UP marks silver anniversary of SPRB coal trains

Mid-day 25 years ago August
16, the first Union Pacific and former Chicago & North Western coal train
moved out of Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) coal field over a new
107-mile rail line connecting Union Pacific to the region. The C&NW merged
with Union Pacific in 1995. Since the line was opened
between Joyce, Neb., and Shawnee Junction, Wyo., in 1984, several milestones
have been met including the operation of the 100,000th train March 17, 2001 and
the movement of the 200,000th loaded coal train May 10, 2009 out of the SPRB.

        

NJDOT to replace NJ Transit bridges

The New Jersey Department
of Transportation will be closing Sixth Street in Newark as construction
progresses on a project to replace the Third Street, Fifth Street, Sixth
Street, Seventh Street and Roseville Avenue bridge decks over the NJ TRANSIT
Morristown line in Newark, the Star Ledger reports.

 

VRE’s Fredericksburg Line is getting more triple track

Commuters on the Virginia
Railway Express Fredericksburg Line can see that construction has begun on
laying a third track over Franconia Hill, according to Fredericksburg.com. As
hills go, it’s not terribly high: 225 feet above sea level. Franconia Road is
near the crest of the hill in Fairfax County, and the Capital Beltway passes
along the side of the hill a mile farther north.

 

L.B. Foster wins $7.6-million Denton County rail contract

L.B. Foster Company has
been awarded a $7.6 million contract for 115-pound rail for installation on the
21-mile A-Train transit project linking Denton and Carrollton, Texas. Shipments
of 4,599 tons of 1,600-ft welded rail and 573 tons of 80-ft stick rail were
delivered to the North Texas Rail Group, a contractor joint venture between
Herzog Contracting Corporation and Archer Western Contractors.

 

Sounder track and signal project update

Sounder track and signal project
update

 

Railworks Track Systems
and subcontractors have mobilized and work is well under way on track and signal
improvements along the seven-mile Sound Transit rail corridor between South M
Street in Tacoma, Wash., to Bridgeport Way SW in Lakewood. Portions of unused
spurs and track have been removed while new track and rail ballast are being
delivered on site.

 

SFRTA opening new parking lot at Tri-Rail’s West Palm Beach Station

Palm Beach County, Fla.,
has completed a new parking lot adjacent to the west platform at Tri-Rail’s
West Palm Beach Station. The new parking lot provides 118 additional spaces for
passengers and 45 designated spaces for South Florida Regional Transportation
Authority/Tri-Rail and Palm Tran employees. The parking lot also provides
special spaces for scooters and motorcycles, along with bicycle lockers that
will be used as part of a new passenger program/amenity to be launched in the
near future. The new lot, accessible from Clearwater Avenue, opened to the
public on August 18.

 

Montreal Charlevoix Station reopens August 17

The Société de transport
de Montréal informed clients that, after 11 weeks of renovations aimed at
extending the service life of its systems and installations, Charlevoix métro
station once again opened its doors on August 17, as planned.

 

 

TriMet using stimulus to maintain reliable light rail service

TriMet and the city of
Portland, Ore., are using $1.6 million of federal stimulus funds to repair
bricks in 20 intersections on Morrison and Yamhill streets in downtown
Portland. As the backbone of Portland’s light rail system, the Morrison and
Yamhill corridors have experienced significant wear and tear and have not had
major repairs in the 25 years since the tracks went in.

 

Huron Central bosses ratify one-year deal to save local line

Directors of Genesee and
Wyoming Inc., parent company of Huron Central Railway, have agreed to a
tentative deal that will keep the local railroad operating until August 14,
2010, SooToday.com reports. Sault Ste. Marie Mayor John Rowswell tells
SooToday.com that he has received confirmation of the ratification.

 

MBTA dealing with faulty ties on commuter line

Concrete ties on the Old
Colony commuter rail lines are wearing out far faster than they’re supposed to,
a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority acknowledged
according to the West Bridgewater Times. The lines — Middleboro/Lakeville and
Kingston/Plymouth — have been found to have 4,000 ties that need to be
replaced, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

 

Port Authority board authorizes contract for subway box

The Port Authority Board of
Commissioners authorized a major contract to permanently brace the box that
encloses the MTA’s No. 1 subway line. It will form the foundation of the future
extension of Greenwich Street, which will bisect the World Trade Center site.
The contract will ensure public access to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza on the 10th
anniversary of 9/11, and represents one of the Port Authority’s critical
third-quarter milestones.

 

Vancouver, Wash., terminal stirs hope for jobs

Southwest Washington’s
three-member congressional delegation gathered at the Port of Vancouver to
celebrate the opening of a new marine terminal on the former Alcoa-Evergreen
aluminum site, The Columbian reported. Alcoa this spring finished environmental
cleanup of the 218-acre site, making way for the port to complete its purchase
of the two properties in March for a total of $48.25 million. The port is now
ready to develop the site, zoned for heavy industrial use.

 

Railway hoping to sell tracks

The Montreal, Maine &
Atlantic Railway said that it is taking steps to sell or abandon its tracks
between Millinocket and Madawaska, Maine, because they are no longer profitable
to maintain, according to the Bangor Daily News. The company is asking the
state to consider buying the tracks and maintaining them. If that were to
happen, the Maine Department of Transportation and the railway could work out a
deal so the company’s trains would use the rail lines without an interruption
in service.

 

Grant eyed to aid Pennsylvania’s Crescent Corridor

Pennsylvania Governor Ed
Rendell is trying to land $47 million in federal aid to upgrade Harrisburg rail
freight facilities, the Harrisburg Patriot News reports. The money would help
Norfolk Southern add a third unloading track and install additional parking
spaces for trailers at the terminal along Industrial Road.

 

D.C. Metro schedules weekend track and signal work

Track circuit repairs on
the Red Line and track maintenance on the Orange Line the weekend of August
14-16 will cause inbound and outbound trains to take turns sharing one track.
Customers should add at least 30 minutes of time to their trips. 



 




CN: Train fears not a reality

Where are all the trains? When
Canadian National Railway won federal approval to buy the EJ&E line for
$300 million in December, suburbs worried about the effects of heavy freight
traffic, the Plainfield, Ill., Sun reports.

 

NS provides Grant for railroad engineering degree program

The Norfolk Southern
Foundation has given $100,000 to Penn State Altoona to assist in the
development of a four-year Rail and Transit Engineering (RTE) degree program.
This innovative Bachelor of Science program will include existing Penn State
civil engineering courses, coupled with new customized courses in rail
business, mechanical systems, track, operations, communications, and
regulation. The program is designed to produce graduates who will quickly
acclimate to the rail industry and its suppliers.