Senators Lautenberg, Murray and Cantwell introduce legislation for new freight program






Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), with co-sponsors
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), introduced
the Focusing Resources, Economic Investment and Guidance to Help Transportation
Act of 2010 (FREIGHT Act), a landmark bill, leading the charge to transform
America’s transportation policy and investment by focusing on the freight
network that enables goods and commodities to move about and reach their
markets. The FREIGHT Act provides a visionary, comprehensive, systemic approach
to infrastructure investment that addresses the nation’s commerce needs while
providing a solid foundation that will also help our nation meet its energy,
environmental and safety goals. The bill also calls for the creation of a new
National Freight Infrastructure Grants initiative – a competitive, merit-based
program with broad eligibility for multimodal freight investment designed to
focus funds where they will provide the most public benefit.

LTK Engineering names Furmaniak vice-president, business development






LTK Engineering Services appointed
Thomas B. Furmaniak, P.E., vice-president, business development. Furmaniak
worked for LTK during the 1970s, after which he held senior management
positions with New York City Transit and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority, and served as Chief Systemwide Engineer for the Athens Metro in
Greece.


Dulles Metrorail construction update






Dulles Corridor Metrorail
construction is visible all along the 11.7-mile alignment of Phase 1 of the
23-mile extension of Metro’s existing Orange Line. By early fall, construction
of all five stations between East Falls Church and Reston will be under way.
Crews are building aerial bridges to carry tracks across the westbound lanes of
I-66 near the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) where the rail extension will
tie into the Orange Line. There is ongoing bridge construction at Pimmit Run and
Magarity Road. Pile driving activities will continue through September all
along the Connector Road as tracks are built at grade level in most areas.

Pennsylvania governor seeks to save transit systems






With the Port Authority of
Allegheny County warning of deep service cuts ahead, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed
Rendell on July 21 threatened to use federal highway money to bail out mass
transit systems if lawmakers won’t approve higher taxes and fees, the
Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports.

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.