Metra report says Pagano guilty of financial improprieties






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."

Alaska Railroad seeks new President & CEO

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.  

L.B. Foster, Portec Rail enter into timing agreement with DOJ






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.

BNSF’s new external Website goes live May 17






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.

CSXT hub takes shape in North Baltimore, Ohio






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.

Amtrak promoting passenger rail down Florida’s east coast






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.

FRA gives go-ahead to Florida high-speed rail project






On May 13, Florida Governor
Charlie Crist marked the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision to approve
Florida’s high-speed rail. The FRA, for the first time in the country’s
history, issued a final Record of Decision for a major high-speed rail project,
the Orlando-Tampa segment of Florida’s high-speed rail program.


RailPros, Inc., opens San Diego office






RailPros, Inc., recently
opened a Downtown San Diego office to better serve San Diego area clients. The
office is headed by Mike Ruth, P.E., and Joe Aroyo, P.E., who are managing
projects for SANDAG, CCDC, NCTD and other major San Diego clients.

Dulles Metrorail building bridges for rails in Tysons Corner, Va.






Construction will begin
soon on what can best be described as "bridges" over Tysons. One will
begin in May on the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) and cross over Route 123
to the northwest side of southbound Route 123. Another will cross I-495.
Another will be built in the median of Route 7 from just west of Route 123 and
into the median of the Dulles Airport Access Highway and the Dulles Toll Road.

Maine rail task force holds its first meeting in Caribou






Members of a governor’s
task force created to stop the abandonment of 233 miles of northern Maine
freight tracks expressed optimism in a meeting Wednesday about the chances of
keeping trains running on the tracks, the Bangor Daily News reports. Officials
said at the four-hour meeting that 20 private entities have expressed interest
in operating the railroad, but little else new was revealed, as the bulk of the
session took place in executive session.

Virginia sells $492.7 Million in transportation bonds

The Commonwealth Transportation Board sold $492.7 million of Transportation Capital Projects Revenue Bonds to advance transportation projects managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

The bonds were sold through competitive bidding. Seven underwriters submitted bids on the bonds. Goldman Sachs and Co. had the winning bid with a true interest cost of 3.247 percent. The bonds were rated AA+ by Fitch and Standard and Poor’s, and Aa1 by Moody’s.

The bond funding will be combined with other state and federal dollars to keep highway, rail and transit projects moving forward when the Commonwealth updates its Fiscal Years 2011-2016 Six-Year Improvement Program this spring.

The bond sale, recently approved by Governor Bob McDonnell, is the first issuance of the Transportation Capital Projects Revenue Bonds that were authorized by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007.

"Although our financial challenges and transportation necessities continue, this is a tangible example of how the Commonwealth is making positive strides by maximizing funding options for our roads, bridges, rails and public transportation," McDonnell said.

"Issuing these bonds will permit the completion of projects under way and will allow Virginia to start new project phases in accordance with our Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program," said Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton. "Virginia’s transportation system needs more funding to address the backlog of maintenance and construction on our transportation system. But, taxpayers must to be confident that we are using all available financing tools before we ask them to make additional investments in highways and rails. This bond issue is a step in restoring confidence in the integrity of Virginia’s transportation finance program."

Recycled plastic railroad bridge installed at Fort Eustis, Va.

Axion International Holdings, Inc., completed the first of two railroad bridges, constructed from 100 percent recycled plastic, at Fort Eustis, Va. The bridges, designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff, utilize Axion’s patented Recycled Structural Composite ("RSC") a thermoplastic solution consisting of nearly 100 percent recycled post-consumer and industrial plastic. Initial field test results confirm design criteria requirements.

The new short span bridges extend approximately 40 and 80 feet, respectively. Both bridges are designed to deliver a high-load rating of 130 tons, which is necessary in order to transport locomotives and freight.

Work on final 3 miles of Twin Cities Central corridor to begin in September






Visioning Sessions

Contractor crews will
begin working this fall on elements of the western three miles of the 11-mile
Central Corridor LRT Project. In September, they will begin prep work to
retrofit the Washington Avenue bridge to accommodate light-rail trains by reconstructing
the bridge piers. In December, they will start work to tie in the Central
Corridor line from the Hiawatha LRT line just west of the Cedar-Riverside
Station to Pleasant Street on the East Bank. The bulk of the Civil West contract
work, though, will start in spring 2011.

Sound Transit to begin parking expansion for Puyallup Sounder station






On May 17 at 11 a.m.
at the Puyallup Fair "Red Lot," Sound Transit will break ground on a
project to expand parking for commuters using the Sounder Puyallup, Wash.,
station. Developed in partnership with the City of Puyallup and the Puyallup
Fair & Events Center and funded by a combination of local and federal
monies, the project will create 219 permanent satellite park-and-ride spaces at
the lot located at 5th St. SW and 7th Ave SW.

Portec Rail’s Salient Systems unitexpands Asian presence

Li Rose Cheng, a Senior System Software Engineer at Portec RailProducts Inc. subsidiary Salient Systems Inc. since 1997, has been promoted to Vice President, Business Development-Asia, with responsibility for all facets of Salient’s business in Mainland China, Hong Kong and the Pacific Rim. Her duties developing Salient’s expanded presence in Asia include directing sales and marketing activities, as well as establishing operations and service capabilities "necessary to deliver systems and services in this region," the company said. A native of Mainland China, Cheng will continue to be based in Dublin though she will spend significant time in Asia.