FRA issues final rule for PTC






U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joseph
Szabo announced historic safety regulations requiring that Positive Train
Control technology be installed on the nation’s major rail lines, as well as
commuter and intercity passenger rail routes. PTC is an integrated set of
technologies that will help avert train-to-train collisions, derailments caused
by excessive speed, accidents caused by human error or misaligned switches and
harm to roadway workers.

New entrance to Grand Central being built on 47th Street






A new street entrance to
the underground corridors serving Grand Central Terminal in New York City is
being built on the south side of 47th Street midway between Park Avenue and
Lexington Avenue. The new entrance will include a reversible escalator
connecting the street level to the 47th Street cross passageway as well as a
staircase from the street to the platform between Tracks 11 and 13 and from the
platform down into the cross passageway. Currently the east end of the 47th
Street cross passageway has no outlet.

State of Amtrak is strong, CEO says






Amtrak President and CEO
Joseph Boardman said that the state of America’s passenger railroad is strong
and it had set a first quarter ridership record carrying nearly 7.2 million
passengers during the first three months of fiscal year 2010.

St. Louis region’s public transit plans moves forward






Residents of the St.
Louis region will have one last opportunity to help shape the next 30 years of
public transit by attending the final round of public workshops that begin on
January 19, 2010. Metro will present a draft of the "Moving Transit Forward"
plan that will address the region’s short-range, mid-range and long-range
transit needs at the January meetings. The draft incorporates suggestions from
the public collected during 18 workshops held in October and December.

Alaska Railroad open houses to discuss 2010 capital project plans






The
Alaska Railroad is inviting the public to a series of open house to provide an
opportunity to review and comment on a proposed Program of Projects for 2010. The
open houses will showcase continuing and proposed capital improvement projects
that are in various stages from conceptual planning to engineering and
construction. Project managers will be on-hand to explain projects that are
located all along the railroad system from Seward to Fairbanks.

Amarillo, Texas, overpass moving forward






A proposed $9.1-million
project to alleviate railroad-caused traffic congestion on North Grand Street in
Amarillo, Texas, will move closer to starting Jan. 14 with a federally required
public gathering, according to the Amarillo Globe-News Online. The proposal
calls for construction of a bridge to carry Grand Street vehicle traffic over BNSF
tracks adjacent to Southeast Third Avenue.

Monroe, La., mayor to meet with KCS officials






Monroe, Ld., Mayor Jamie
Mayo, District 1 Councilman Jay Marx and city engineer Sinyale Morrison will be
in Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 13-14 to meet with Kansas City Southern Railway
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike Haverty to discuss multiple local
projects, the Monroe News Star reports.

Sound Transit begins work on Capitol Hill Station






In
early 2010, Seattle’s Sound Transit will begin construction activities for the future
Capitol Hill light rail station. 
Before the station excavation can begin there are some early work activities
that will be taking place over the next several weeks: 

Rapposelli joins ARINC’s surface transportation, security systems division






ARINC
Incorporated said that railroad industry veteran Rich Rapposelli has joined its
Surface Transportation and Security Systems organization. Rapposelli recently
spent nine years at Jacobs Engineering where he managed various communications
and physical security programs. Prior to that, he worked 21 years at Amtrak,
where he managed the Communications Control Center and worked as Technical
Director of Communications.  Most
recently he was responsible for Program Management on the Delaware River Joint
Toll Bridge Commission Electronic Security and Surveillance security
projects. 

Running on empty: Bay Area transit in crisis






After enduring the most
brutal year in the history of Bay Area public transit, train and bus operators
are barreling down a track toward bankruptcy, the San Jose, Calif., Mercury
News reports. The near-inevitable result will be costlier and longer commutes
for all, whether they ride or drive.

RailComm Yard Automation System to be expanded at Transnet’s Ermelo Yard






RailComm has been chosen to
provide a major expansion of its Yard Automation System at Transnet’s Ermelo
Yard in South Africa. The automation system will be comprised of the existing
DOC® (Domain Operations Controller) server-based central control
system and 10 new associated outdoor-rated control panels. Per Transnet
requirements, the system operator is in charge of selecting the appropriate
control mode based on desired operating conditions.

Metra opens expanded Elburn, Ill., parking lot






Metra officials, U.S. Rep.
Bill Foster, Elburn, Ill., Village President Dave Anderson and other community
leaders marked the opening of expanded parking facilities at the Elburn Station
on Metra’s Union Pacific West Line during a dedication ceremony in Elburn Jan.
11.

Hampton Roads Transit chief Townes retires






Michael Townes, the
embattled CEO of Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia said that he would retire at
the end of September and step down as CEO and president of the agency on Jan.
31, according to the Hampton Roads Daily Press. Townes had been under mounting
pressure to step down after costs of the Norfolk light-rail project, the first
in the state was over budget by nearly $100 million.

Progress Rail expands Illinois facility






Progress Rail Services’ Galesburg,
Ill., facility is now rail served. The 11-acre facility, which primarily is
used for processed scrap metal, will now have the ability to receive railcars
for dismantling as well as ship prepared scrap by rail on BNSF, according to Recycling
Today. Progress is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.

Mayor Daley, CTA celebrate completion of Brown Line project






Mayor Richard M. Daley,
Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson and Chicago Transit Authority
President Richard L. Rodriguez joined federal, state and city officials Jan. 9 at
the Fullerton rail station for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the
completion of 18 station renovations as part of the CTA’s $530-million Brown
Line Capacity Expansion Project.

SF Muni gets FRA OK for Central Subway to begin final design






The Federal Transit
Administration has granted the San Francisco Muni approval to enter into Final
Design for the Central Subway Project, which is Phase II of the Third Street
Light Rail Project that will connect communities from Visitacion Valley to
Chinatown with modern, convenient light rail. The Third Street Light Rail
project represents the most significant investment in the expansion of the Muni
system in generations.

Portec Rail Products, Inc., breakthrough in China






Portec
Rail Products, Inc., said that it has increased its expansion into China as the
company recently received new customer orders for its Fault Detection and
Friction Management product groups from China. Portec Rail has had a steadily‐growing
presence in China for its Friction Management
products, and has now penetrated the Chinese market with its Fault Detection product
group.