The Federal Railroad Administration has obligated $100,000 in response to an application from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to study the restoration of Amtrak passenger rail service between Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile.
In Westchester County, N.Y., County Executive Robert Astorino, Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef and Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell explained their intention to vote yes at the next New York Metropolitan Transportation Council meeting to include the new Tappan Zee Bridge project in the region’s long-range transportation plan.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority reached a three-year contract with the Amalgamated Transit Union, representing more than 2,300 bus and rail maintenance employees.
Caltrain’s San Bruno Grade Separation Project, which will enhance safety at three rail crossings in downtown San Bruno, Calif., is nearing the half-way mark. The supports and bridges for the $147 million public safety project are clearly visible, giving the public a clear idea of the size and scope of the grade separation.
Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia will mark the first birthday of The Tide light rail in Norfolk on Friday, August 17, with a celebration at the MacArthur Square station.
Dallas businessman James Adams is the newest member of the Board of Directors of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. He was appointed by the Dallas City Council.
Chicago Transit Authority ridership has continued its upward trend in the first six months of 2012, with June marking the 16th consecutive month of ridership increases.
The Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded Sound Transit $400,000 towards energy efficiency projects, including new lighting at the Federal Way, Auburn and Kent transit centers. The improvements covered by the grant will save more than an estimated $80,000 a year in utility and operations costs and allow the agency to leverage an additional $175,000 in utility rebates.
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas (METRO) and contractor Houston Rapid Transit are blazing light-rail tracks on the North, East and Southeast lines and chilling 9,000 pounds of ice each day to make sure crews stay cool enough to work during the season’s high temperatures. The transit authority says maintaining safety on the new lines (scheduled to open in 2014) calls for expertise and coordination and Safety Coordinator Daniel Motley has plenty to offer. Motley comes to METRO with 30-plus years of experience, most recently in the mid-east as construction safety leader for one of the largest petro-chemical projects ever attempted. Today, he is in the field daily, checking on rail expansion crews and work conditions.
The Federal Transit Administration granted the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority a Record of Decision (ROD) for the $5.6 billion Westside Subway Extension,
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board Chairman Tom Nolan and Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin issued a statement on the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury Report, “Better Muni Service Needed, Without Switchbacks.”
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and United Transportation Union recently ratified four new collective bargaining agreements.
In an effort to reduce future expenses and avoid additional impacts to rail service, the Chicago Transit Board approved an amendment to the existing design/build contract for the North Red Line station improvement project.
Sound Transit in Seattle, Wash., has started rail and signal testing on more than eight miles of new track for its Sounder commuter rail extension to Lakewood.
You want to impress a railroad engineer with a piece of maintenance equipment? Make sure it’s versatile, reliable, as well as easy to maintain, to transport and to use. Above all else, it must be safe.
Ballast doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. For those outside of the industry, the flashy signals, rail and crossties are what railroad lines are made of.
The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program marked nine years of existence in June 2012.
Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval and Cicero Town President Larry Dominick joined Metra Acting Chairman Larry Huggins and Executive Director/CEO Alex Clifford on August 7 at a groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation of Metra’s Cicero Station on the BNSF Line.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said that pre-construction associated with the Central Subway tunnel will begin on August 13 in North Beach. The work involves relocating utility lines on a half-block section of Columbus Avenue between Union and Powell streets.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of a major upgrade of the Seattle Maintenance Facility in Washington State has been completed by Amtrak and its partners. The facilities support Amtrak operations and maintenance agreements in the Pacific Northwest for the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, Amtrak Cascades and Sounder commuter trains.