Tennessee seeking funding for rail upgrades






Tennessee is seeking $81.2
million as part of a coalition of states applying for $300 million in federal
stimulus funds to make railroad upgrades linked to development of intermodal
rail terminals, where trailers and containers are transferred between trucks
and trains, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Although the coalition’s
application for stimulus money is based on reducing truck traffic along
Interstate 81, whose southern terminus is in Jefferson County, Tennessee would
spend its entire share on an intermodal facility being built near Memphis, some
400 miles from I-81.

Lawmakers challenge LA mayor on subway funding






Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa’s efforts to fast-track the long-stalled Westside subway faced a
challenge (Oct. 20) when a bipartisan group of congressional representatives
said the current plan is unlikely to bring immediate federal funding to L.A.
County, The Los Angeles Times reports.

LaHood upbeat about recovery, highlights role of rail in Illinois






U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood talked Oct. 20 at Knox College n Galesburg, Ill.,
about the role of transportation in helping the local, state and national
economy recover, according to The Galesburg Register-Mail. LaHood said all
indicators show the country is coming out of the recession, but it won’t be
over until unemployment numbers drop.

Nigeria: Igwemezie – Railway Engineer Par Excellence






He is one of the
exemplary ambassadors of the rebranding Nigeria campaign in diaspora, the Daily
Champion in Nigeria reports. A man who has made immense contribution to the development of
modern railways in the world, he is one of the exemplary ambassadors of the
rebranding Nigeria campaign in diaspora.

Pennsauken Transit Center construction begins






NJ TRANSIT Executive
Director Richard Sarles joined U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Rob
Andrews and other officials to break ground on a project that will offer
convenience and new travel options to South Jersey rail customers by directly
linking the River Line with the Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL).

LA Metro to hold community meetings for Regional Connector






The Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be conducting five community
meetings to update the public on the Regional Connector project the week of November
5 through 12. Members of the community are encouraged to attend one of the meetings,
all of which are available by public transit.

Will we ever learn?






Every person who is
considering buying a house needs to clip the following list and tuck it under a
magnet on their refrigerators, Guy Tridgell wrote in his column in the Southtown
Star, which serve suburbs south of Chicago. While we’re at it, real estate
agents need to print the same thing on the backs of those glossy business cards
with their Glamour Shots on the front to hammer the point home.

City spearheads effort to keep short line railway beyond 2010






Supporters of a
northeastern Ontario short line railway are laying the groundwork to keep a
vital Sault Ste. Marie-to-Sudbury transportation link open past next year, Northern
Ontario Business reports. 

The City of Sault Ste. Marie is spearheading a
regional effort to keep the Huron Central Railway operating beyond August 2010
or find another carrier willing to service industry along the 300-kilometer
(186-mile) long track.



AAR lauds FRA Preliminary National Rail Plan






The Association of
American Railroads applauded the Federal Railroad Administration’s Preliminary
National Rail Plan and its recognition that freight rail’s investment in
infrastructure maintenance and capacity enhancements meets national safety,
reliability and capacity needs.

VRE recommends operating, maintenance services contract with Keolis






The VRE Operations Board has
recommended awarding of a contract to Keolis Rail Services America for commuter
rail operations and maintenance services. The contract includes train
operations, locomotive and railcar equipment maintenance and repair, yard
operations and warehouse management. The recommendation is being made to VRE’s parent
commissions, the Northern Virginia and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation
Commissions, for consideration at their November 5, 2009, meetings.

Fight looms over LA Gold Line extension






San Gabriel Valley leaders
are preparing for a fight Oct. 22, when they’ll try to persuade the county
transit authority to include funding for the Gold Line Foothill Extension as a
priority in its long-range transportation plan, the Whittier, Calif., Daily
News reports.

Report discusses southern Montana Amtrak route






If you build it, they will
come. But it will cost you a lot of money, reports The Missoulian in Missoula,
Mont. That’s the conclusion of an Amtrak report released Oct. 16 on the
possible revival of the North Coast Hiawatha Route through southern Montana. It
notes the potential for nearly 360,000 riders a year. But startup costs are
estimated at a whopping $1.043 billion, "a figure that is subject to
significant uncertainty."

Glass installation completed on Fridley Station shelters, entrances






Work on the elevator at
the Northstar Commuter Rail station in Fridley, Minn., is continuing, as us installation
of handrails throughout the station area. Installation of glass for the station
shelters and east and west entrances is complete, while roofing on the station
shelters and east and west entrances continues. Landscape planting on the east
and west sides is scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 19. Fence installation
around the station site continues. The majority of electrical work at the
station and the majority of work in the tunnel is completed.


Bids on Conn. commuter-rail yard lower than expected






The low bidder to build the
first phase of the New Haven rail yard submitted a $125 million bid to do the
job, well below the $291 million the state expected to budget to complete the
facility, according to the state Department of Transportation, The Connecticut
Post reports.

 

Northeast Corridor tracks re-energized






Amtrak is using $25 million
in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to replace
transformers and other electrical equipment – some of which date to before
World War II – at 40 substations that deliver the power needed to propel
passenger trains on the electrified tracks between New York and Washington,
D.C.

Auto Truck Group begins CNG conversions






Auto Truck Group has partnered
with two leading CNG conversion companies to convert Ford and GM work trucks to
operate on CNG (Compressed Natural gas). Their Fort Wayne Fleet and Louisville
Truck Equipment locations now offer CNG conversions for work trucks. Some
market segments would include municipalities, fleets, and utilities.

Bentley acquires gINT Software






Bentley Systems,
Incorporated, has acquired gINT Software. Headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif.,
gINT Software has been a leader in geotechnical and geoenvironmental products
since its founding in 1986. The company’s newest product, gINT Enterprise,
maximizes the value of centrally managed subsurface data through multi-project
reporting and dramatically extended querying power. Offering a powerful and
efficient solution for transportation operations, engineering consultancies,
plants, campuses, and state and federal agencies with vast quantities of
geotechnical data, gINT Enterprise facilitates the valuable reuse of subsurface
mapping information to better serve civil, structural, geotechnical, and
environmental information processes for owner-operators.