Knoxville, Tenn., mayor defends NS confidentiality agreement

Knoxville, Tenn., mayor
defends NS confidentiality agreement

 

It has caused him no end of
political heat, but Jefferson County Mayor Alan Palmieri says that signing a
confidentiality agreement with Norfolk Southern was the right thing to do,
according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He doesn’t regret it and says he
would do it again. While some residents who have concerns about Norfolk
Southern’s plans for an intermodal facility fear that the agreement cloaks
behind-doors dealings, Palmieri denies this is the case.

Chico, Calif., train depot will be getting improvements

The historic train depot at
West Fifth and Orange streets in Chico, Calif., will see a pair of improvements
due to federal and local projects, the Chico Enterprise Record reports.

Amtrak will use $509,000 in
federal stimulus dollars to build a 550-foot concrete platform along the
railroad tracks. The city of Chico is planning to use up to $150,000 in city
transportation funds to rebuild the wooden deck that runs around the northern
part of the depot building.

 


Track maintenance to affect Metro’s Red and Orange lines







Track maintenance on the
Red and Orange Line this weekend will cause inbound and outbound trains to take
turns sharing one track on the Washington, D.C., Metro. Customers should add 30
minutes of time to their trips. 

Red Line 

Metrorail customers traveling
between the Medical Center and Friendship Heights Metrorail stations should add
at least 30 minutes of travel time for their trips because Metro will make
tunnel repairs, and replace rail and rail fasteners that stabilize the tracks.
Trains will share one track between these locations from August 7-9. 



BNSF doing track work in Chicago western suburbs

BNSF will conduct work along the tracks from Naperville, Ill., into downtown Chicago the week of August 10 and in September, the Clarendon Hills Doings reports. The work will cause minimal pedestrian and traffic delays in Clarendon Hills from Aug. 11-13 and Sept. 6-10. The crews will be in Hinsdale Aug. 12-13 and Sept. 7-10, in Western Springs Sept. 9-10 and 13, and La Grange Sept. 9-10 and 13-14.

DOTD safety move irks town officials

The Louisiana Department
of Transportation and Development wants to give the town a raised median and
safety gates at the Hwy. 22 railroad crossing, but some town officials don’t
want it, the Gonzales, La., Weekly Citizen reports. DOTD engineer Bill
Shrewsberry said construction would probably start late this year or early
next, in an effort to improve safety.

 

Union Pacific to expand RailComm DOC® Yard Automation System

RailComm has been selected
to expand its wireless remote control yard system at Union Pacific’s Davidson
Yard in Fort Worth, Texas. The U.S. Department of Transportation requested the
redirection of the hump yard lead tracks in order to keep traffic flowing while
a new highway overpass is being constructed.

 

EJ&E merger foes prep for next battle

One appeal of a
controversial railway sale was denied this week, clearing the way for another
— this one in federal court, according to the Fox Valley Villages Sun. On
August 5, the federal Surface Transportation Board rejected an appeal by the
Illinois Commerce Commission. The ICC objected to Canadian National Railway
Company’s $300-million purchase of the suburban Elgin, Joliet and Eastern rail
line, which the STB approved in December.


Group emphasize health risk of proposed rail hub

Federal
regulators are underestimating the health threat posed by a railroad freight
center proposed for southwest Johnson County, environmentalists charge,
according to The Kansas City Star. They say that the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers didn’t fully assess the cancer risk tied to the BNSF project and that
the corps’ predictions of diesel emissions are much less than what’s generated
at rail projects elsewhere.

 


Port Authority issues milestone report on WTC rebuilding

The Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey released its latest quarterly milestone report announcing
that it has met 19 of 20 second-quarter 2009 rebuilding milestones. Milestones
for the second quarter included: the installation of more than 2,400 tons of
steel for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the equivalent of 20
Statues of Liberty; the installation of 1,250 cubic yards of concrete – the
equivalent of six miles of New York City sidewalk – bringing the plaza and main
entrance of One World Trade Center to street level; and, competitively bid one
of the largest and most critical work packages for the World Trade Center
Transportation Hub.


Missouri commission approves rail projects

 

Provide more reliable
rail service. Eventually produce faster travel times. That’s exactly what the
Missouri Department of Transportation seeks to do in making applications for a
portion of $8 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding set
aside for high-speed rail development.

Rail conference calls for papers

Papers and presentations are being solicited on all aspects of railroad civil, mechanical, electrical and systems engineering, as well as rail safety, planning, design, financing, operations and management for the Joint Rail Conference – 2010 High Speed and Intercity Rail to be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign April 27-29, 2010. Both freight and passenger rail subjects will be included, but the conference theme will be high-speed rail and other forms of developing intercity passenger rail.

Miner provides ballast systems to Brazil mining corporation

Miner Enterprises, Inc., has been chosen by Vale, the Brazilian multinational mining corporation to supply 70 AggreGate® ballast systems. The state-of-the-art air-powered dual cylinder AggreGate® system was specified for the order, demonstrating Miner’s international reach and reputation for high-quality freight car components around the world.

Restoring Amtrak to Gulf Coast will be costly

Restoring passenger rail service from New Orleans along the Gulf Coast to Orlando, Fla., will cost tens of millions of dollars and take a minimum of almost two years to accomplish, according to a new Amtrak study that also predicts the revived route would be a money-loser, according to the Mobile, Ala., Press-Register.

Memphis logistics industry embraces NS expansion

Although Norfolk Southern Corp.’s planned $129-million intermodal yard won’t be built within the city limits but instead in neighboring Rossville, Memphis’ logistics and distribution industries stand to benefit from the railroad’s decision to expand its local presence, The Daily News in Memphis reports. Not only is the railroad’s sprawling facility dubbed the Memphis Regional Intermodal Terminal, but it will be close enough for Memphis-based companies to gain unprecedented logistical access to eastern cities.

NTSB releases cause of 2007 Ohio derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the derailment of a CSX train in Painesville, Ohio, Oct. 10, 2007, was a combination of a rail problem and human error in fixing the track, according to local media. The report showed that the CSX Transportation division engineer responsible for track maintenance said the temporary rail joint involved in the accident was installed only 10 months before the incident.