Alaska Railroad appoints CFO O’Leary acting CEO






The Alaska Railroad
Corporation Board of Directors has appointed ARRC Chief Finance Officer Bill O’Leary
to serve as acting Chief Executive Officer of the Alaska Railroad, effective
April 1, 2010. The decision came after the Board met March 25 to discuss the
way forward in terms of railroad leadership after current President and CEO Pat
Gamble asked for some transition time to prepare for his new job as University
of Alaska system president, effective June 1, 2010.

Chicago Metra Mobile Website unveiled






Metra, the commuter rail
service operator in northeastern Illinois, has unveiled a mobile website that
is streamlined to be compatible with iPhones, Blackberries and any other
portable web-enabled devices. The mobile site offers the most popular features
of our regular site in a format that is easy to view on a portable device.
Anyone using such a device to go to Metra’s website at www.metrarail.com will
automatically be routed to the alternative mobile site, although they will have
the option of going to the regular site if they so choose.

MAX service interruption on Steel Bridge March 28






All MAX light rail service
across the Steel Bridge in Portland, Ore., will be interrupted Sunday night,
March 28, for crews to install a new switch on the overhead power system. Work
will begin at 7 p.m. until end of service. Service is expected to resume on
Monday morning.


DC Metro schedules work March 26-28






Track maintenance on the
Red Line and an emergency drill at the Rosslyn Metrorail station on the Blue
and Orange Line March 26-28 will cause inbound and outbound trains to take
turns sharing one track. Customers should add 30 minutes to their trips.

ICC issues five-year rail crossing safety improvement plan






The Illinois Commerce
Commission approved the FY 2011-2015 Crossing Safety Improvement Program 5-Year
Plan this month. The 5-Year Plan includes nearly $200 million in assistance
from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund for safety improvements at more than 2,200
highway-rail crossings of roads and streets across the state in the next five
years.

CSX highlights achievements in 2009 annual report






CSX Corporation said that
proxy materials for its 2010 Annual Shareholders Meeting are now available to
shareholders via the Internet under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
Notice and Access rules. These materials, including the company’s proxy
statement and 2009 annual report, can be accessed on its website at
http://investors.csx.com.

UP chugs along with track improvements in Arizona






As it waits for the economy
to improve, Union Pacific’s construction plans are heading in two directions,
The Arizona Republic reports. Although it has postponed plans to finish
doubling its tracks in Arizona, the company has begun a $42-million upgrade to
its existing rails.

Warren Buffett sees strong rail system as key to U.S. growth






In
Matt Rose’s 10 years at the helm of BNSF, he’d heard plenty of investors talk about quarterly performance. A few
would even talk about the railroad’s annual performance, Dan Reed writes in USA
TODAY. Then on Feb. 12, he answered a call from Warren Buffett, the legendary investor who looks for long-term return
and whose Berkshire Hathaway holding company had just closed on its $26-billion
purchase of the 77 percent of BNSF shares it didn’t already own.

Caltrain to hold community meeting for San Bruno grade separation






Caltrain will hold a
community meeting March 31 to present information about the San Bruno Grade
Separation Project. The $165-million project will elevate the Caltrain tracks
above San Bruno, San Mateo and Angus avenues. A new elevated train station
between San Bruno and San Mateo avenues will replace the existing station. The
project also includes three pedestrian underpasses, one near Sylvan Avenue, one
at the new station and another between Euclid Avenue and Walnut Street.

BMWED system federations to merge






The Executive Boards of
the Unified System Division and the Pacific Federation, both divisions of the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, said a merger between the two federations will take
affect April 1, 2010. The newly created federation will retain the name,
Unified System Division.

D.C. Metro selects ENSCO to develop its own track inspection vehicle






As Metro seeks to gain a
much more complete and detailed "picture" of its track conditions,
Metro has selected ENSCO, Inc., to develop and construct a special rail car
known as a track geometry vehicle, which is used to inspect track conditions
and identify any possible flaws. 

A track geometry vehicle is an automated
track inspection vehicle that can test several geometric parameters of the
track without obstructing normal passenger rail service. The parameters
generally measured include track position, curvature, distance between the
rails, alignment, smoothness, and the crosslevel of the two rails.

They’ve been working on the railroad to make the tracks smoother






Sparks have been flying
along Yuba-Sutter railroad tracks near Marysville, Calif., in the last few days,
the Appeal-Democrat reports. Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. wrapped up its
periodic grinding of area Union Pacific rails March 22 after smoothing nearly
100 miles of local tracks. The routine maintenance eliminates cracks caused by
typical train traffic.

No parking at LIRR Mineola Intermodal Center March 27-28






Work to upgrade the
electrical system at the Mineola Intermodal Center will make it necessary to
close the four-level parking facility on the weekend of March 27 and 28. The
seven Long Island Bus routes will still operate as will Long Island Rail Road
train service at the Mineola station. However, shutting off the electricity so
the system upgrades can be done will affect the lights, LIRR ticket selling
machine in the Center’s pedestrian overpass, electronic signs and elevators
serving the Center’s overpass.

LA mayor touts transit plan






Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, who leads the second-largest U.S. city, said his plan to
accelerate public-transit construction with a mix of local funding and federal
aid can be used elsewhere as well, Bloomberg reports.

GCRTA Board highlights






The Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority passed five resolutions at its recent meeting, including: To commit $45,500
for Standard Contracting and Engineering Inc. to reconstruct the sidewalks and
entrance to the West 25th Street station to meet ADA regulations.
The firm is also working on replacing the station stairs. The station will be
closed for one week during April or May, but it will be open for the Indians
home opener on April 12. RTA will give a two-week notice before closing the
station. About 80 percent of the work is being done with federal funds.

D.C. Metrorail increases speeds on Red Line






Metro in Washington, D.C., has increased the
speeds of Red Line trains between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metrorail
stations as track maintenance personnel continue to replace rail and rail
fasteners during the overnight hours when the system is closed. 

Inbound Red
Line trains traveling in the direction of Glenmont are operating at normal
speeds, up to 59 mph. Outbound trains traveling in the direction of Shady Grove
between Friendship Heights and Bethesda are operating at 35 to 40 mph. Metro
anticipates having trains return to their normal speeds by next week.