Amtrak is being recognized by the Transportation Security Administration for earning the agency’s Gold Standard on the railroad’s most recent Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancements (BASE). This designation recognizes Amtrak’s dedication to building a strong security program.
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle presented a proposed solution to further strengthen the financial plan of Honolulu’s rail project, remain on target for its successful completion and obtain full funding in the amount of $1.55 billion from the federal government.
The Federal Transit Administration has accepted the Honolulu rail transit project into Final Design, the final phase of the project’s development before executing a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the FTA.
The Chicago Transit Authority eliminated more than 200 positions as part of its continuing efforts to drive efficiencies as it prepares to release its 2012 budget. The agency also revised its sick and vacation policies, moves that will save the financially troubled agency tens of millions of dollars.
The personnel cuts will save the CTA approximately $22 million annually at a time when the agency is facing a $277 million deficit, while the sick and vacation leave policy changes will save the agency an estimated $15 million over the next six years.
"Following Mayor Emanuel’s leadership, we have continued to make the CTA more efficient by eliminating unnecessary and duplicative positions, while creating sound and reasonable sick and vacation leave policies," CTA President Forrest Claypool said. "As the CTA prepares to close one of its worst budget deficits in recent memory, it is incumbent upon us to find ways to do more with less."
The 200 positions include the positions that were eliminated in July 2011 and include a mix of layoffs and vacancy eliminations. About two-thirds of the new cuts will come from filled positions. As part of these cuts, a number of senior-level positions have been eliminated, including vice-presidents, general managers and directors.
The CTA now has a lean management structure, with an average of 21 front-line staffers for every manager. In addition, the CTA now has the smallest number of employees in its history, with 25 percent fewer employees than a decade ago.
About 70 percent of the CTA’s budget goes to labor costs and 91 percent of the labor force is unionized. The CTA’s union contracts expire at the end of the year and are up for renegotiation.
"Amid a deep and continuing recession, these changes will make the CTA more efficient and still provide fair and reasonable policies for our employees," Claypool said. "I also look forward to working with our labor leaders to find common sense, rational and fair solutions that reduce our labor costs while providing stable employment for their members. It is time for everyone to step up so we can put CTA on solid financial ground."
The Federal Transit Administration has granted approval to begin preliminary engineering on the Southwest Corridor light-rail transit project in Minnesota.
FTA approval represents a significant step toward winning federal matching funds and building the 15-mile LRT line between downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. Projected ridership on the corridor is nearly 30,000 riders each weekday by 2030, comparable to current ridership on Hiawatha LRT.
"What this means in the eyes of the FTA is that we have a sound and viable project that will create jobs and benefit employers, as well as those who live and work near the transitway," said Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh. "We have the confidence of the federal government, in addition to all the local partners, that we have a project that meets the standards for moving forward amid all the projects standing in line for federal transportation dollars. The FTA’s blessing is a very good sign."
During preliminary engineering, the Council and project partners will finalize plans for station placement and design, refine the estimates of project costs, benefits and impacts, finalize management plans and identify and fully commit local funding sources. The PE process will take about two years and complete about 30 percent of the design work.
If the project ultimately receives FTA approval to enter final design and obtains federal funding, construction of the line will begin in 2014 and operations in late 2017/2018. The corridor will pass through the cities of Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park and link with the Central Corridor line in Minneapolis, becoming the 26-mile Green LRT Line.
The proposed LRT line is part of the Council’s 2030 long-range plan for a network of rail and bus "transitways" to serve heavily traveled corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. These transit investments are intended to improve mobility, build transit ridership, slow the growth in traffic congestion and provide opportunities for housing, job and economic development along transportation corridors.
"This is a tremendous announcement as the competition for federal resources is fierce. Having Southwest LRT make the cut is incredibly important to our future economic development," said Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Klingel.
As currently proposed, the $1.25 billion line would have 17 new stations and provide a link to three other rail corridors at the Target Field Station in Minneapolis, including Hiawatha, Central Corridor and Northstar.
Revenue from the General Excise and Use Tax (GET) surcharge targeted for Honolulu’s rail transit project has come in higher than what was projected in the endeavor’s most recent financial plan.
The GET revenue for the final quarter of fiscal year 2011 came in at $49.8 million, totaling $179 million, nine percent higher for the fiscal year, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials reported in its board of directors meeting. The latest figures put the total GET surcharge collections to date at $715 million, $15 million more than projected.
"The overall total bid costs to date are actually below the project’s financial estimates. With 40 percent of the costs known, the project remains on a sound financial footing," said HART Finance Committee Chairman Don Horner.
An Amtrak video depicting the importance of railroad safety has been recognized by two independent awards programs for creative excellence. The film, Cheating Death, received two Silver Communicator Awards from The International Academy of Visual Arts and two Bronze Telly Awards in the categories of Public Safety and Video Editing.
The film, designed to warn teen drivers of the dangers and consequences of failing to obey highway-rail grade-crossing signals was developed in response to several grade-crossing deaths of teenagers in Lakeland, Fla. It is produced in a style that captures the attention of a younger audience by incorporating fast paced editing techniques, music, re-enactments, actual news footage and natural sound to deliver the key messaging. The film includes interviews with police, medical professionals and family members of teenagers who died as a result of not obeying crossing signals. At 12 minutes in length, the film is a grim reminder of the importance of railroad safety.
Cheating Death will be used as a training tool both internally for Amtrak personnel and externally for state driver’s education associations, school groups, civic organizations and transit agencies. In addition, more than 1,100 copies of the film have been distributed to Operation Lifesaver, a national organization dedicated to preventing railroad-related deaths and injuries.
The Telly Awards are judged by a panel of more than 500 industry leaders and this year’s winners were selected from a pool of nearly 11,000 entries.
The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive audio.
Cheating Death was produced by the Amtrak Police Department, Donnabrant Productions and DogHouse Media.
MTA New York City Transit will soon begin the final phase of a major $89 million construction project to renovate five stations on the Pelham 6 line: Whitlock Avenue, Elder Avenue, Morrison Avenue-Soundview, St., Lawrence Avenue and Parkchester.
The final two stations to close for rehab are Elder Avenue and St. Lawrence Avenue. In order to accomplish this work within a safe environment, both stations will be closed for eight months beginning Monday, February 28. The 6 train will skip these stations in both directions. Local bus routes which operate along Westchester Avenue, will provide alternate service and connections to nearby stations.
The FTA has issued a Record of Decision for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, confirming that the project has met all the requirements of the environmental review process and clearing the way for construction to begin on Honolulu’s first rail system.
FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff presented the ROD to Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and Toru Hamayasu, general manager for the City’s Rapid Transit Division, at FTA offices in Washington, D.C.
“This is one of the most significant milestones for the rail project,” Carlisle said. “We will soon be able to provide residents with a sensible alternative to our congested roads and highways and improve their overall quality of life. Rail transit construction will also create thousands of jobs and fuel our state’s economy – it’s time to get those shovels in the ground.”
“Today marks an important milestone in Oahu’s quest to become a more transit-friendly island,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. “With the completion of the National Environmental Policy Act process, the City of Honolulu has met all of the laws and regulations of the environmental review and we look forward to the day when Honolulu’s citizens can ride the rails in comfort, breathe cleaner air and avoid getting stuck in time-wasting traffic jams.”
Carlisle said he was pleased to have the FTA’s approval. “This is a huge accomplishment and reflects the strong confidence the FTA has in this project. Our transit team has worked closely with FTA throughout the process and this shows that our plan is sound and our project is on solid footing.”
The $5.5 billion transit project is a 20-mile elevated rail system connecting East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center. It includes 21 stations in communities including Waipahu, Pearl City, Aiea, Kalihi, Chinatown, Downtown Honolulu and Kakaako. There will also be stations at activity centers such as UH-West Oahu, Leeward Community College, Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu International Airport and Honolulu Community College.
The City has already secured a construction contract for the first phase of the elevated rail guideway from East Kapolei to Pearl City. A second contract for the train storage and maintenance facility in Waipahu is expected to be executed shortly. The city is scheduled to award two more major contracts this year for the second phase of the rail route from Pearl City to Aloha Stadium and for the “core systems,” which consists of the train vehicles and the control center for the rail system.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie put forward a transportation capital plan for the next five years that will improve critical infrastructure throughout N.J. and begin to end the state’s long over reliance on debt to finance transportation projects.
The plan is consistent with the Governor’s commitment to putting N.J. on strong fiscal footing, which is why the plan is centered on responsible funding practices and prudent debt management. The Christie Transportation Capital Plan decreases borrowing while increasing "pay as you go" cash funding of transportation projects in each of the next five years. The plan does not call for any new or increased taxes.
"Today, we are continuing to put N.J. on the path towards fiscal health and proposing a sensible and responsible plan that prioritizes vital transportation projects, while limiting the already-heavy debt burden carried by the taxpayers of our state," said Governor Christie. "After years of mismanagement and the failure to soundly plan for New Jersey’s transportation future, we were left with an unacceptable situation – a system teetering on the edge of failure, without the ability to fund a basic, core function of government. Today, we begin to end that practice by putting forward a Transportation Capital Plan that meets our infrastructure needs and responsibly manages the debt incurred by taxpayers.
"Most importantly, ensuring these critical transportation projects move forward will create thousands of Jersey jobs. By responsibly investing in projects over the next five years we’re putting New Jerseyans to work now and in the future," continued Governor Christie.
The Christie Plan over five years consists of cash contributions from the General Fund and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, bonding and $1.8 billion in projects requested by the Governor to be undertaken by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in conjunction with the State Department of Transportation. As a result, the State will be able to provide $1.6 billion each year for five years for much-needed transportation projects, including $672 million for N.J. Transit capital needs and $200 million per year for local government projects.
"As we have learned with so many other issues in N.J., our most pressing challenges simply will not fix themselves," concluded Governor Christie. "Just as we will not simply drift by chance into balanced budgets or stumble into a less costly, more efficient government, transportation investment in N.J. requires discipline and careful planning to meet our needs in a realistic and fiscally responsible manner. The plan outlined today meets these challenges and ensures that the state will succeed where prior funding schemes have failed."
The former plan, which is about to expire, began in Fiscal Year 2007 and provided $8 billion ($1.6 billion per year) for transportation projects, including $200 million per year for local government projects. This plan relied on a stable $895 million annual General Fund appropriation that became almost entirely devoted to making debt payments, instead of funding current transportation needs. Ultimately, the only way to continue paying for projects was for the state to incur debt. As a result, the former plan allowed the fund to run dry, while nearly all the money spent on current projects was borrowed.
Over the plan’s five year period, the Christie Plan provides almost 37 percent "pay as you go" funding in contrast to the former plan’s five-year PAYGO composition of 10.6 percent.
Fort Worth & Western
Railroad said that Steven George would retire in the first quarter of 2011 as
president and chief executive officer of the Fort Worth-based 276-mile regional
railroad. Succeeding him will be Thomas Schlosser, former chief executive
officer of Global Rail Systems, Inc., Marlin, Texas, and chairman of the
American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association from 2007 to 2010.
October has special
significance for the International Right of Way Association (IRWA), whose 10,000
members play a vital role in advancing the nation’s transportation, water and
energy infrastructure projects. October is International Right of Way Month,
and in acknowledging the industry’s role in bringing essential infrastructure
projects to life, IRWA launched a Project of the Year Competition.
Proponents of the $8.7-billion
trans-Hudson rail tunnel warned the 30-day suspension imposed on the massive
project could put its federal funding at risk, the Newark Star Ledger reports. At
the same time, some voiced concerns the project might be deliberately
sacrificed to pay for the nearly bankrupt New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund,
which supports state road and rail improvements – including the tunnel.
Steel on steel plus speed
equals noise. No doubt about it – sometimes a ride on BART can be noisy. If you’ve
ever tried to hold a conversation going through the Transbay Tube, you know it
can be difficult to hear.
When the idea of an
Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville high-speed train route was talked about publicly
two years ago, proponents contended it should be given serious consideration, according
to an editorial in the Nashville Tennessean. A $1-million feasibility study
that had recently been conducted on the Nashville-to-Chattanooga leg showed the
project to be doable, but that it would cost an estimated $5.4 billion in
public and private dollars.
(The following column by
Michael Dresser appeared on The Baltimore Sun Website on August 9, 2010.) Baltimore
received a relatively gentle reminder last week of some unfinished business
that it can ill afford to ignore. A CSX Transportation freight train derailed
last Thursday in the Howard Street tunnel, the scene of the nearly disastrous
July 18, 2001, derailment and fire that paralyzed much of downtown for a week.
Thirteen cars of a 79-car train left the tracks – 11 of them in the tunnel
under Howard Street and two outside the portal at Mount Royal Avenue.
You get history by the
earful when you ride around Raleigh with railroaders. And a little prehistory,
too, the News & Observer reports.
(OneRail Coalition sent he
following letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee to support more funding
for railroads and rail transit.) As the Subcommittee prepares to mark up
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011, the OneRail Coalition urges a balanced
approach including equivalent growth in public investment for rail
infrastructure as well as highways and transit.
The San Diego City
Council has approved what will be among the nation’s largest quiet zones,
entailing $20.9 million in spending to improve downtown railroad crossings and
prevent freight trains from blaring their horns at all hours, local media
report. Downtown residents, developers and business operators have decried
late-night train noise for the past decade, saying it lowers the quality of
life, hurts property values and detracts from downtown enhancement efforts.
