Government of Canada Investing in 155 grade crossings






Canada’s Transport
Minister John Baird, Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transport), and Denis
Lebel, Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the
Regions of Quebec, said that the Government of Canada will upgrade
high-priority rail grade crossings across the country – a move that will help
to keep Canadian communities safe.

$765 million from U.S. DOT for Access to Region’s Core rail project






U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood said that the Federal Transit Administration will make a
further "down payment" toward an eventual commitment of $3 billion by approving
a $765-million Early Systems Work Agreement amendment to continue and expand
work on the Access to the Region’s Core rail project, which will carry the rail
line under the Hudson River. The agreement includes $385 million in federal
funds matched by $380 million in local funding.

Metra BNSF Stone Ave. Station construction to start






On April 19, construction
will begin on the western half of the inbound and outbound platforms at the
Stone Avenue Station on the Metra BNSF Line in LaGrange, Ill. Commuters will
only be able to board and exit the train from the east half of the platforms.

California delaying high-speed rail EIS






California High-Speed
Rail Authority representatives said the project’s environmental impact report
will be delayed until next year to help the agency deal with concerns from
cities along the bullet train’s proposed path, the Orange County Register
reports.

Illinois governor derails Genoa’s dreams for Amtrak






An unexpected about-face on
the route to be used for new Chicago-Dubuque Amtrak train service leaves Genoa-
and South Elgin-area leaders feeling bewildered, the Elgin Courier-News reports.
But the decision makes it more likely that a new Metra commuter service could
be set up in coming years from Elgin through Gilberts and Huntley to Belvidere
and Rockford.

UP participating in more than 100 Earth Day events






Union Pacific will
participate in more than 100 Earth Day events in nearly 70 communities in April.
The events will include an array of activities such as tree plantings,
beautification projects, hands-on school activities, shoe recycling programs
and the annual Earth Day Fair at the Union Pacific Center in Omaha.

Pittsburgh work to causes weekend street closures






Two street closures will
affect both Port Authority riders and motorists in Pittsburgh April 16-19. On
Friday, April 16 at 4 a.m., Port Authority contractors will fully close the
intersection of Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street in order to conduct backfill
work associated with North Shore Connector construction. This is the first step
in eventually reopening all lanes of the intersection. Currently, vehicles may
only travel westbound on Penn across Stanwix. That lane is scheduled to reopen
on Monday, April 19 at noon.


Elevators coming into operation at several Montreal stations






The Société de transport
de Montréal said the elevator located in the St-Denis entrance to Berri-UQAM
station would be open to the public from the time the métro opens on the
morning of Friday, April 16. This completes the second phase of the elevator
installation work at Berri-UQAM station, bringing the number of operational
elevators in that station to three, making access to the Orange line, in either
direction, easier for all public transit users.

Track work to cause delays on Metrorai






Metrorail customers in the Washington,
D.C., area can expect delays of up to 40 minutes April 16-18 as old track
components are replaced on the Red, Blue, Orange and Green lines, causing
inbound and outbound trains to take turns sharing one track on portions of the
rail system. 

Riders planning to take the Red, Blue, Orange or Green lines to
area sports events this weekend should add up to 40 minutes to their travel
times.

North Temple Viaduct in Salt Lake City to close for 18-month rebuild






Utah Transit Authority and
Salt Lake City will close a segment of North Temple Street starting April 18
for an 18-month rebuild of the North Temple viaduct. The viaduct, which crosses
Union Pacific and UTA railroad tracks between 600 West and 300 West, will be
demolished and rebuilt as part of the Airport TRAX light rail project.

CSXT plans for Virginia Avenue Tunnel replacement






One of the worst rail
bottlenecks on the east coast is Washington’s Virginia Avenue Tunnel, Greater
Greater Washington reports. While the tunnel originally carried two tracks, it
was narrowed to one to allow taller and wider freight cars. With growing
freight rail traffic across the United States, the century-old tunnel is in
dire need of replacement.

FRA chief touts rail development






Federal Railway
Administrator and former Riverdale, Ill., Mayor Joseph Szabo returned to the
south suburbs on April 13 to tout the Obama administration’s plans for a
"rail renaissance" and highlight the area’s potential for rail-related
economic development, the Northwest Indiana Times reports.

Nevada residents protest train horns






Up to 40 trains a day
eventually could travel through Reno on Union Pacific tracks, meaning more
horns waking up sleeping residents in west Reno and the west Truckee Meadows,
the Gazette-Journal reports.

Maine governor sets railway task force






Maine’s Governor Baldacci
has created a task force to look into saving railroad services in Aroostook
County, local media report. Earlier this week, Maine lawmakers approved a bond measure that sets
aside $7,000,000 to purchase and preserve about 240 miles of track in Northern
Maine.

Tearing up rail lines denies hope for future






There is a big difference
between an important letter mislaid or lost (with apologies to Canada Post) and
a letter that is deliberately destroyed, according to an editorial in Ontario’s
North Bay Nugget. There is always hope that the lost letter will turn up
somewhere, at some time. The destroyed letter is gone forever unless someone
made a copy.

Crossing signals coming
 to Minnesota town






Warning signals and gates
are expected to be guarding Annandale’s increasingly busy South Poplar Lane railroad
crossing within a year, The Annadale Advocate reports. The Annandale City
Council approved an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway and the state
of Minnesota to install the system at its regular meeting.