Valley Metro in Phoenix, Ariz., awarded a contract to a joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and PGH Wong Engineering to provide program management/construction management services to support the planned expansion of the metro Phoenix high-capacity transit system.
By the end of 2012, Amtrak expects to more than triple the number of track-miles on its own railroad where Positive Train Control safety technology is installed.
The Virginia Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved an amended Senate budget, which will provide $300 million dollars in additional state funds to Phase 2 of the Metrorail to Dulles Project in northern Virginia.
Construction progress for three new Houston METRO light-rail lines is more than 45 percent complete and expected to end in time for 2014 service dates.
Valley Transit Constructors, a Kiewit/Mass Electric Joint Venture, was selected as the team that will continue designing and building the Valley Metro 3.1-mile Central Mesa light-rail extension in Arizona. Parsons Transportation Group, also part of the team, will serve as lead designer.
A motion by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority First Vice Chair, Supervisor Michael Antonovich, supporting the Antelope Valley Line Infrastructure Improvement Strategic Plan was unanimously approved by the LACMTA Board of Directors.
A regional agreement between the California High Speed Rail Authority and more than a half-dozen California Bay Area public agencies will fully fund the electrification and modernization of the Caltrain system, a long-planned, critically-needed improvement that will improve the service and help ensure the long-term viability of the commuter rail system.
Seattle-area Sound Transit tunneling contractors Traylor Kemper Frontier pushed through the wall into the Capitol Hill station site to complete a two-mile light-rail tunnel from the University of Washington. The 21-foot diameter tunnel boring machine emerged within three millimeters of its target as part of the University Link light rail expansion.
The Denver Colo., Regional Transportation District Board’s FasTracks Monitoring Committee endorsed the RTD staff’s hybrid option recommendation on how to proceed with the FasTracks Northwest Rail Line. The vote was 13 – 2 moving, the motion to the full RTD Board of Directors for a final decision will take place March 27.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police officers went on strike at 2:00 p.m., March 21.
While SEPTA management was hoping to negotiate a new contract without a strike, it has implemented a contingency plan to deal with this situation.
Florida East Coast Industries, Inc., is developing a privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail service to connect South Florida and Orlando, which will be operational in 2014.
Southern California’s Caltrain will conduct construction on the San Bruno Grade Seperation Project and perform maintenance at several locations.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released its Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report for the Westside Subway Extension Project.
Effective March 15, 2012, Norfolk Southern lowered the railroad operating speed limits on certain sections of the Michigan Line between Dearborn and Kalamazoo that handle both Amtrak’s passenger service and Norfolk Southern’s freight service. These lower speed limits, 25-30 mph, have been imposed to reflect the maximum safe operating speeds for the line, given the line’s condition.
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo visited the Port of Vancouver to review early construction work on a critical rail connection that will link the Port of Vancouver to BNSF Railway’s east-west mainline.
Recent Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority system ridership numbers show an increase in weekday boardings during January and February of 2012.
In January, Railway Age announced that it had named KCS president and CEO Dave Starling its 2012 Railroader of the Year.
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo visited King Street Station in Seattle, Wash., to celebrate the Pacific Northwest Passenger Rail Corridor construction project, which will help increase the station’s capacity while transforming it into a modern transit hub.