The Obama Administration said
$100 million in Economic Recovery Act funding will go to 43 transit agencies
that are pursuing cutting-edge environmental technologies to help reduce global
warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil and create green jobs.
New Jersey Governor Jon
S. Corzine officially opened a critical segment of the Hudson River Waterfront
Walkway, providing a new pedestrian link between Jersey City and Hoboken. Made
possible through a public private partnership between the LeFrak Organization-the
developers of Newport-and NJ TRANSIT, the new pedestrian bridge spans the Long
Slip Canal, connecting with a new 750-foot section of walkway built by Newport
in Jersey City. The walkway provides pedestrian access to NJ TRANSIT, PATH and
ferry services at Hoboken Terminal, as well as local businesses and recreation
sites, while allowing Hoboken residents and commuters direct access to Newport
and Jersey City.
Dr.
Hans Vossloh, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vossloh AG, died
today age 90. He was the last surviving grandchild of founder Eduard Vossloh.
After bearing operational responsibility for more than 40 years, Dr. Hans
Vossloh played a lead role in the transformation from a successful family
enterprise to a stock corporation. In 1986 he moved from the management of
Vossloh-Werke, Werdohl, to Supervisory Board Chairman and laid the groundwork
for the Company’s IPO in 1990. Since 1994, Dr. Hans Vossloh has been Honorary
Supervisory Board Chairman.
RailComm has expanded its
wireless remote control yard system at Union Pacific’s Davidson Yard in Fort
Worth, Texas. The U.S. Department of Transportation had requested the
redirection of the hump yard lead tracks in order to keep traffic flowing while
a new highway overpass is being constructed.
Capital Metro in Austin,
Texas, didn’t know what it was getting itself into, the Austin American-Statesman
reports. That might sound like a shot from one of the transit agency’s critics.
Instead, it is in effect the agency’s explanation for why its MetroRail
commuter line from Leander to downtown Austin is now 15 to 18 months late in opening.
And still counting.
Construction of the new
passenger train platform in Stanwood, Wash., is costing more than anticipated,
and the platform might not be open until just before Thanksgiving for people
who want to ride the rail, according to the Everett, Wash. Herald. Nevertheless,
people in Stanwood are watching eagerly as the Amtrak Cascades stop takes shape
along the BNSF tracks in east downtown.
A railroad company’s
objections to the design of the Robinson Street crossing underpass in Norman,
Okla., have been withdrawn, city officials say, according to local media. Sticking
to the original design means the city will experience no delay in building the
underpass and can stick to its original budget of about $25 million, Public
Works Director Shawn O’Leary said.
After years of wrangling,
paving work has begun on a contentious 26-acre automobile-to-rail transfer
facility off Willow Road in Ayer, Mass., owned by Billerica-based Pan Am
Railways, the Lowell Sun reports. But news of the paving
isn’t sitting well with the state Department of Environmental Protection and
federal Environmental Protection Agency officials. Environmental officials are
calling out Pan Am for beginning to pave without stormwater-management devices
in place. As a result, the attorney general is also investigating whether the
start of work without "best management" stormwater controls in place
violates the terms of the Pan Am’s probation in Middlesex Superior Court.
The parking garage at the
Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station in the Washington, D.C., area at the
end of the Blue Line will undergo a major rehabilitation project beginning October
1, resulting in the temporary loss of up to 220 parking spaces during the 18-
to 20-month project.
The garage rehabilitation will take place in 12 phases
and includes concrete, structural and electrical repairs of the 12-year-old
facility, which opened in June 1997. Throughout the course of the rehabilitation
project, approximately 220 of the 5,069 parking spaces will be unavailable.
U.S. Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand said she won the commitment of the Federal Rail Authority to
complete critical repairs to railroad tracks in Middletown, N.Y. Constituents
in the area brought the worn down tracks to Senator Gillibrand, who took their
concerns to the FRA and urged them to make repairs to the Crawford Industrial
Track at Railroad Avenue, Wisner Avenue Crossing and other locations in the
area.
The William W. Hay Award for Excellence presented at the AREMA 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition went to Union Pacific for the second year in a row for its recovery efforts at the Frazier River Landslide near Oakridge, Ore. Bill Van Trump, UP’s senior assistant vice president engineering, and other officials accepted the award.
In January 2008, an estimated 2.3 million cubic yards of debris and 700 million board feet of timber cut loose from Coyote Mountain and slammed into UP’s line at an estimated 60 mph. The slide scoured away 1,500 feet of track in one place and another 150 feet further down the mountain.
The track runs through Willamette National Forest land and the railroad had to work with nine separate agencies and obtain seven different permits to perform the work. UP moved enough dirt during the recovery effort to fill an area as long as a football field and as high as the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).
AREMA, which has presented the award 11 times, received nine entries for the 2009 award, more than any other year.
CSXT proposed an $842 million plan to raise roofs on bridges and lower some railroad tracks across the mid-Atlantic so that it could carry double-stacked cargo containers on its trains. The proposal is gaining steam because of its promise of clearing tractor-trailers off the region’s congested highways and improving commuter train service.
It also would mean rebuilding some railroad bridges around the region, including the Virginia Avenue tunnel just south of the Capitol. Raising the roof of that tunnel alone would cost an estimated $140 million. The 12 other local projects proposed, including replacing the bridge on Deer Park Drive in Montgomery County’s historic Washington Grove, would add millions more.
The freight company would pay about $393 million of the National Gateway initiative, while state and federal dollars would pay the rest. The project is seeking stimulus dollars for some of the costs.
A preliminary report on restoring service on the Amtrak Pioneer route included four options with rail passenger service to Eastern Oregon and Southern Idaho.
Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mike Crapo of Idaho said the report is an important step toward bringing back a passenger rail line that should never have been closed in the first place.
The senators obtained a congressional mandate forcing Amtrak to study restoring the former Pioneer line that ran from Portland, along the Columbia River Gorge and on to Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City, Ontario, Boise, Shoshone and Pocatello to Utah. It was discontinued in 1997.
The preliminary study contains four scenarios about restoring passenger service in Idaho and Oregon. It says "Restoration of the Pioneer would enhance Amtrak’s route network and produce public benefits, but would require significant expenditures for initial capital costs and ongoing operation costs not covered by farebox revenues."
A private consultant has estimated annual operating costs for the Pioneer could run between $30 million-$40 million annually, with a third of those costs paid by passengers. Capital and startup costs, including those for locomotives, passenger cars, sleeping and food service cars could exceed $400 million.
Amtrak officials say interested stakeholders have until Oct. 1 to offer comment on the preliminary study. The final report must be presented to Congress by Oct. 15. Congress may have the final say in restoring Pioneer service.
Michigan is vying for its part of the $8 billion federal stimulus to upgrade passenger train service. The state wants $830 million as its part of a Midwest high-speed rail plan.
Contracting giant Balfour
Beatty said it has reached an accord to purchase consultant Parsons
Brinckerhoff for approximately $618 million, U.K. media report. The agreement is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies.
The Chicago Transit
Authority is inviting the public to meetings to provide input on the proposed Red,
Orange and Yellow Line Extensions.
Attendees will have an opportunity to provide comments on the proposed
alternatives, the purpose and need for the project, the potential effects and
mitigation measures to be considered in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS).
The Frankford elevated
line, which was completely rebuilt in the 1980s and 1990s to last for 75 years,
needs significant repairs because of a basic flaw in its reconstruction design,
the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. To prevent pieces of concrete from falling
onto cars or pedestrians, SEPTA crews have installed 8,000 metal mesh belts on
the underbelly of the El and plan to install 2,000 more, beginning Sept. 21.
Officials of Kansas City
Southern are in Laredo again, delivering the latest updates on the possibility
of a rail bridge in the Laredo, Texas, area, television station KGNS reported. KCS
officials say the project is now one step closer to becoming a reality.
The City of Leavenworth,
Wash., and Amtrak said that the eagerly awaited restoration of rail passenger
service to the popular Bavarian Village, a destination community in the Cascade
Mountains, will begin on Friday, September 25. The first train returning to
Leavenworth, one of Washington’s most visited attractions, will be Amtrak’s
Empire Builder, departing Seattle that evening bound for Chicago.
Lynda Frost, a
spokeswoman for Montana Rail Link, said trains traveling through downtown
Billings, Mont., were supposed to stop sounding their horns Sept. 18, one
minute after midnight, according to The Gazette. And those are some big horns,
emitting blasts of 96 to 110 decibels, as per federal regulations. A subway
train, at a distance of 200 feet, registers at about 95 decibels, while 110
decibels is comparable to a power saw three feet away.
