CTA sees decline in trespassing one year after safety campaign launch

One year after launching a campaign focused on rail-customer safety, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has seen a nearly 17 percent drop in the number of reports of people trespassing on CTA railroad tracks.

LACMTA shuts down Long Beach Loop for light rail reconstruction

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) long-planned $1.2 billion overhaul of the Blue Line will focus on the downtown Long Beach loop of the light-rail system, with a 30-day shutdown that began September 20, 2014.

Gannett Fleming names King vice president

Brian W. King, PE, has been named a vice president with Gannett Fleming. Based in the firm’s corporate headquarters in Harrisburg, Penn., King serves as a manager of maintenance facilities in the Transit and Rail Section.

NJ Transit, PANYNJ receive $1.5 billion in federal funds for Sandy Resiliency work

A combined $1.5 billion in Sandy resiliency grants to repair and fortify New Jersey’s transit system has been awarded to New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

Operation Lifesaver awards 11 grants to transit agencies for “See Tracks? Think Train!” campaigns

Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), is awarding $162,500 in grant funds for public awareness and safety education projects involving 11 transit agencies across the United States.

SEPTA readies for bridge and viaduct rehabilitation project

Beginning September 20, 2014 and continuing each weekend through November 23, 2014, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and third-party contractors will replace bridge timbers and make structural improvements to the Cobbs Creek and Darby Creek Viaducts along its Media/Elwyn regional line in Delaware.

Senate Commerce Committee passes STB reauthorization act; PRRIA passes House T&I Committee

Two pieces of rail-related legislation have progressed on opposite sides of the hill.

AAR: STB reauthorization bill could thwart railroads’ ability to invest in expansion projects

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is expressing concerns over the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Bill (S.2777), scheduled to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.

WSDOT, FRA complete Kelso Martin’s Bluff Rail Project environmental study

The Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently completed the environmental study of the Kelso Martin’s Bluff Rail Project in Washington state, which would provide more frequent and reliable service for Amtrak Cascades passengers between Seattle and Portland.

M-1 Rail holds track signing event, unveils station sponsors

United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx joined local, state and federal government officials, private donors and the Detroit community at a track signing ceremony where he formally announced $12.2-million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funding for the M-1 Rail project. All of the streetcar project donors were recognized, including the two newest: Ford Motor Company and DTE Energy.

NYCT completes Montague Tube Sandy recovery work

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) marked the restoration of normal R subway service September 15 between Brooklyn and Manhattan with the successful completion of the Montague Tube subway tunnel that was damaged during Superstorm Standy.

Metro-North begins bridge cable replacement project

Starting September 15, crews will begin work at the Harlem River Lift Bridge in New York to replace 60-year-old cables that lift the bridge and install all new electrical components designed to increase their resiliency to potential storm surge flooding.

Additional TIGER grants announced in six states and District of Columbia

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $53.7 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants that will help rail projects in six states and District of Columbia.

NJ Transit names deputy executive director; acting VP/GM of rail operations

The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors has appointed Neil Yellin as the agency’s new deputy executive director and Robert Lavell as vice president and general manager of NJ Transit Rail Operations.

Rail-related projects in eight states receive TIGER awards

Several rail-related projects across eight states will benefit from close to $90 million million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.

M-1 Rail begins welding track; receives TIGER grant

The M-1 Rail streetcar project in Detroit, Mich., has set up an assembly line near Cass Avenue to weld steel rail into about forty 560-foot-long strings of continuously welded rail (CWR).

Metro-North completes Cos Cob switching rebuild ahead of schedule

Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Metro-North Railroad employees have successfully rebuilt a switching control house in Cos Cob, Conn.

Union Pacific plans rail replacement project near Chicago

Union Pacific will begin a major rail replacement project September 15 on its West Line, which serves freight and Metra passenger trains in Illinois.

California agencies kick off rail safety month

Metrolink, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and Operation Lifesaver Inc., launched a combined safety campaign September 4 of “See Tracks? Think Train!” to honor Rail Safety Awareness month in California.

Clarksville to Nashville passenger rail service to be studied

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Nashville, Tenn., has selected Parsons Brinkerhoff, Inc., to conduct a study of cost-effective transit improvements to serve the Northwest area of Middle Tennessee, which will bring the state one step closer to having passenger rail service between Clarksville and Nashville.

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