The
Amtrak national route network is a significant beneficiary of President Obama’s
historic federal investment in intercity passenger rail as approximately $4.5 billion
of the $8 billion awarded in grants are for state projects that support
improvements to current or future Amtrak routes.
A bill backed by Olmsted
County, Minn., and Mayo Clinic seeking $8 million in planning dollars for a
freight railroad bypass of Rochester got a rocky reception from lawmakers Jan.
28, The Rochester Post-Bulletin reports. Opponents blasted the proposal during
a House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee hearing. That included Rep. Greg Davids,
R-Preston.
The latest meeting
between state authorities, local officials and concerned citizens regarding the
possible construction of a parking structure in downtown Ayer, Mass., revealed
not only that the groups were miles apart about the type of structure that
could be built, but that one of the key sources of funding for the project
might not be available, the Ayer Public Spirit reports.
Irving Tissue is seeking
state funding for a $1 million project that would repair 4,200 feet of railroad
tracks leading to its Fort Edward, N.Y., plant, the Glens Falls Post Star
reports. The repairs to the tracks are needed to accommodate the expected
increase in train traffic to the plant when a new paper machine comes online in
the fall, Fort Edward town Supervisor Mitch Suprenant said.
Chicago Transit Authority Orange
Line trains in the Loop will be temporarily rerouted to operate on the Brown
Line tracks from approximately 5:50 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 31 due
to track work. Orange Line trains will be rerouted from the inner track to the
outer Loop track, and travel counterclockwise.
Track maintenance on the
Red Line in Washington, D.C., Jan. 29-31 will cause inbound and outbound trains
to take turns sharing one track. Metrorail customers traveling between the
Medical Center and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations should add at least
20 minutes to their travel time because Metro will replace rail fasteners that
stabilize tracks, and make tunnel repairs.
Dallas
Area Rapid Transit and the Trinity Railway Express will receive nearly $7.2
million in federal funds to help complete the construction of a five-mile
section of double-track rail line between West Irving and CentrePort/DFW
Airport stations. The funds are from the Federal Railroad Administration’s 2009
appropriation for passenger rail service.
Expanding on the
momentum it built throughout 2009, OnTrackAmerica (OTA), the Philadelphia-based
non-profit transportation consultancy is expanding its staff to fully develop
its comprehensive agenda for 2010.
There will be no train
service along the Long Beach Branch Jan. 30-31 due to the installation of two
new MTA Long Island Rail Road bridges over Powell Creek and Hog Island Channel.
The $24.5 million project, funded through the MTA Capital Program and Federal
Transit Administration grants, will also require the shutdown of train service
on four other weekends later this year – March 20-21, March 27-28, May 1-2 and
May 15-16.
The Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority marked the opening of AeroTrain, the new underground
airport train system at Washington Dulles International Airport, on Jan. 26.
CXT, Inc., a
wholly owned subsidiary of L.B. Foster Company, has been awarded a contract by
West Rail Construction to supply 23,000 concrete rail ties for the unloading
system at EGT’s Columbia River Grain Terminal. CXT plans to start shipment of
ties from its Spokane manufacturing plant to the new Longview, Wash., riverside
facility in February.
TriMet WES Commuter Rail
line marks its first year in service on February 2. Oregon’s first commuter rail
line connects the Portland suburban cities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and
Wilsonville with weekday rush hour service.
The commission for the Bay
Area’s transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency voted 11 to 5
to keep $70 million in Stimulus funds with the Oakland Airport Connector Project.
However, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will revisit the issue at a
special February 17 meeting.
Two large-scale projects
being pursued by Riverport Railroad, LLC, in Savanna, Ill., have the potential
to add 350 to 400 new jobs to the Carroll County area, said Jack Koster, Riverport’s
president and CEO, the Freeport Journal Standard reports. The projects in
question will not only create jobs, but generate significant property tax
revenue and establish a "Rail Car Mall" serving companies across the U.S.,
Koster said.
Construction of a second
commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River, one of the biggest public works
projects under way in the country, could be delayed by issues about the use of
eminent domain to take property on the West Side of Manhattan, The New York
Times reports.
The Illinois
Commerce Commission has granted approval for safety improvements at five grade
crossings around the state. ICC OKed the installation of new automatic flashing
light signals and gates and roadway approach grade improvements at the N. 9th
Avenue highway-rail grade crossing of Norfolk Southern track near Litchfield,
Montgomery County The total estimated cost for the new automatic warning
devices is $280,806. The Grade Crossing Protection Fund will be used to pay 95 percent
of the signal installation costs, not to exceed $266,766. NS will pay all remaining
installation costs, as well as all future operating and maintenance costs
related to the new automatic warning devices. All work is to be completed by Jan.
6, 2011.
The companies behind a
C$400-million proposal to build a second Detroit River rail tunnel have issued
a pre-bid notice – a call for companies to prove qualifications – to conduct
the environmental assessment for the project, The Windsor Star reports.
Borealis Infrastructure and Canadian Pacific Railway, co-owners of the
100-year-old Windsor-Detroit rail tunnel, plan to build an adjacent tunnel to
accommodate larger double-stacked railway cars and possibly high-speed
cross-border passenger service.
A Plainview lawmaker is
backing away from supporting Rochester, Minnesota’s proposed railroad bypass,
The Post-Bulletin reports. DFL House Assistant Majority Leader Andy Welti
recently sent a letter to constituents who live along the potential rail route
saying that it is time to start negotiating with the railroad.
The New Orleans Regional
Transit Authority has selected HDR to complete an environment assessment and
preliminary engineering for extensions of the New Orleans streetcar network
into the Central Business District and neighborhoods surrounding the French
Quarter. HDR previously did the alternatives analysis identifying streetcar
investments for these areas, and the related conceptual engineering.
The Executive Committee
of the American Wood Protection Association gave final approval on January 26
for listing of ACZA-treated railroad ties in the AWPA Book of Standards.
Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate (ACZA) has been listed in AWPA standards since
1983 as an accepted wood preservative, but it was not listed for protection of
ties. Recent pressures on creosote-treated ties led Arch Wood Protection, Inc.,
licensor of the Chemonite brand of ACZA-treated wood, to submit test data to
AWPA membership for tie applications.
