Canada kicks off Rail Safety Week

Canada’s Minister of State (Transport), the Honourable Rob Merrifield, launched Rail Safety Week, a national campaign to promote awareness of the dangers around railway property. The events run from April 26 to May 2 in 200 municipalities across Canada and include mock collisions, interactive kiosks, Websites for kids, driver education classes for new motorists, sessions on trespassing and safety blitzes.

"The government has recently invested close to $11 million to upgrade 155 high-priority rail grade crossings across Canada to help prevent rail-road collisions," said Minister Merrifield. "The dangers around railways, tracks and crossings are very serious, and can truly impact families and communities across the country. That’s why our government is committed to reducing injuries and fatalities by investing in measures that will raise awareness and improve the safety of Canadians."

In addition, the government provides support to Operation Lifesaver, a partnership organization co-founded by Transport Canada and the Railway Association of Canada in 1981. Operation Lifesaver organizes public awareness campaigns to help reduce the number of incidents that result in death, injury and property damage.

Rail Safety Week is an annual initiative run by Operation Lifesaver and is sponsored by Transport Canada, the nation’s railways and their partners, including police services, safety councils and community groups across Canada.

$90M to fix defective rail ties on MBTA

MBTA officials confirmed that it will cost more than $90 million to replace the 147,000 concrete ties on the Old Colony commuter rail lines, Commonwealth magazine reported.

In a letter to legislators from the cities and towns south of Boston affected by the disruption, new T General Manager Rich Davey said 59 grade crossings will be replaced in 19 communities, with much of the work taking place on weekend nights.

T officials had initially said they will close down service on the affected lines during non-peak hours and bus commuters between stations. But the letter sent last week to lawmakers is the first time they have said no weekend service by train or bus will be available on either the Middleboro or the Plymouth/Kingston lines.

The ties were used on the two MBTA’s Old Colony rail lines running from Middleboro and Kingston. The Greenbush line running form Scituate to Braintree Station used different concrete ties but that line will be disrupted when workers replace crumbling concrete ties on the Braintree-to-Boston stretch.

Revised MTA capital program reflects new way of doing business






The New York Metropolitan
Transportation Authority released a revised draft 2010-2014 Capital Program.
The $26.3-billion program reflects a nearly $2-billion reduction as the result
of a comprehensive review and a new MTA focus on cost effectiveness and
efficiency. The plan will be considered by the MTA Board at its monthly meeting
on Wednesday, and if approved will be sent to the State’s Capital Program
Review Board for its approval. Thanks to last year’s rescue legislation, the
first two years of the program are funded and the MTA is seeking approval to
begin work immediately. The full plan and an executive summary are available
online at www.mta.info.

UP investing $13.5 million for track improvements in Kansas, Nebraska






Union Pacific will improve
Nebraska’s transportation infrastructure with a $7.5-million investment to
improve the rail line that runs from North Platte to O’Fallons, Neb. Work on
the nearly 10-mile stretch of railroad track began April 16 and is scheduled to
be completed in early May. The project includes removing and installing new
rail and more than 23,600 concrete ties. Crews also will spread more than
31,000 tons of rock ballast and renew the roadway surfaces at six crossings.

Denton County, Texas, Transit Authority works out deal with DART






A weight on Denton County
Transportation Authority officials’ shoulders has been lifted as board members
approved terms of the corridor agreement with DART, the Denton Record Chronicle
reports. The agreement will allow the DCTA’s A-train passenger rail to operate
in the rail corridor owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

n,
which will save citizens of Denton County and the agency operating dollars.

Caltrain budget projections demonstrate reliance on electrification/HSR






Recently released budget
projections show that electrification is essential to Caltrain’s survival. A
modern, electric-powered railroad will provide quicker, more frequent service,
which will attract more riders and generate more revenue. Revenue is projected
to increase 49 percent by 2019, while operating costs remain flat. The commuter
railroad, which currently uses diesel-powered trains, is facing budget deficit
in the upcoming fiscal year.

U.S. Commercial Railroad & Infrastructure Trade Delegation to visit U.A.E.






The U.S.-U.A.E. Business
Council and the Association of American Railroads will lead a U.S. Commercial
Railroad and Infrastructure Mission to the United Arab Emirates from June 20-24.
The trade mission will allow U.S. companies in the railway technology,
services, operator and infrastructure supply sectors to develop a bi-lateral
railroad and trade relationship between the U.S. and the U.A.E.

TransLink restructuring cuts costs to improve efficiency






TransLink in the
Vancouver, B.C., area continues to restructure itself with an eye to cutting
costs and becoming more efficient. Beginning in 2009, 96 positions have been
eliminated at TransLink or its operating companies, including six executives.
On April 16, CEO Ian Jarvis implemented further changes to the executive
structure, assigning new responsibilities and changing reporting relationships.

CSX: Projects will provide jobs, reduce fuel costs






CSX Transportation and
National Gateway officials want people to get all aboard and support a series
of projects that will connect East Coast ports to the Midwest using
double-stacked trains, the Daily American reports. About nine projects are
slated for the Somerset County, Pa., region, according to Richard VanOrnum, a
spokesman with National Gateway.

Not all work is finished at new Target Field






To fans in the stands,
the Twins’ new ballpark with all its stone and Kentucky bluegrass looks like
it’s all wrapped up and done. Behind the scenes, there’s still a scramble under
way to clean up the real estate titles to the jigsaw patchwork of land the
ballpark sits on, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. It’s no small job, as
Target Field sits in one of the oldest parts of a city known for fuzzy property
lines.

UTA weekend lane restrictions in West Jordan begin






April 23 marks the beginning
of a series of five weekends of railroad crossing work on Redwood Road at
approximately 8020 South. Utah Transit Authority will be completing crossing
upgrades and new track installation at the location for the new Mid-Jordan TRAX
line. The lane restrictions and closure information for each weekend is given
below.

Sound Transit updates East Link preferred route






On April 22, the Sound
Transit Board in Metropolitan Seattle updated the preferred alternative for the
East Link light rail project. The preferred alternative was modified to include
a shorter and lower-cost tunnel option in downtown Bellevue, Wash., as well as
a revised at-grade alternative through downtown. Inclusion of the tunnel was
facilitated by the City of Bellevue agreeing to provide up to a $150-million
contribution.

NCTD sustainability programs protect the environment






The North County Transit
District in Southern California is recognizing Earth Day 2010 with an
aggressive sustainability campaign that will yield major environmental benefits
by the end of the year. The two-part program includes extensive solar
improvements at District facilities and challenges the public to ride public
transit at least once a week as part of their personal sustainability goals.

LA MTA Board backs 30/10 initiative to accelerate transit projects






A proposal to greatly
accelerate construction of a dozen transit projects and expedite highway improvement
projects in Los Angeles County was approved by the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority Board of Directors. The 30/10 initiative, first proposed by Los
Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, would seek federal assistance to build
within the next decade a series of light rail, subway and rapid bus projects
throughout Los Angeles County. The Board also voted to explore federal funding
or public private partnerships to expedite local highway improvements.

Construction of rail to Dulles to temporarily disrupt Metro service






There will be no train service
between the East Falls Church and West Falls Church-VT/UVA Metrorail stations in
northern Virginia during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, (May 28 to 31), and
the first two weekends in June (June 4 to 6 and June 11-13) as the Dulles
Corridor Metrorail Project will undertake the first in a series of major
construction activities that will eventually connect the new rail line to the
existing Metrorail system.

Train whistles to be silenced with upgrade in Ohio






The Twinsburg Road
railroad crossing in Macedonia, Ohio, will be a little less noisy in the
future, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Macedonia City Council signed off on
a deal that will create a federally sanctioned ”quiet zone” at the tracks,
located in a residential area where Macedonia, Hudson, Northfield Center
Township and Boston Heights meet.