The Federal Railroad
Administration has set dates and locations of public outreach meetings to
solicit input toward the development of the nation’s first-ever National Rail.
The National Rail Plan will lay out a coordinated vision for future development
of our nation’s freight and passenger rail networks. A final version of the
plan will be released by September 15, 2010.
RailWorks Corporation
promoted Gordon Strilchuk to vice president of signals & communications at
its Canadian subsidiary PNR RailWorks Inc., Canada’s largest railway
contractor. Strilchuk, who leads PNR RailWorks’ Signals & Communication
division, has more than 35 years of rail system signals and communications experience.
He is based in Guelph, Ontario, and reports to Jamey Craig, president of PNR
RailWorks.
Was it an honest mistake?
Or a calculated move to minimize the effect of bringing more freight trains on
the EJ&E railroad tracks? The Daily Herald asks in an editorial. The true
answer may never be known. But we agree with those who say Canadian National
Railway, EJ&E’s owner, should be held accountable for providing flawed
data.
BART crews are installing
the final section of crossover track between Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, Calif.,
stations. This work requires that closing the tracks between these two stations
beginning 7p.m. Friday, May 28 through the end of service Monday, May 31
(Memorial Day weekend). To accommodate customers, BART
will provide a free bus bridge service between Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill
(in both directions).
May 15-16, Caltrain used an
on-track truck to spray weed killer along the right-of-way. Weed abatement is
necessary to prevent brush fires on and around the train tracks. May 16-20,
crews will replace crossties, weld and resurface the tracks between the
Bayshore and San Mateo stations.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, elected officials and contractor S3 Tunnel Constructors launched the tunnel-boring machine that will dig the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway.
In June, Hennepin County,
Minn., will launch a nine-month, $200,000 study of the cost and community and
environmental impacts of adding more traffic to the St. Louis Park tracks, the
Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The Union Pacific Railroad
bridge spanning Coleto Creek was damaged May 15 as a result of the flooding
caused by torrential rainfall, the Victoria, Texas, Advocate reports.
A Boca Raton, Fla.-based
short line and regional railroad company has been selected to restore freight
service on the Piedmont & Northern Railway in Gaston County, the North Carolina
Department of Transportation said, the Gaston Gazette reports.
When people got off
Illinois Central trains on South Main Street in Rockford, Ill., during the
early 20th century, they were welcomed by a handsome station, a beautiful
garden, a quaint cottage atop a limestone bluff and the sound of water
cascading over a dam in Kent Creek, according to a column by Chuck Sweeny in
the Rockford Register Star.
Seneca Group LLC has been
awarded a contract by the United States Trade and Development Agency to perform
a Definitional Mission to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to work with government
officials to develop projects in the railway sector that will generate U.S.
exports.
In a report issued at to
the Metra Board of Directors at its may 14 meeting, James G. Sotos, an attorney
hired by the Board to look into the possible financial improprieties by Metra
Executive Director Philip Pagano, said: "This investigation revealed
substantial evidence of financial irregularities and abuses carried out by a
person at the highest level of Metra who, as a result of that position, was in the
best position to perpetrate these acts. Other than Mr. Pagano, however, we did
not find evidence of any other Metra employees seeking to enrich themselves at
the public’s expense. On the other hand, we believe the rigorous control of
Metra implemented by Mr. Pagano, and the magnitude of his accomplishments for
the company clearly created a culture of trust in and loyalty to Pagano, which
seriously curtailed any realistic hope that he would be held accountable for
the financial irregularities that should have been obvious to upper management
personnel around him. Ironically, and tragically, it was Mr. Pagano who paid
the ultimate price for the creation of that culture."
The Alaska Railroad
Corporation Board of Directors is now accepting applications for the position
of president & chief executive officer of the Alaska Railroad. The
president & CEO position is responsible for the day-to-day management of
the affairs and operations of the corporation. The position reports directly to
the seven-member Alaska Railroad Board of Directors.
Eleven rail projects will
restore or expand rail service and enhance safety in 10 counties with a $12.9-million
state investment from PennDOT’s Rail Freight Capital Budget/Transportation
Assistance Program, Governor Edward G. Rendell said.
Société de transport de
Montréal must temporarily close the south entrance to Du Collège métro station
so that major renovation work may be carried out from May 25 to next August 16.
L.B. Foster Company and
Portec Rail Products, Inc., said that both companies have entered into a timing
agreement with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice pursuant to
which L.B. Foster and Portec Rail have agreed, subject to certain conditions,
that they will not consummate L.B. Foster’s acquisition of Portec Rail before
July 16, 2010, without the Antitrust Division’s consent.
The new bnsf.com will be
officially unveiled on Monday, May 17. The new design is the result of months
of work and lays the foundation for continued improvement. Content, photos and
graphics on the existing site have been reviewed and updated. New features,
such as a virtual train tour, were added. An updated "Communities"
section offers information about BNSF’s role as a good neighbor and as a
steward in protecting the environment.
Stretching nearly four
miles from east to west, the rail hub near North Baltimore will be largest CSX Transportation
site for the shuffling of rail containers, the Sun Sentinel reports. Wood and
Henry County officials took a tour of the sprawling site sitting on 500 acres
running on the north side of Ohio 18, just outside North Baltimore.
A $250-million Amtrak
project to revive passenger service on Florida’s historic east coast rail line
is building steam, along with hopes it can revitalize station destinations such
as Daytona Beach, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The project could re-establish
passenger trains on the 350-mile route between Jacksonville and Miami,
originally forged by Henry Flagler in the 1890s but discontinued in 1968 as the
interstate highway system became the prominent transportation mode.
Los Angeles Metro Blue
Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes May 14-16 due
to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro
Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Special Metro Bus service will parallel the
train route during the construction work.
