Expo Line work to impact LA Metro Blue Line weekend service






Los Angeles Metro Blue
Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 30 minutes February
26-28 due to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with
the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Work will begin at 9 p.m. on
Friday night and continue until the close of rail service on Sunday night
February 28. Every attempt will be made to have service restored by Monday
morning. Should any unforeseen delay occur, train service will be supplemented
by buses between Washington and 7th St./Metro Center Stations. All
work is subject to weather delays.


Unclogging rail traffic key to fuel efficiency






When the Department of
Transportation doled out $1.5 billion in infrastructure grants last week, one
of the largest checks went to a rail overhaul in the Chicago area, the New York
Times reports. Almost all of the country’s freight railroads converge there.
The region handles so much cargo that only three cities outrank it: Hong Kong,
Singapore and Shanghai.

High cost derails railroad quiet zone talk in Medina, Ohio






Medina City, Ohio, will
not be a railroad quiet zone, at least not any time soon, the Medina Sun
reports. At its most recent meeting, Medina City Council chose not to pursue a
quiet zone in city limits as part of the city’s planned railroad improvements.
A quiet zone would eliminate the use of train horns while traveling through the
city.

VTA extends sheep grazing contract






The Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority has agreed to a one-year contract extension that will
allow sheep and goats to continue providing weed abatement services at Cerone
Operating Division in North San Jose, Calif.

 

California bill would boost transport jobs






The California Legislature recently
passed a bill that could generate more than 6,000 transportation jobs in Orange
County. The measure will now go to Governor Schwarzenegger for approval, the
Orange County Register reports.

Nebkota railroad drops objection to rail line sale






Nebkota Railway Inc., the
only company currently operating trains in Chadron, Neb., has withdrawn the
objection it filed just two weeks ago to the purchase of the rail line from
Chadron to Dakota Junction by a newly formed railroad company, the Chadron
Record reports. The move apparently clears the way for Nebraska Northwestern
Railroad to purchase the seven miles of track from Chadron to Dakota Junction
from the Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad and to lease an additional 20
miles of line from Dakota Junction to Crawford, where the tracks connect with BNSF
network.

 

Colorado railroad to seek alternative funds






Although not receiving
TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) federal stimulus
funding, a project to improve The San Luis and Rio Grande Railway is not dead
in its tracks reports the Valley Courier in Alamosa, Colo. Ed Ellis, president
of the railway’s parent company, Iowa Pacific, said this week he plans to look
for alternative funding sources for the project that would expand the rail’s
capabilities through the Valley.

Huron Central will shut down if funds not in place by end of March






Huron Central Railway in
Canada is once again facing a deadline for an essential capital investment for
track improvements needed to keep the line operating beyond August of this year,
Sault This Week reports. Mario Brault, president of Huron Central, said from
his Montreal headquarters that if the federal and Ontario governments do not
announce funding assistance by the end of March at the very latest, the
regional short line rail company operating between the Sault and Sudbury would
be forced to shut down this August.

RailComm awarded contract for G&W’s NY&PA, Ohio Central






RailComm
has been selected to provide the GCOR dispatch system for Genesee and Wyoming’s
New York and Pennsylvania and Ohio Central railroads. RailComm’s
state-of-the-art Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) train control system will
be accessed through a web-enabled Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model.
RailComm’s SaaS offering provides a "pay-as-you-go" model, thus eliminating
capital equipment procurement constraints. Through this SaaS delivery model,
the railroads can be remotely dispatched by G&W anywhere an Internet
connection is available. Therefore, it is possible to relocate the dispatchers
to alternative locations as required. Additionally, railroad management can log
in from an office, home or even from a hotel and directly view dispatching
activity and management reports. 


Virginia Beach does not need to pay for light-rail study






Philip Shucet, Hampton Road Transit president
and CEO, said, " I carefully reviewed the verbatim transcript from the May
19, 2009, Virginia Beach, Va., City Council meeting, it is clear to me that HRT
committed with certainty that no local City funds would be used to fund the
Alternatives Analysis and Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Though
our policy is clear that federal grants are locally matched by a partner city,
the firm recorded commitment made by HRT is compelling. We will honor that
commitment for this particular local match requirement. It’s the right thing to
do, especially in this case where Virginia Beach supported acquiring the
federal funding with the specific understanding that a city match was not
necessary. As such, HRT withdraws its request that the Virginia Beach City
Council supply the local match.

MTA NYC Transit adds camera-equipped train on the E Line






With an eye toward
enhancing customer and employee security, MTA New York City Transit is set to
begin a project that will put advanced video surveillance equipment onboard four
cars of a 10-car subway train that will be in operation along the lettered
lines through early 2011. This train will also be used to pilot a new handhold
configuration and rush-hour flip up seats, though the seating feature will not
be put into use at this time.

New York high-speed rail plans taking shape






Having been largely shut
out of federal high-speed rail funding, New York transportation officials are
turning their attention to a handful of rail projects that did win federal
support – including the first tangible piece of the long-sought high-speed
passenger rail corridor across upstate New York, the Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle reports.

 

Federal Signal increases offer for Sirit






Federal Signal
Corporation said that it has amended its definitive arrangement agreement with
Sirit Inc. (TSX: SI), a global provider of radio frequency identification
technology. Under the terms of the amendment, Federal Signal will acquire all
of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sirit for cash consideration of
C$0.43 per share by way of a court approved plan of arrangement under the
Business Corporations Act, an increase of C$0.13 per share or 43 percent over
the original cash consideration. The transaction has a total equity value of
approximately C$72 million (US $69 million).

Amtrak asks seven firms to dream up plans for Chicago’s Union Station






Amtrak has asked seven
architectural and real estate firms to submit proposals to redevelop a key part
of Chicago’s Union Station and plans to select a winning proposal by the end of
May, the Chicago Tribune reports. The firms include the Chicago office of
architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Chicago developer U.S. Equities
Realty and the Chicago office of Jones Lang LaSalle, which currently manages
Union Station for Amtrak.

Illinois General Assembly takes up creation of High Speed Rail Authority






A key Illinois General Assembly committee votes on
SB2571 Feb. 23, which would create the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority. The
Authority would be charged with designing, financing, building and operating a
high speed rail network on speeds up to 220 mph using new infrastructure. Responsibility
for upgrades to 110 mph would remain the responsibility of the Illinois
Department of Transportation.