Rail service between the
Blue Line’s Clark/Lake and UIC-Halsted stations temporarily will be suspended
from 10 p.m. October 30 until 4 a.m. November 2, as work to replace track in
the south end of the Dearborn subway continues this weekend. Bus shuttles will
operate as a substitute for rail service making stops adjacent to the
Clark/Lake, Washington, Monroe, Jackson, LaSalle, Clinton and UIC-Halsted stations.
On the fourth anniversary
of the opening of the Los Angeles Metro Orange Line, Metro work crews have
officially completed the first construction phase of the line’s four-mile
extension in the North San Fernando Valley: a parking lot at the Chatsworth
Metrolink/Amtrak Station.
The Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority’s BART Silicon Valley
Project exemplifies findings
from the recently released "Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment"
report, which demonstrates how increased investment in public transportation
provides green jobs, wages and business income in industries that have been
particularly hit hard by the economic downturn.
Economic analysis of the BART
Silicon Valley project by Wilber Smith and Associates estimated an overall
return on investment of four to six dollars for every dollar spent on the $6-billion
project.
By 2030, the 16-mile
extension is estimated to generate an additional $11.42 billion in gross
regional product and $3.27 billion in personal income, with 66 percent of those
dollars staying in Santa Clara County and the remainder benefiting the Bay Area
region. The national average of short- and long-term economic benefits of
public transit investments outlined in the APTA report is for every $1 invested
in public transportation, $4 is generated in economic returns.
Monterey
County, Calif., residents are one step closer to riding light rail between Monterey and Marina
after the Transportation Agency selected light rail as the locally preferred alternative
for the Monterey Branch Line transit corridor. The 16-mile corridor extends between Monterey and
Castroville on the publicly-owned tracks adjacent to Highway 1.
The American Public
Transportation Association and the International Union of Railways (Union
Internationale des Chemins de Fer, or UIC) will host three regional seminars in
early 2010. The goal of these seminars is to provide U.S. decision makers the
information necessary to implement high-speed rail.
Weekend motorists and
pedestrians using the intersection of Market and San Carlos streets in San Jose,
Calif., and VTA light rail riders traveling to, from or through Convention
Center Light Rail Station will be affected as three sections of aging light
rail track running in the median of San Carlos Street between Market Street and
Almaden Boulevard in downtown San Jose are replaced.
About 200 feet of railroad
track — including 400 feet of rail and 160 ties — along the Nickel Plate Road
rail line was damaged by heat during last week’s tanker truck explosion at I-69
and I-465, the Indianapolis Star reports. That’s the rail line that
transportation advocates hope to use for light rail service from Noblesville to
Downtown Indianapolis. The Nickel Plate runs underneath the I-465 East/West
overpass and alongside the I-69 southbound ramp.
Track maintenance on the Washington,
D.C., Metrorail Red and Orange lines Oct. 30-Nov.2 will cause inbound and
outbound trains to take turns sharing one track. Customers should add at least
30 minutes of time to their trips.
Metrorail customers traveling between the
Friendship Heights and Van Ness-UDC Metrorail stations should add at least 30
minutes to their travel time for their trips because Metro will replace rail
fasteners that stabilize tracks and make tunnel repairs. Trains will share one
track between these locations throughout the weekend from 9:30 p.m. Oct. 30, to
closing (midnight) on Nov. 1.
The
board of directors of The Whitmore Manufacturing Company appointed Jeff
Peterson, a director of the company, president and Chief Executive Officer
effective November 30, 2009. Peterson is Vice President of Capital Southwest
Corporation, the principal shareholder of the company, and has closely followed
Whitmore for more than eight years. He has gained a breadth of experience,
including serving as a director of 14 companies, overseeing the acquisition or
direct investments of more than 20 companies and working with rapidly growing businesses.
Additionally, he serves in a variety of operational capacities at Capital
Southwest and on the board of several industry trade groups, including the
National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.
St. Louis regional
transit leaders joined with state and local elected officials October 26 to
celebrate the grand opening of Metro’s new paint facility that will be used to
repaint the MetroLink Light Rail Vehicles. Located in East St. Louis, Ill., the
new $4.3-million facility enables Metro to prepare and paint the LRVs in an
environmentally-controlled area that is healthier for employees and better for
the environment.
Many of the 87 Light Rail
Vehicles in the Metro System have been in service since the 1990s, clocking an
average of 500 miles per day as they carry passengers back and forth along the
46-mile alignment. Not surprisingly, the heavily utilized trains require fresh
paint to maintain their structural integrity, extend the life of each vehicle
and keep them looking their best. While Metro has been manually repainting the
LRVs at its maintenance facility in St. Louis, the new paint booth will improve
the process through increased technology, and minimize the environmental impact
of maintaining the trains.
Event attendees had the
opportunity to tour the new operation and see the features that enhance the
process. The new facility is a 9,600-square-foot pre-cast panel structure containing
two distinct work areas, one of which is the totally enclosed paint booth. This
design enables Metro employees to clean and prepare the trains for painting on
one side of the facility, while other trains are simultaneously being painted
on the other.
The prep area includes a
dust collection system that is one of the "green" features of the operation.
Six separate work areas in the prep bay, where employees use various air tools,
are tied into a central vacuum system that will collect all the dust and other
particles and transport them to dust collection bags in a separate room.
The paint booth itself is
equipped with two automated "lifts" that give the individuals applying the
spray paint easy access to all parts of the train. Each lift can accommodate up
to two painters, further streamlining the process. The trains are painted with
low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, and an extensive exhaust system
helps to further minimize the environmental impact of the process, while also
reducing the risk of dust or other particles marring the paint job. Outside air
flows in through the ceiling, where filters remove particles from the air
before it enters the paint booth. Exhaust fans then return the air to the
environment, pulling it through filters in the paint booth pits. The filters
are designed to remove paint and other particles so that the exhaust air meets
environmental standards.
In addition, 400 energy
efficient fluorescent lights illuminate the paint booth, enabling Metro
employees to apply the paint with precision, and allowing for careful
inspection of the completed paint job before the trains are put back into circulation.
"This facility will allow
Metro to effectively and efficiently restore the body of the Light Rail
Vehicles, extend the service life of each train and create a consistent image
for Metro’s customers," notes Ray Friem, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer of
Transit Services.
Bob Baer, Metro’s
President and CEO added, "We really appreciate the support for this project
from St. Clair County Transit District and the elected officials from St. Clair
County."
Plocher Construction
Company of Highland, Ill., was the general contractor for the project, which
was awarded in September 2008 and included civil site work, utility work and
track work, in addition to the building and paint booth construction. Actual
construction was completed six months ahead of schedule and approximately 10
percent under the estimated budget of $4,783,821. Funding for the project came
from federal formula funds with a local contribution of $246,000 from the St.
Clair County Transit District. St. Louis County, Mo., also contributed funds to
the facility. The Light Rail Vehicles that will be repainted at the new
facility operate all along the entire alignment in St. Louis City and St. Louis
County in Missouri and in St. Clair County, Ill.
Norfolk Southern has
unveiled preliminary environmental data that will serve as the foundation of
its proposed intermodal terminal in Fayette County, where cargo containers will
be transferred between trucks and trains, The Daily News reports.
Canadian Pacific Railway sold
its historic Windsor Station in Montreal as the country’s second-largest
railway continues to look at ways to improve its cash position in face of
declining volumes, the Montreal Gazette reports. CP said it had sold the
station and significant other related real estate, to Cadillac Fairview Corp.
Ltd. for C$86 million.
The city of Virginia
Beach, Va., has released the final draft of its comprehensive plan, which is a
blueprint for how the city will grow in the future, Inside Business reports. Included
in the plan is a section on light rail and how it could fit into the city’s
transportation master plan.
Frankfort, Ill., is
moving full speed ahead before the freight trains really get rolling along the
Canadian National Railway tracks in its community, the Southtown Star reports. Village
officials have been working with engineers and residents to soften the blow of
what is expected to be 28 daily freight trains.
Trustees recently
approved a quiet zone feasibility study detailing safety improvements at every
crossing from Harlem Avenue to 116th Avenue. It now goes to the Federal
Railroad Administration and the Illinois Commerce Commission for approval. Village
administrator Jerry Ducay said if all goes well with that approval process,
work could begin in the spring and be completed by this time next year.
Once all work is
completed, train engineers would not be required to sound the horn at each
intersection unless there is a danger present. CN is paying for all
improvements.
Ducay said he has seen no
increase in rail traffic and figures CN has been operating four to six trains a
day.
To date, the village also
has issued $400,000 out of a $2.7-million pot provided by the rail company to
landscape homes near the tracks to further reduce the noise level. Homeowners
are allowed to pick their own landscaping contractor, but must submit a plan
for approval and a building permit from the village.
To distribute the funds
among 300 homeowners, the village developed a four-tier system, with payments
ranging from $1,000 to $12,000.
"Our goal is to
spend $500,000 this season and gear up again in the spring," Ducay said.
"Most people will have all winter to prepare."
Even though the village
has five years to spend the money, Ducay said officials hope to use it all
within two years. Sound mitigation funds must be spent on landscaping walls,
fences, berms, trees, evergreens, shrubs, perennials and mulch or stone. While
some homeowners wanted a sound wall, it was not financially feasible, Ducay
said.
Funding levels for
Frankfort homeowners impacted by the Canadian National Railway:
Tier 1: $10,000 to
$12,000 for properties adjacent to the railroad tracks.
Tier 2: $6,000 to $8,000
for properties separated by ComEd lines.
Tier 3: $4,000 to $5,000
for properties separated by another parcel.
Tier 4: $1,000 for
properties separated by a street.
The Association of American
Railroads awarded the 2009 Environmental Excellence Award to CSX Transportation
employee Paul Kurzanski. A 30-year veteran of the railroad industry, Kurzanski
currently serves as manager of environmental remediation with CSXT in
Jacksonville, Fla. The award was presented at the annual Railroad Environmental
Conference at University of Illinois, Urbana.
Union Pacific and
CSX Transportation launched RailChem Connect, a coordinated rail service for
expedited transport of chemicals between the Texas Gulf Coast region and the
Southeast. The new RailChem Connect service is the result of increased
coordination and re-designed interline service by the two railroads for their
chemicals market customers. The service allows shipments to bypass smaller rail
yards for expedited transit between major hubs. These changes, along with
increased operations coordination between the railroads, increase reliability
of east- and west-bound service between Union Pacific-served chemical markets
such as Houston, southern Texas and Louisiana, and CSXT-served consumption markets
in the southeastern states. RailChem Connect offers more consistent transit
times, faster equipment turns and a shorter route than previously available for
chemical shipments in this corridor.
Following five years of
construction and coming in on budget with a flawless four-million-plus-hour
construction safety record, the Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside
Extension from Union Station downtown to East Los Angeles will open to the
public on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Standing with U.S.
Senator Arlen Specter, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, Philadelphia Mayor
Michael Nutter, Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler,
SEPTA General Manager Joe Casey, DRPA Board Chair John H. Estey, Board Vice
Chair Jeff Nash and others, DRPA CEO and PATCO President, John J. Matheussen,
announced an agreement that will result in Light Rail Service along Market
Street between City Hall and the Delaware River Waterfront initially serving
Pier 70 to the South and SEPTA’s Route 15 Trolley at Girard Avenue to the
North.
Will riders of the Chicago
Transit Authority’s Red Line trains be pulling into the Apple iTrain station
any time soon? That’s the question being posed after CTA officials confirmed
they were in talks with Apple over the technological giant’s plans to fork over
millions to refurbish the North/Clybourn station, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Steve Weber has been
named Vice President of Engineering for Nordco, Inc., where he will focus on the
development of new products. Weber’s extensive experience includes both
development of new product lines and maintenance of existing products. His most
recent position prior to joining Nordco was in the outdoor power equipment
industry.
