TriMet’s MAX Green Line in
Portland, Ore., opened to the public on Saturday, September 12 and reached a
major milestone of connecting all three counties by light rail. TriMet’s fifth
MAX line extends from downtown Portland to Clackamas County. More than 40,000
trips were taken on the new Green Line on opening day.
The governing bodies of
the Consolidated Rail System Federation and the Nickel Plate – Wheeling &
Lake Erie Federation, of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division
finalized a merger between the two federations. The newly merged federation will
retain the name, Consolidated Rail System Federation.
The Illinois Commerce Commission has granted
approval for the installation of automatic
flashing light signals and gates at the Triumph Road grade crossing of Dakota
Minnesota & Eastern track near Leaf River, Ogle County. The total estimated cost to install the
new automatic warning devices is $162,363.
The Grade Crossing Protection Fund will be used to pay 95 percent of the warning device installation costs, not to exceed
$154,245. DM&E will pay all
remaining installation costs, as well as all future operating and maintenance
costs.
The look of Norfolk’s
light-rail starter line, scheduled to open in about a year, is starting to take
shape, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Stations have been designed. Electrical
poles and wires are going up. The pavement around embedded rail has been dyed
red.
Kansas City Southern is
promising action after receiving complaints from the Bossier City, La., Council
that its railroad crossings are damaging vehicles, according to local
newspapers.
Rail service between the
Blue Line’s Western/Milwaukee and Washington stations temporarily will be
suspended from 10 p.m. Friday, August 28 until 4 a.m. Monday, August 31 as work
continues in the Dearborn subway to reduce slow zones. In addition, a single
track will be in effect between the UIC-Halsted and LaSalle stations from
midnight until 2 a.m. on Monday, August 31. Eastbound customers at the UIC-Halsted, Clinton and LaSalle
stations must board and exit trains from the westbound side of the platform.
Canadian National plans
to repair the Hafenrichter Road crossing just southeast of Aurora, in
unincorporated Wheatland Township, local newspapers report. The crossing, which
lies along the suburban Elgin, Joliet and Eastern tracks, will be shut down for
four days next month, from Sept. 21 to 25.
Preliminary designs of
Norfolk Southern’s $112-million Alabama cargo-loading rail hub call for 15-foot
berms next to McAdory Elementary School and a 16-foot sound wall along the
access road behind the Sadler Ridge subdivision, the Birmingham News reports. The
design will be shown at a public meeting Norfolk Southern is holding at the
Bessemer Civic Center. Some residents of the area and parent of students at the
school are vehemently opposed to the project.
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.
Allen Jones has found out
that no matter how sophisticated the world is, working for the railroad still
requires the use of a sledgehammer and a switch broom, the Morning Sun of Blue
Springs, Mo., reports. These two hand tools are still the most frequently used
implements when doing track work. The sledgehammer, of course, is for driving
steel, pushing rails wider and setting flags. The switch broom has a hoe-like
end for removing rocks from between the rails at railroad switches. The broom
end of this tool is used to sweep dirt, leaves and snow from between the rails.
”I would like to clarify
and correct some information contained in a Washington Post article entitled “Metro
Safety System Failed in Near Miss Before June Crash.” However before doing so,
I want to assure the public that our Metrorail system is safe and to let you
know that I personally continue to use it regularly,” said Alexa Dupigny-Samuels,
chief safety officer for the Washington, D.C., Metro.
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.
Keokuk Junction Railway Co. doesn’t necessarily want to own the swing-span railroad bridge between Keokuk and Hamilton, Ill., but that may be the best solution for all parties involved, according to company President Mike Carr, the Burlington Hawkeye reports.
"We really aren’t too excited about owning it," Carr said. "I’m not even sure I want to own it. But I think in the long run, it’s going to be best for the city and us if we do. We don’t want to buy it for money. We want them just to give it to us."
A controlling majority of Keokuk Junction Railway stock is owned by Peoria, Ill.,-based Pioneer Railcorp.
The Keokuk City Council kicked around the idea of selling the bridge for years. But the idea began to get more attention last month after the council proposed raising the cost of using the bridge. The council proposed raising the fee for the next three years from $16.67 a car to $19.67 per car and charging a second fee of $50 an hour for the time a city employee operates the bridge.
Keokuk Junction Railway, the only rail company that uses the bridge, rejected the initial proposal. But the two parties have come to tentative agreement of a single fee of $20.76 per car for a year. The council is expected to vote on raising the rate raise, which must be done by ordinance, later this month.
As part of the agreement, city officials pledged to make a concerted effort to determine whether the council would agree to sell the bridge and to explore questions that need answering before the bridge can be sold, Mayor David Gudgel said. Gudgel, who didn’t rule out the possibility of simply giving the bridge to the railroad, said It could be years yet before the city gets all its questions answered and is ready to divest itself of the bridge.
Carr points out the rate increases are passed directly to the two customers it has in Keokuk — Roquette America Inc. and Griffin Wheel.
"We can maintain the bridge cheaper and more effectively, more efficiently than the city can. And that is the bottom line. … Those bridge fees get passed on directly to those customers that use rail. We’ll be able to keep the costs down for them, our customers. Which in turn helps them, which in turn helps the city of Keokuk," Carr said.
The current rate simply isn’t enough to pay for bridge maintenance and employees who have to operate it, Gudgel said. Officials hope with the rate increase, the bridge will be able to pay for itself. The city spends at least $500,000 annually on maintaining the bridge. Although in 2008, costs were closer to $1.2 million, partially due to damage done during flooding last summer, said Keokuk Public Works Director Gerald Moughler.
Giving up the bridge would mean no more maintenance costs, which should be payment enough for the city, Carr said.
Before the council is willing to part with the bridge, officials first plan to shop it around to see if any other companies would be interested in the structure, such as BNSF, the Southeast Iowa Regional Economic and Port Authority or Roquette.
Carr was less than enthusiastic about the idea of another company owning the bridge and pointed out no other company could use it because Keokuk Junction Railway owns the tracks on either side of the bridge.
There are at least two other issues needing resolved before the city sells the bridge:
• Determining what the city would do with the $3.7 million fund it has in case the bridge ever needs to be demolished.
• Forging a legally binding agreement to guarantee the new owner does not abandon the bridge.
Gudgel added that if bridge were no longer maintained, the new owner would be required to remove it.
"I’m telling them (the city council members) if you give us the bridge, transfer it to us, you guys can keep that money for demolishing the bridge and use it for whatever you want in the city. We’ll take care of that (bridge). Because the last thing we want to see is that bridge demolished," Carr said.
