Hopson speaks out in support of railway acquisition






As
steps proceed to finalize acquisition of the spur by Rusk County Rural Rail
Transportation District from Union Pacific, District 11 state Rep. Chuck Hopson
said he is behind the project, according to the Tyler, Texas, Morning Telegraph.
And Sue Henderson, general manager of Henderson Economic Development Corp.,
declared the spur would aid future growth in the city.

Closed rail spur hurts progress






A nine-mile spur prevents
a key West Feliciana Parish industrial site from linking to the remaining 2,900
railroad miles in Louisiana – and to business beyond the state, industry
leaders claim, local media report. The spur runs west from Slaughter in lower
East Feliciana Parish, crosses U.S. 61 at Delombre and enters West Feliciana
Parish shortly before reaching the Renew Paper mill on the Mississippi River.

Weekend track maintenance on D.C. Metro Orange, Red lines






Track maintenance on the
Orange and Red lines in the Washington, D.C., area Nov. 13-15 will cause
inbound and outbound trains to take turns sharing one track. Customers should
add 20 to 30 minutes to their trips. 

 Metrorail customers traveling between
the East Falls Church and Ballston-MU Metrorail stations should add at least 20
minutes of travel time to their trips because Metro will replace crossties





Illinois offers comprehensive agreement for CTA, paratransit






Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
said an agreement has been reached with the Chicago region’s major transit
agencies that will prevent fare increases for the Chicago Transit Authority and
Pace paratransit services in 2010 and 2011. The agreement was made between the
State of Illinois, the Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago Transit
Authority, Metra and Pace.

New Pennsylvania bulk transfer facility opens






It is fitting an
expansion project at the Newberry Rail Yard would be dedicated on Veterans Day,
said Lycoming County, Pa., transportation planner Mark Murawski, according to
the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. The railroads were instrumental in helping the
nation win its wars by transporting men and equipment vital to the war effort.
Today, railroads still are vital to the nation, he said Nov. 11 during a
ceremony marking the opening of a bulk transfer facility at the rail yard.

Florida legislators close to SunRail deal






After two embarrassing
defeats, the SunRail commuter train could be on the verge of winning approval
in the Florida state Legislature, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Supporters
are lining up votes and drafting a bill for a special session that could be
held in Tallahassee during the week of Dec. 7.

Red Bank, N.J., train station awaits repair






The battle of the borough
train station continues as historians voiced concerns that the Victorian-style
NJ Transit station will go through the winter with peeling paint and rotting
holes in the wooden walls and window sills, the Asbury Park Press reports. NJ
Transit officials confirmed there are no plans for work on the station until
after next summer when contracts are scheduled to be awarded for repairs and
painting. However, they insist the station is structurally sound.

Jacksonville, Fla., seeks funds for rail, bus hub






It’s a project that could
improve public transportation in Northeast Florida while also helping to bring
back the historic LaVilla section of downtown Jacksonville, the Florida
Times-Union reports. For almost 20 years, the Jacksonville Transportation
Authority and the Florida Department of Transportation have been working on a
plan to create a regional transportation center that would house Amtrak,
Greyhound, bus rapid transit and, possibly, commuter rail — all at the
existing Prime Osborn Convention Center.

Union Pacific, New Mexico agree to land swap for hub






The state of New Mexico and
Union Pacific Railroad agreed on a land swap that will enable Santa Teresa, N.N.,
to become a major commercial and industrial hub, officials said Nov. 10,
according to the El Paso, Texas, Times. Under the agreement, Union Pacific is
trading a large ranch property in exchange for land near the Santa Teresa
industrial park for its intermodal facility.

Amtrak eyes moving Ill. station






A plan is in the works to
eliminate some of the lengthy stoppages on Glenview Road caused by train
traffic at the downtown Glenview, Ill., train station, the Sun-Times reports. If
the General Assembly, Glenview and Metra make good on their funding pieces,
Amtrak officials have agreed to move the stops for the Hiawatha and Empire
Builder routes from the downtown Glenview Metra station to The Glen of North
Glenview station.

Lake Zurich, Ill., CN working on land trade






The Lake Zurich, Ill.,
Village Board gave its preliminary consensus for a property swap with Canadian
National Railway at the board’s meeting last week, which would result in CN
building a 250-foot-tall communication tower in the village’s industrial park
rather than near downtown, according to local newspapers.

D.C. Metro and its Board committed to strong safety oversight






Washington, D.C., Metro
Board Chairman Jim Graham and Metro General Manager John Catoe issued the
following joint statement: "The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and
its Board of Directors are committed to working with all safety oversight
agencies that have jurisdiction over Metro and its operations. Regionally, that
oversight comes from the Tri-State Oversight Committee, which was created by
Congress and then implemented through an agreement among the District of
Columbia, State of Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia. 




MBTA addresses safety concerns






MBTA officials laid out a
four-step plan Nov. 9 to address last week’s critical third-party review of the
system’s safety and finances, The Raynham Call reports. Transportation
officials also reiterated that the agency is not backing away from the proposed
expansion of transit service to the South Coast cities of Fall River and New
Bedford, Mass.

L.A. Metro Blue Line weekend service to be impacted by construction






Los Angeles Metro Blue
Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes between
Washington Station and 7th/Metro Center from Nov. 20 after 9 p.m. until Nov. 22
at the close of service due to construction work to allow the installation of
rail track coming from the Expo Line and merging with the Metro Blue Line.

Hillsboro, Ill., cuts ribbon on rail spur







 

The ribbon is cut and work
is well under way on a project six years in the making.

 Representatives from
the City of Hillsboro, Ill., Union Pacific, Oberkramer Contracting and
Hurst-Rosche Engineers joined Representative Betsy Hannig, Transportation
Secretary Gary Hannig and Senator Deanna Demuzio in cutting the ribbon on the
city’s new railroad spur, located near the old Eagle Zinc site.



 

CTA Loop signal project to reroute L trains November 14-15






As part of Chicago Transit Authority’s
work to replace the signal and train control systems in the Loop, the weekend
beginning November 14 crews will be installing a new signal control facility at
Lake and Wells that will require elevated trains to reroute on Saturday and
Sunday. Brown, Green, Pink and Orange line trains will be temporarily rerouted
from approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday, November 14 until 8 p.m. Sunday,
November 15. Brown and Orange line trains will operate on the Lake and Wabash
elevated tracks only. Green and Pink line trains will operate on the Wells and
Van Buren elevated tracks only.

CN moves on PTC






A $10-billion unfunded
mandate regarding "positive train control" — wherein trains will
need to be outfitted with GPS technology that’ll detect when trains are near
each other — may hamper the railroad industry as a whole, but as far as
Canadian National’s plans for Northwest Indiana go, it’s full steam ahead, the Gary
Post-Tribune reports.