbs, more trains could be coming through Reno and Sparks. Double-stacked
trains have been routed through the longer and more difficult Feather River
Canyon north of Reno.
The Port of Vancouver,
Wash., will receive nearly $3 million in additional federal funds to help build
rail lines for its $137-million West Vancouver Freight Access project, the Portland
Business Journal reports. The new allocation comes with the help of U.S. Sen.
Patty Murray, D-Wash., and was included in the final version of the fiscal 2010
Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program, which will enhance safety at 25 grade crossings
in San Mateo County, continues. The schedule includes Maple Avenue, Chestnut
Street and Broadway, Redwood City, 8:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m., Dec. 28-30. Throughout
the project area, at least one lane of the impacted street will remain open. Flagmen
will direct traffic and pedestrians around the construction.
The Illinois Commerce
Commission has granted approval for the installation of automatic flashing
light signals and gates and highway approach grade improvements at the 160th
Street crossing of BNSF track located near Galesburg, Warren County. The
estimated cost to install the new automatic flashing light signals and gates is
$518,729. The Grade Crossing
Protection Fund will pay 95 percent of the warning device installation costs,
not to exceed $492,793. BNSF will
pay the remaining warning device installation costs, as well as all future
operating and maintenance costs.
Norfolk Southern Corp.
expects to learn next month whether the U.S. Department of Transportation will
provide it with a $300-million stimulus grant as the company works to complete
a $2.5-billion rail project, Northern Virginia Daily reports.
According to government forecasts, freight volumes
in the United States will significantly increase by 2020. Unless major
transportation infrastructure improvements are made, this could lead to reduced
productivity resulting in job losses, higher prices for the goods we buy and
reduced worldwide demand for the goods we sell. The National Gateway – an $842-million
multi-state public-private infrastructure initiative – will help meet current
infrastructure needs and prepare the nation for this projected growth by
investing in surface transportation infrastructure improvements.
(The following opinion
piece by Alfred Doblin appeared in The Record in Northern New Jersey.) Last
week, Governor-elect Chris Christie met with The Record’s editorial board.
During the meeting, he was asked about transportation projects and the
possibility of a gas tax to help keep the Transportation Trust Fund solvent.
Mapping the route of a
proposed high-speed passenger train between the Twin Cities and Chicago will
take a year or more, a Minnesota transportation official said, according to
local newspapers. Dan Krom, who made a presentation to Washington County commissioners,
said as many as eight routes are under study. One of them, which the
commissioners favor, would follow the existing Amtrak route, known in planning
circles as Red Rock, through southern Washington County and eastern Dakota
County.
Whether
you might take the train for holiday travel in the future might well depend on
a $200-million request for federal funds. Missouri Transportation Director Pete
Rahn says people are being drawn to rail travel for reasons other than saving
money on fuel, local media report.
The city of Inver Grove
Heights, Minn., has received a couple of mighty big gifts totaling $1.4 million
in grant money to convert a historic swing bridge into a 670-foot public pier
over the Mississippi River, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. And now, as
they’re getting ready to seek contractors to do the work, city officials say
they’re expecting that bids could come in 20 to 40 percent lower than
anticipated by engineers — thanks in part to highly competitive bidding during
tough economic times.
The recent sale of the
Chamberlain, S.D.-based Dakota Southern Railway Company could result in lower
shipping prices for area producers served by the line, according to its new
owners, the Daily Republic reported. Mike Williams and Stan Patterson, who
purchased the line, met in Chamberlain with the Mitchell-Rapid City Regional
Rail Authority and laid out the broad strokes of a multi-year rebuilding plan.
