Union Pacific will improve
Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing more than $10 million on
the rail line that runs from near Washington, Mo., to Pacific, Mo. Work on the
nearly 22-mile stretch of railroad track began July 1 and is scheduled to be
completed by the end of July. The project includes removing and
installing the rail on one of the two tracks in the area.
Two years after officials
gathered in Mechanicsville, N.Y., to announce a $40-million "rail
logistics center," work on the project has yet to begin, the Albany
Times-Union reports. But that could soon change.
New Mexico Transportation
Secretary Gary L. J. Girón was joined by state and local officials as they
broke ground on the Reinken Avenue project in Belen. The $2.4-million project
is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will include
building a pedestrian overpass at the Belen Rail Runner Station. It is expected
to be complete by this November.
At the opening of the new
dog park in Fremont, Calif., Central Park, a cacophony of howls and yips from
assorted canines mixed with excited chatter and laughter from dog owners. When
the ribbon was finally cut by Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman and BART Board
Director Tom Blalock, dogs thronged the oasis-like park, which stood in stark
contrast to the booming construction nearby.
SERTC is now
enrolling emergency responders for hazardous material training through a
federally funded program that provides broad access to intensive training at
our world-class training facility located at the Transportation Technology
Center, Pueblo, Colo. Registration
for training is available on at www.sertc.org.
Transportation projects
in North Carolina have $173 million over the next four years that doesn’t have
to be allocated based on the state equity fund formula, the Sun Journal
reports.
Mesquite, Texas, is
pursuing a "quiet zone" along the Union Pacific railway
corridor that cuts through the middle of town, the Dallas Morning News reports.
In a quiet zone, if railroad crossings meet certain federal standards, trains
no longer sound their horns unless the engineer sees a danger on the tracks.
Union Pacific has published
its 2009 Sustainability and Citizenship Report, highlighting the company’s
commitment to protecting the environment, enhancing its position as an employer
of choice, being a valuable member of the more than 7,000 communities in which
it operates and diligently working on behalf of shareholders, employees and
customers to be among the best-governed companies in America.
Federal Signal
Environmental Solutions Group has appointed Sam Miceli as vice president and
general manager for its Guzzler Manufacturing and Vactor Manufacturing subsidiaries, effective immediately. In this role, Miceli
is primarily responsible for overseeing and cultivating the business strategies
and growth initiatives for both companies. He will report directly to Mark
Weber, president of Federal Signal Environmental Solutions Group.
RailAmerica has reached
an agreement to acquire Atlas Railroad Construction Company and related assets
for $21.5 million in cash plus closing adjustments for working capital, which
are estimated to be approximately $2.5 million. The transaction is expected to
close July 1, 2010. Founded in 1954, Atlas is a railroad engineering,
construction, maintenance and repair company operating primarily in the U.S.
Midwest and Northeast. Atlas provides railroad construction services principally
to public-transit agencies, industrial customers, and short line and regional
railroads.
Every weekday morning,
Peter Myung of Wheaton takes a Metra train to work, the Chicago Tribune reports.
But even when he arrives at the downtown Wheaton station on time, he’s at risk
of missing his train. That’s because the Metra platform is on the north side of
the adjacent Union Pacific tracks; the commuter parking lot where Myung parks
his car is on the south side. When a passing freight train blocks the nearby
West Street crossing, Myung and other commuters must wait for it to pass. But
starting next year, Myung will be able to take a shortcut across the tracks and
won’t risk missing his train.
The Worcester, Mass., City
Council has overwhelmingly approved in concept CSX Transportation’s plan to expand
its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets and make the city its
new rail freight hub for New England, the Telegram & Gazette reports. But
the project is anything but finalized; in fact, final city action on it may not
take place for at least another couple of months.
Starting early July 2010,
construction crews will start earthquake-strengthening work inside BART’s West
Oakland Station. Crews will construct scaffolding and enclosures around work
areas and at times will need to temporarily change pedestrian access inside the
station. This means it may take customers longer to make their way through the
station and around the work areas.
On July 7, 2010, the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will begin to improve eight
Caltrain crossings located in Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto, Calif.
The improvements will make crossings safer for pedestrians, bicycles and
automobiles and will include the following safety features: modified railroad
crossing gates, newly-installed guardrails, fences, pedestrian and emergency
swing gates, sidewalks, crossing panels and warning tactile panels to assist
the visually impaired.
The Los Angeles Metro
Gold Line Eastside Extension Project was presented with the 2010 Outstanding
Project of the Year Award by the Underground Construction Association of
Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration at the North American Tunneling
Conference held June 20 in Portland, Ore.
Timothy Reynolds has been
named a Senior Principal Technical Specialist in the Cincinnati office of
Parsons Brinckerhoff. In his new position, Reynolds will be responsible for
rail and transit services and operations planning and will support
environmental analysis and multimodal planning. He is currently serving in key
roles on the Cincinnati streetcar and Ohio 3-C Corridor Passenger Rail Plan
projects.
BNSF has invested some time
and money on the Fairview Avenue crossing in Downers Grove, Ill.,, but some
residents claim there has not been an improvement, according to the Downers Grove Reporter.
U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood commended the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Committee for reporting out the Obama Administration’s transit safety bill, the
first transit-specific safety bill ever sent to Congress by any administration,
by a unanimous vote. The bill now goes to the Senate floor.
Drakontas LLC, a company
that develops situation awareness and wireless communications tools for first
responders, law enforcement and homeland defense, formally demonstrated
its prototype wireless emergency messaging solution for transit passengers in
subway tunnels on June 29. The 30-minute demonstration showcased the messaging
platform capability inside a passenger train at PATCO’s 8th and Market Station
in Center City Philadelphia.
Even with its bridge over
the Elkhorn River washed out by floodwaters two weeks ago, Nebraska Central
Railroad trains south of the river are running almost as usual, reports the
Grand Island Independent. Even around Norfolk — just north of the ruined
bridge — trains are running. But the railroad can’t get goods from places
south of the bridge, such as Grand Island, to Norfolk.
