Meridian Speedway, LLC (MSLLC), a joint venture between Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Norfolk Southern (NS) for a 320-mile rail line between Meridian, Miss. and Shreveport, La., will invest approximately $28 million in 2016 on construction and improvement projects on its Vicksburg and Meridian Subdivisions.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on June 2, 2016, signed the FY 2017 Transportation Bill, which approves approximately $612.6 million in infrastructure improvements, including $33.4 million for rail. The bill includes an overhaul of the trespassing regulations to improve safety on Vermont’s rail lines.
Metra has laid out plans to begin infrastructure improvements to its stations, track, bridges and road crossings this year to ensure safe and reliable service and maintain a state of good repair systemwide. Construction work is expected to begin this week and continue through the fall, weather permitting.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a $1.5 million grant to California to fund the design of a bridge which will carry vehicular traffic on Rice Avenue over railroad tracks in Oxnard. Currently, the Union Pacific tracks, which Metrolink, Amtrak and freight trains utilize, intersect with Rice Avenue.
Chicago’s Metra will conduct Operation Lifesaver Safety Blitzes at 45 train stations across the six-county region in 2016 as part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the importance of safe behavior around its trains and tracks.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded nearly $10 million in grants for nine projects in eight states to upgrade and increase the safety of railroad crossings along energy routes.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has introduced a jobs bill that would invest $1.4 billion in infrastructure projects statewide, creating an estimated 39,900 Minnesota jobs.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has identified California Rail Builders as the apparent best value proposer for the design-build services contract for Construction Package 4, the next segment of construction through the counties of Tulare and Kern and the cities of Wasco and Shafter.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled on Jan. 5, 2016 the second signature proposal of his 2016 agenda: a comprehensive plan to transform and expand vital infrastructure downstate and make critical investments in the region, including a major expansion and improvement project that would increase service on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) between Floral Park and Hicksville. Cuomo outlined these initiatives at an event in Nassau County, where Long Island Association President Kevin Law, MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast and LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski joined him.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Metro-North Railroad has detailed its latest results of a systemwide track reconstruction effort that has rebuilt miles of the railroad in the past two and a half years, delivering smoother, safer and more reliable service to customers.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s (TSB) investigation into the September 2013 collision between an OC Transpo bus and a VIA Rail train in Ottawa, Ontario, identified numerous contributory factors including company practices, work-related driving distractions, speed, the configuration of the Transitway and bus crashworthiness.
VIA Rail Canada has acquired the Brockville Subdivision, consisting of 45 kilometers (28 miles) of single track between Smiths Falls and Brockville in Ontario.
Union Pacific‘s new Kinney County Railport in Kinney County, Texas, opened Nov. 3.
More than $3 million has been granted for needed improvements to shortline railroads in Kentucky. The projects include public safety improvements to at-grade railroad crossings, railroad bridge overpasses and upgrades of railroad crossing warning signals, lights, signs and barriers.
Elected officials sounded their victory horns as the notification process of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) VII awards began.
The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority and its contractor marked the substantial completion of the Pasadena, Calif., to Azusa, Calif., segment. The construction authority said the $1-billion project is on budget and on time with passenger service expected to begin in the spring of 2016.
