Search Results for: infrastructure

New VIA Rail station for Cobourg, Ontario






At a ceremony in Cobourg,
Ontario, Northumberland-Quinte West MP Rick Norlock, Mayor Peter Delanty and
John Marginson, VIA Rail Canada’s Chief Operating Officer, said VIA plans a new
station with improved and expanded facilities. VIA estimates that it will
invest as much as C$7 million for the new station and related improvements from
recent capital funding for VIA announced by the Government of Canada. C$1
million of the project’s cost will come from the government’s Economic Action
Plan.







New UP siding under construction in Missouri






The Union Pacific sidetrack
is under construction west of California, Mo., in the vicinity of Elkhorn
Crossing, the California Democrat reports. When completed in December 2009, the
9,000-foot rail side track will allow two trains to pass, adding capacity and
reducing delays for both rail freight shipments and the Amtrak Missouri River
Runner trains between Kansas City and St. Louis.

MTA Metro-North renews study of Penn Station access






MTA Metro-North Railroad
is streamlining its study of how best to provide direct train service from its
New Haven and Hudson lines into Penn Station in New York City via the east
Bronx and Manhattan’s West Side. An environmental review began a decade ago
with the intent of developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a
"Preferred Alternative" pursuant to the National Environmental
Protection Act. Through two screening processes, an initial list of 22 service
alternatives was narrowed to four "Build" alternatives, two
alternatives for Hudson Line service to Penn Station and two alternatives for
New Haven Line service to Penn Station.

Maine city pins hopes on N.B. rail link






The coastal city of
Eastport, Me., sees its future economic prosperity linked to a 30-kilometre (18.6-mile)
railway connection leading to the Canadian border at St. Stephen, N.B., the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Maine city needs a railway to
carry cargo to and from its deep-water port to other markets in Canada and the
United States.

UP, officials “break ground” on Joliet, Ill., IM facility











Union Pacific’s new Joliet, Ill., Intermodal Terminal will
support customer growth by increasing the railroad’s international and domestic
container capacity and improving rail traffic efficiencies in Chicago, the
nation’s largest rail center. Once on line, customers from across Union
Pacific’s network will benefit from Joliet’s annual capacity of 500,000
ocean-going containers. Officials and customers gathered Sept. 3 to celebrate
the construction commencement of Union Pacific’s nearly $370 million, 785-acre
Joliet Intermodal Terminal and CenterPoint Intermodal Center – Joliet, a
3,900-acre state-of-the-art integrated logistics center.

Dignitaries get close up look at new Montana rail line, mine






After an investment of
$408 million and a year of rapid construction, the first coal train will leave
the Signal Peak Energy Mine near Roundup, Mont., next week, carrying the first
load of low-sulfur Montana coal east to an Ohio utility, the Billings Gazette
reports. A new railroad junction near Broadview and the mine site south of
Roundup were officially dedicated Sept. 2 by top executives from BNSF;
FirstEnergy, an Ohio utility; the Boich Group of Ohio; Signal Peak Energy; and
a corral of Montana politicians, including Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

BNSF’s new Memphis yard to lift cargo, economy






If a seaport were built on
dry land, it would look a lot like Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad’s new
Memphis intermodal facility, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Giant
cranes loom over vast expanses of tracks, roads and parking, soon to be piled
high with oceangoing shipping containers.

Outremont Rail Yard redevelopment to proceed

The governments of Canada and Quebec gave the green light to the rehabilitation and development of the Outremont rail yards in Montreal. The total estimate of the project is C$120 million (US$117,016,080). The Government of Canada has earmarked up to C$30 million (US$29,254,020) for the project from the major Infrastructure component of the Building Canada Fund. The province will provide a further C$30 million (US$29,254,020), while Montreal will contribute C$60 million (US$58,508,040). Federal funding will be granted on condition that the project satisfies all federal eligibility requirements for the Building Canada Fund and that the Government of Quebec signs a contribution agreement.

Houston seeks to unclog rail traffic






Before highways, there were
railroads – Houston’s first circulatory system. Civic boosters bragged in the
1920s that Houston was the place "where 17 railroads meet the sea." The trains
hauled cotton and grain. Downtown had three passenger stations, the Houston Chronicle
reports.

Government of Canada, VIA Rail plan new station for Belleville






At a ceremony in
Belleville, Ontario, Prince Edward-Hastings MP Daryl Kramp, Mayor Neil Ellis
and Pierre Santoni, VIA Rail Canada’s Senior Director, National Sales,
announced VIA’s plans for a new station with improved and expanded facilities.
VIA estimates that it will invest as much as C$7 million for the new station
and related improvements from recent capital funding for VIA announced by the
Government of Canada. C$2.5 million of the project’s cost will come from the
government’s Economic Action Plan.



FTA releases stimulus funding to Miami-Dade Transit


The Federal Transit
Administration released $64.5 million in federal stimulus funds to Miami-Dade
Transit for Metrorail and Metromover facility upgrades, the purchase of hybrid
buses and other significant infrastructure projects for the transit system.

Secretary LaHood announces $189.8 million for transit

Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood announced that 13 grants totaling $189.8 million in Recovery Act
funds will go to improve state and local transit systems in the United States
while supporting the creation of jobs and providing much needed transportation
options for millions.

 

Illinois encourages development along rail lines Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says Illinois must do what

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn
says Illinois must do what it can to attract jobs to the state, so he signed a
measure encouraging business development along freight rail systems, the
Chicago Tribune reports. A new rail transportation hub is intended for the
Chicago suburb of Joliet and the measure will set aside some state taxes
connected to new jobs created at the facility. The company operating the hub,
CenterPoint Properties, can then get some of that money for infrastructure
improvement, according to the governor’s office.


Final Applications for Track 1, 3 and 4 Submitted

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted 42
applications for $1.1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding
available through the federal High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program,
under which states compete for $8 billion in funding designated for intercity
and high speed rail. Federal applications for Track 1, 3 and 4 require focus on
improvements to existing passenger rail services for job creation purposes. In
adherence to these federal requirements, California’s Track 1, 3 and 4
applications focus on improvements to existing passenger rail lines, including
the integration of high-speed rail with intercity passenger service. The
federal government’s Track 2 application focuses on high-speed rail and is due
on October 2, 2009.

CN to fix Hafenrichter Road crossing

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.

FRA chief: passenger grants to benefit freight

The first state
applications for "shovel-ready" passenger rail projects are due into the
Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 24, and FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo
thinks some of the federal grants to follow will need to help freight lines get
ready for more and faster passenger trains, reports The Journal of Commerce.

VW building Tennessee rail terminal

Chattanooga-made
Volkswagens just off the assembly line and ready for shipment countrywide will
start their journey at a state-of-the-art terminal unrivaled in the industry, a
consultant told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The terminal will be served
by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern.

Vital rail line gets one-year reprieve

Looking forward to
possible economic development in the South County, the Lassen County, Calif.,
Board of Supervisors, Union Pacific and Lassen Valley Railway, an affiliate of
V&S Railways, reached an agreement that will save the Wendel/Flanigan rail
line-a piece of infrastructure that could prove invaluable in the future-for at
least one year, the Lassen Valey Times reports. Union Pacific, the current owner of the 21.77 miles of rail
line, abandoned it in 2007, and planned to sell it for salvage and dispose of
the property.