Grant for CSXT bridge work extended again






With the extension and a
new method for painting the bridge, Gadsden, Ala., officials think the project
will be completed before the grant expires in September, the Gadsden Times
reports. The city received a grant for $500,000 from the Federal Railroad
Administration in 2005 for the CSX Transportation Railroad Bridge coating
project, but the appropriation was reduced because of across-the-board
rescissions by the Federal Highway Administration.

Reading Blue Mountain and Northern expands rail operations






Reading Blue Mountain and
Northern Railroad has acquired a short-line between Towanda and Monroeton in northeastern
Pennsylvania. RBMN, which currently operates more than 300 miles of railroad in
Eastern Pennsylvania, purchased the assets of the approximately six-mile
Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline Railroad Inc. from former owner, Joseph
Zadrusky of Scranton, on Dec. 30, 2009. The line is approximately 40 miles
north of RBMN’s current terminus in Mehoopany, Pa. RBMN will be able to connect
its two properties by working with Lehigh Railway L.L.C., which leases a
Norfolk Southern line that connects to the Towanda-Monroeton line in Towanda.
The line will become part of the RBMN system.

P&L railroad looking for new headquarters






Paducah & Louisville
Railway is looking for incentives to build a new headquarters in downtown
Paducah rather than move to one of the other cities where it does business, according to The Paducah Sun.
Railroad President Tony Reck told The Sun that the company is hoping to
stay in Western Kentucky, but isn’t close to making a commitment to any place.

Caltrain construction, maintenance Jan. 9-15






Work on Caltrain’s Grade
Crossing Improvement Program, which will enhance safety at 25 grade crossings
in San Mateo County, continues at the following locations: Oak Grove Avenue,
Burlingame; First Avenue, San Mateo; Main Street, Redwood City; Watkins Avenue,
Atherton; and Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Park.

Minn. releases statewide rail plan

Increasing travel options, improving access to goods and services and keeping the state competitive are some of the objectives of the 2009 Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The rail plan, mandated by the 2008 Minnesota legislature and still in draft form, is the first step in obtaining federal funding for construction of lines within Minnesota and the region that tie into an emerging national rail system, according to Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel.

"A priority in the plan is intercity passenger rail service between Chicago and the Twin Cities," Commissioner Sorel said. "While the corridors for the project have yet to be determined the connection would support development and economic competitiveness of the Midwest and provide an alternative to automobile and air travel."

In addition to service between Chicago and the Twin Cities, the plan also includes high-speed connections for Duluth and Rochester to the Twin Cities, in cooperation with the Mid-West Regional Rail Initiative.

The report also envisions additional passenger rail services to St. Cloud, Moorhead, Mankato and Eau Claire. Other corridors identified for future development beyond 2030 or as part of national system expansion include Albert Lea, Willmar and Winnipeg.

"This plan recommends that the rail system be developed incrementally with a goal of implementing key passenger services and preparing projects for federal funding as it becomes available," Commissioner Sorel said.

The plan estimates freight and passenger rail 20-year capital costs at $6.2 to $9.5 billion (uninflated). This total assumes $2.2 to $4.4 billion of private investment for freight improvements, and $4.0 to $5.1 billion in federal, state, local and additional private investments for passenger rail development. Mn/DOT officials said that the state rail plan cost estimates are based on high-level, system-wide unit costs, not detailed engineering costs being developed for specific corridors.

The document is now available for public review and comment on Mn/DOT’s Website at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/railplan/. Mn/DOT will accept comments on the plan through Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.

2009 NRC/RT&S Safety Award Winners

The 2009 NRC/RT&S/Commercial Insurance Associates Safe Railroad Contractor of the Year Awards will be presented at NRC Conference being held at the JW Marriott in Palm Desert, Calif.

This year marked the fifth consecutive year of record participation in the contest, with 46 separate railroad contracting companies participating. Every one of these companies should be commended for their extensive efforts to promote and improve safety in the railroad contracting industry and for subjecting their full safety program and range of practices to an extensive outside review. These companies represent the very best of the NRC and the entire railroad construction and maintenance industry.

Special congratulations to the four category winners:
• US Trackworks LLC of Wayland, Michigan
• Delta Railroad Construction of Ashtabula, Ohio
• Mass Electric Construction/MECRail of Irving, Texas
• Loram Maintenance of Way of Hamel, Minnesota

A full list of awards is available at www.nrcma.org.

Dean Wise named VP, Network Strategy at BNSF

Dean Wise is joining BNSF as vice president, Network Strategy, effective Feb. 1, and will report directly to Matt Rose, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Wise will also serve as a member of the Executive Team. He will, over the next few months, assume the responsibilities of Pete Rickershauser, who will retire April 30. Those responsibilities include directing the railroad’s Haulage Management, Interline Management, Network Strategy Development, Public-Private Partnerships and Short Line Business Development.

Wise earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and a master’s degree from Harvard and has most recently been a partner of Norbridge Inc., a recognized consultant in the freight, transport and logistics industry.

RailComm DOC® Yard Automation System in production at CSX Osborn

RailComm has provided a wireless remote control yard system at CSXT’s Osborn Yard in Louisville, KY. The RailComm Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) system provides remote control to several GETS HydraSwitch machines. RailComm’s DOC® system is configured to control all switches individually as well as provide eNtrance eXit (NX) routing functionality.

RailComm’s 2.4 GHz RADiANTTM data radios provide a wireless communications network to link the office with the field locations.

Alaska Railroad to build 80-mile extension

The Surface Transportation Board granted the request of the Alaska Railroad Corporation to construct and operate a new, 80-mile railroad line, the Northern Rail Extension, subject to extensive environmental-mitigation conditions. The new line would run from North Pole, AK, outside of Fairbanks, to Delta Junction, which is only served by road or air.

According to the STB decision, "the Board was satisfied that the proposed line would provide reliable, year-round freight and passenger service to the region south of North Pole, AK; access to training areas used by the United States military; and an alternative to the Richardson Highway, now the sole means for surface transportation of commercial freight in the proposed project area. The Board was also satisfied that the proposal would foster development of Alaska’s economy by expanding ARRC’s passenger and freight network to an area currently without rail service."

Second NJ Transit tunnel contract awarded

NJ Transit awarded a $271.7 million contract to PTP Constructors of Secaucas, a joint venture of Schiavone Construction, J.F. Shea Construction and Skanska USA Civil Northeast. The contract is for the design and construction of a mile-long tunnel between North Bergen and Hoboken, roughly 185 feet beneath the Palisades.

In December, the first contract was awarded for the Midtown segment of the project. The $583 million contract was awarded to a consortium of Barnard of New Jersey and Judlau Contracting of College Point, N.Y. The third, and last, contract for the Hudson River segment is expected to be awarded next year.

The entire Access to the Region’s Core project, or ARC, will double the amount of trains that travel to Midtown and eliminate transfers to thousands of NJ Transit riders.

Contract extension granted to Boston’s MBTA commuter rail firm

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority approved a two-year contract extension for Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., the firm that operates the T. This is the second contract extension granted to the firm and allows operation of the T until July 2013 at a combined cost of $559.7 for the final two years.

The contract extension also came with promises from the firm’s officials to build on service improvements made over the past year. In addition to improved performance and additional money for maintenance of the commuter fleet, passengers can expect to see a new system offering real-time information on train arrivals and wireless Internet access on every train.

Texas port breaks ground on $10.5 million rail improvement project

Community leaders broke ground on The Port of Beaumont’s rail improvement project that will add close to 40,000 feet of track to the port. The project is expected to take 18 months to complete and should reduce traffic congestion as well as greenhouse gasses in the city, increase rail velocity and improve port security and safety.

The existing interchange yard, which is small and narrow, will be retired and a new turnout will lead directly to new interchange facilities within the terminal. In addition to the new track being installed, close to 4,000 feet of track will be upgraded and modernized.

Beaumont is served by BNSF, UP and KCS and handles around 25,000 rail cars annually. The new configuration will allow the port to receive and dispatch trains as a unit.

Riverside, Calif., commits $4.45 million to grade separation project

The City Council of Riverside, Calif., pledged $4.45 million of federal grants toward buying land for the $32 million Iowa Avenue railroad grade separation project.

Iowa Avenue is one of more than two dozen crossings within the city without overpasses or underpasses leading to severe traffic congestion. Grade separations have become a priority in recent years and the city is either designing, constructing or just completed five grade separation projects.

Design and land purchases for the Iowa Avenue project are expected to be completed late this year with construction to begin in early 2011.

Washington state port to build rail spur

The Port of Everett’s commission authorized bids for a $3 million, 2,500 foot-long rail spur that would connect the port’s piers and other facilities to BNSF’s main line. Work could begin as early as April and be completed by September.

The port will be responsible for 25 percent of the project’s funds through low- and no-interest loans from the state DOT, but much of the money will come from $1.2 million in federal funds for rail recovery, secured by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Pavilion opens

Brooklyn’s transit hub at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues – where MTA Long Island Rail Road customers can transfer for connections with 10 subway lines – has a new, $108 million home with the opening of the Atlantic Terminal Pavilion.

The three-story limestone, granite and glass structure features a soaring atrium that allows natural light to reach the below ground LIRR concourse and subway station. Two sweeping staircases provide direct access from the street to the concourse below. The Terminal building is linked internally to an office building and retail complex.

The renewed facility serves approximately 25,500 LIRR customers each day as well as approximately 31,650 NYC Transit subway customers. Work on the project, begun in 2002, was done in two phases in order to coordinate improvements with MTA New York City Transit work on their subway facilities and a private developer, Forest City Ratner.

The new Atlantic Terminal building marks an early milestone in the overall effort to transform this area of Brooklyn. A recent court decision cleared the way for a new sports center that is to be the new home of the Nets basketball team. Additional residential and commercial buildings also are planned nearby.

Service to NS’ Lamberts Point terminal restored

Norfolk Southern rescinded its "force majeure" declaration on its Lamberts Point terminal in Virginia on Jan. 5. According to the NS website, "operations at Lambert’s Point were restored but unloading remained hampered by weather conditions. With operation restored, Norfolk Southern is working to clear the current backlog of shipments."

The force majeure was enacted on Dec. 18 as a result of record snowfalls and was extended when a series of conveyor belts problems shut down service. One belt was fixed and the conveyor was placed back in operation by Dec. 31, but the second took longer than expected to fix. Lamberts Point terminal is North America’s largest facility for transloading coal from trains to ships for export.

Reading & Northern buys portion of Towanda Monroeton line

The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad has purchased the northernmost 1.5-mile section of the Towanda Monroeton Shippers Lifeline Railroad, a six-mile rail line between Towanda Borough and Monroeton, Penn. Reading plans to aggressively market the local rail line for use by companies involved in the natural gas industry, according to a report in the Daily Review.

The remaining 4.5-miles of the Towanda Monroeton rail line is owned by Shaffer’s Feed Service Inc. However, Reading will operate on the entire Towanda Monroeton Shippers Lifeline rail line, including the section of the track owned by Shaffer’s Feed Service.

According to the report, Reading hopes to develop a facility for transferring frac sand to trucks in the Towanda area, although it would probably be a smaller operation than the one in the railroad’s Pittston yard.

IANA elect BNSF’s Branscum as head







The Board of Directors of the Intermodal Association of
North America (IANA) elected Stephen G. Branscum, group vice president,
consumer products at BNSF as its Chairman for 2010. Branscum, who succeeds Greg
Stefflre, chief executive officer at Rail Delivery Services, Inc., has held
numerous key intermodal positions for BNSF and its predecessor, Santa Fe. David
L. Howland, vice president, Optimodal, LLC, was elected IANA’s Vice Chairman
and Steve Rubin, president, Seacastle Chassis, Inc. was named the Association’s
Treasurer.

Boardman to head Amtrak for another year






Amtrak President Joseph Boardman had been given a one-year
interim contract extension. Although Boardman is a voting member of the Amtrak
board, he did not vote on his own contract extension.

Boardman rallied rail labor and Amtrak
supporters to lobby Congress for a transportation appropriations bill that
passed in December. The bill provides $1.58 billion to Amtrak through September
2010, an increase of $90 million from fiscal year 2009. The money includes $1
billion for capital grants, $560 million for operating subsidies and $20
million to fund Amtrak’s inspector general’s efforts to eradicate waste, fraud
and abuse.

Gov. Quinn nominates Flores for Illinois regulator position

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn nominated Chicago Alderman Manual
Flores to head the five-member Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates
state railroad crossing, track and rail-yard safety, as well as intrastate bus
operations. The nomination requires state senate confirmation. If confirmed,
Flores would succeed Charles Box, whose term expired.