Worcester endorses zoning change as neighbors resist CSXT expansion






CSX Transportation’s plan
to expand its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets in Worcester,
Mass., gained more momentum after the Planning Board last night endorsed a zone
change and to street layouts essential to the expansion project modifications, the
Telegram & Gazette reports. By a 4-0 vote, the board recommended changing
the zoning of roughly three acres along the CSXT railroad tracks to
manufacturing-general.

LA Metro Blue Line Florence Station to close for maintenance






Beginning at 8:00 p.m. on
Friday, July 23, through Sunday, July 25, the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line
Florence Station will be closed due to systems maintenance and track replacement
at the Florence Avenue crossing. Metro customers will experience up to 20
minutes delays between the Florence and Firestone stations.

Possible weekend delays on BART Pittsburg Bay Point line through September






For the next several weeks
BART will run northbound Pittsburg/Bay Point line trains on a single track due
to ongoing weekend track work for the Central Contra Costa Crossover Project. Single-tracking
will take place on weekends only and the agency expects to complete this work in late
September. Single-tracking may result in delays of up to 15 minutes on weekend
trains going toward the Pittsburg/Bay Point Station.


KCS estimates reopening of KCSM Nuevo Laredo Gateway






Kansas City Southern said
that its Mexican subsidiary, Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. estimates
that, if there are no new complications, its Nuevo Laredo gateway will be
reopened for service sometime the weekend of July24-25 with the Anahuac Bridge
repairs under way and expected to be in service by then. With the anticipated
restoration of service, all current service embargoes imposed on July 3 are
expected to be lifted early the week of July 25.

NS ready to break ground on Memphis terminal






Norfolk Southern is about
to clear the final hurdle needed to begin work on its Rossville intermodal
terminal, where cargo containers will be transferred between trucks and trains,
The Memphis Daily News reports. The Norfolk, Va.-based railroad, which is
preparing to formally break ground on the massive $112-million project, will
unveil the federally mandated environmental assessment that was recently
approved in preparation for the facility.

Moline, Ill., to buy property for Amtrak terminal






Moline, Ill., is one step
closer to being a hub in the return of passenger rail service to the
Quad-Cities, the Quad-City Times reports. In a unanimous vote July 20, the city
council approved spending $993,000 to purchase property near existing railroad
tracks for conversion to an Amtrak terminal. The property is at 1201 4th Ave.,
the site of the O’Rourke Building, and an adjacent vacant parcel at 323 13th
St. The property is owned by High Rent LLC.

State makes offer for Maine rail line






The state has offered $18
million to purchase the 233 miles of rail line that Montreal Maine &
Atlantic Railway is seeking to abandon in Aroostook and Penobscot counties, the
Maine Public broadcasting Network reports.

HRT: More delays, overruns unlikely






After months of
construction in downtown Norfolk, Va., light rail is coming into focus – as are
the latest questions about Hampton Roads Transit’s long-anticipated project,
local media report. Major construction wrapped up earlier this month, and
testing will begin in the fall. Now the city is counting down to see if the
Tide makes its scheduled start date of next May.

Track upgrades for Illinois high-speed rail to begin in September






February 14, 2001

Track improvements will
start this September to allow trains to travel at much faster speeds between
Chicago and St. Louis, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. An agreement between the
Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific will allow track
upgrades to be made on a 90-mile segment of UP track to prepare it for
high-speed rail.

Herbicide vital to Alaska Railroad safety






February 14, 2001






February 14, 2001



(The following column was
written by Tom Brooks, the Alaska Railroad’s chief engineer, and appeared in
the Anchorage, Alaska, Daily News.) Inspectors from the Federal Railroad
Administration–the regulatory agency with safety-related authority over all
U.S. railroads–were back in Alaska earlier this summer. Among other things,
FRA inspectors require the Alaska Railroad Corporation to improve weed control.

Amtrak offers guidance on passenger station development






February 14, 2001

Amtrak is offering its
expert guidance on station development to communities in Illinois, Iowa and
Wisconsin where new state-supported Amtrak service is planned to begin in the
next three years. As a part of its Great American Stations Project, Amtrak is hosting
local and state leaders in a Civic Conversation with a special focus on the
development of stations on planned Chicago routes to Dubuque, Iowa, via
Rockford, Ill.; to Iowa City via the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities; and to Madison,
Wis., via Milwaukee.

 

 

Kansas City Southern: The little railroad that could






In
1995 when railroad veteran Michael Haverty joined Kansas City Southern Railway
as chief executive, the carrier seemed to be chugging into a long, dark tunnel
with no exit, The Kansas City Star reports. The future for the Kansas City
railroad appeared anything but bright. Mergers in the rail industry were
creating mega-carriers in the nation’s western half. The giants, Burlington
Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific, were threatening to overwhelm Kansas City
Southern, the smallest of the major carriers, with its network running from the
heartland to the Gulf Coast.

PATCO Stations going green; DRPA joins Beautiful New Jersey campaign






On July 22, PATCO begins
the process of recycling newspapers, glass and plastic with the placement of
special trash receptacles at the Lindenwold, Ashland and Woodcrest Stations.
The special green receptacles with a recycling decal will be located mostly on
the station platforms although they will be available in other locations. The
program will be expanded to include all other PATCO stations including the four
subway stations in Philadelphia.

Stimulus gives rail kick in the caboose






(The following column by
Brain Palmer was published in the Washington Post.) Americans love to complain
about the pitiable state of our once-great rail system and wonder why our
locomotives are stuck in the past. I mean, you can zip between Wuhan and
Guangzhou, China, at 220 mph. Japan’s Shinkansen system tops 186 mph. The
French TGV can blaze across the countryside at more than 200 mph. Yet the Acela
train, the pride of Amtrak, hits a ho-hum 150 mph at top speed and maintains
that for only a few minutes between New York and Boston.

Elevator status information for CTA stations featured on LED Signs






The Chicago Transit
Authority has installed LED signs at 14 rail stations that provide elevator
status information. The new LED signs are located above the accessible
turnstiles at accessible rail stations and provide the most current information
on elevator outages. By providing this information at the station entrance it
allows riders who need elevator access to check on the status of the elevators
at their origin and destination station before they pay their fares.

Grade crossing work to delay LIRR Port Jefferson Branch trains






A grade crossing renewal
project in St. James, N.Y., will affect some midday train service on the MTA
Long Island Rail Road’s Port Jefferson Branch from Monday, August 2, through
Friday, August 6. During the work four eastbound and four westbound midday
trains will depart and terminate from the Smithtown Station instead of the Port
Jefferson Station.