The Connecticut Bond
Commission is expected to approve $260 million to help pay for the improvements
needed for high-speed trains running through the state and western
Massachusetts, local media report.
In an overwhelming show
of support for the Administration’s high-speed rail initiative, U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Ray LaHood said that the Federal Railroad Administration has
received 77 applications from 25 states for the most recent round of High-Speed
Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant funding. Application requests total more
than $8.5 billion and will be considered for funding from more than $2.3
billion appropriated in FY 2010.
The Maryland Transit
Administration is advising Metro Subway customers of upcoming track
maintenance. The overnight work will improve track functions between the Rogers
Avenue and State Center/Cultural Center stations and is scheduled to have
limited impact on Metro Subway service.
L.B. Foster Company said it is extending its previously announced cash tender offer, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Foster Thomas Company, for all outstanding shares of common stock of Portec Rail Products, Inc., until 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on August 30, 2010. The tender offer was previously set to expire at midnight, New York City time on August 16, 2010.
With the most significant
transit-service changes in years coming on August 30, Metro employees in St.
Louis will be at MetroBus Transfer Centers and MetroLink stations on weekdays
until then to provide customers with information on changes coming to 53
MetroBus routes. Teams of Metro employees serving as "ambassadors" will meet
with customers during the morning and afternoon rush hours with details.
CXT, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of L.B. Foster Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded a
contract by City of Calgary Light Rail Transit to supply 14,500 CXT Concrete
Ties and fastening systems for use in the construction of line extensions to
expand the system to the northwest and northeast of Calgary, Alberta. CXT concrete
ties began shipping for this project in June from L.B. Foster’s Spokane, Wash.,
facility and will complete delivery by November 2010.
CSX Transportation has set
December as its target to complete $10 million in upgrades and improvements at
its freight yard off Day Street in West Springfield, Mass., The Republican
reports. The work, which started in July, will consist mostly of extensive paving
with an elaborate retention basin system for capturing and cleansing runoff
before discharging the water into the city’s storm water system, according to
Maurice J. O’Connell, a regional vice president for CSXT.
MTA Metro-North Railroad
timetables change on Monday, August 30 to accommodate a major, multi-year
Connecticut Department of Transportation catenary and bridge improvement
project on the New Haven Line.
Founded during the Great
Depression, and now smack in the middle of the Great Recession, Holland LP is
still on track and showing no signs of slowing, the Southtown Star reports. But
that should come as no surprise because that is exactly what Holland LP does
best – keep things, or more specifically, trains, on track.
NJ TRANSIT is seeking $885
million in new federal funding for the renewal and replacement of key
infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor, such as aging bridges, power supply
and signal systems between Trenton and New York City, Web site njtoday.net
reported.
Unit Rail, the rail
fastening division of Amsted Rail, appointed John Stout director of sales, responsible
for sales and marketing activities in North America for both the Unit Rail and
Advanced Track Products brands.
The governor’s office
remains hopeful that Iowa and Illinois will secure funding to establish a passenger
rail route from Iowa City to Chicago when federal dollars are handed out next
month, the Iowa City Press Citizen reports.
Union Pacific is investing
nearly $9 million to improve the rail line from Ogallala, Neb., to near
Cheyenne, Wyo. Work on two projects covering more than an 85-mile stretch of
railroad track began August 8 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-September.
One section is between west of Ogallala to Julesburg, Neb., and the second
project is west of Sidney, Neb., to near Cheyenne, Wyo.
With the gray cement of San
Francisco’s old Transbay Transit Terminal as a backdrop, on August 11 officials stood before
a flashy white placard with an orange "T" emblazoned on its face and
broke ground on a new transit center, the San Francisco Appeal reports. The
Transbay Transit Center, which is planned to act as the terminus station for
the nation’s first high-speed rail system, has been dubbed the "Grand
Central Station of the West Coast."
County officials say the
rehabilitation of the Chester Branch Railroad, a four-mile rail line extending
from Wharton, N.J., and terminating in Roxbury Township, is under way and
should be completed within four to five months, the Roxbury Register reports.
No decision is expected on
the location of the Lakeland-area station for the Florida High Speed Rail until
late next year, the Polk County Transportation Planning Organization was told August
12, according to the Lakeland Ledger. Two locations, one near the USF
Polytechnic campus that would be built at Interstate 4 and the Polk Parkway and
the other Kathleen Road, are being considered.
Despite hefty fines and
warnings from Canadian Pacific Railway, Mile End and Rosemont residents are
taking matters -and pliers -into their own hands as they wait for the city, the
two boroughs and the railway to decide on building a pedestrian level crossing
on the railroad tracks separating the two neighborhoods, The Gazette reports.
In conjunction with
the Concourse Improvement project, PATCO’s Chestnut Street concourse and
8th/Market South entrance/exit will be closed from 7 p.m. on Saturday,
August 28, through 5 a.m. on Monday, August 30.
August 13-15, Metro in the
Washington, D.C., area, will upgrade its track on the Orange, Yellow and Green
lines to improve reliability and service. As a result of this crucial work,
which is critical to maintain the railroad in a state of good repair, riders
can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.
Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.,
an industry-leading rail infrastructure contractor, as part of the Denver
Transit Partners (DTP) team, reached financial close and received official
notice to proceed from the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to
construct the multi-billion dollar Eagle P3 commuter rail project. The DTP team
will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 Project.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 26, 2010.
