A $293-million investment
announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood means that residents in
dozens of communities nationwide will soon enjoy major transit improvements, including
new streetcars, buses and transit facilities.
The long-running commercial
rail saga in North Charleston, S.C., has taken another turn, and a resolution
could finally be in sight, the South Carolina Business Journal reports. The
Business Journal has learned that the city has drafted a memorandum of
understanding with development firm Shipyard Creek Associates and railroad
operator CSX Transportation that, if approved by City Council, would eliminate
rail service to the former Navy base from the north in favor of a new southern
line.
City Council will be
presented with the memorandum during its 7 p.m. meeting July 8.
A southern line would
satisfy a 2002 memorandum of understanding penned by North Charleston and the
S.C. State Ports Authority in which the SPA agreed to "use rail access
exclusively from the south end of the property." That document has been a
source of contention among city leaders, who backed the agreement, and state
officials, who claim the memorandum didn’t pertain to them.
Under the latest proposal,
CSXT would abandon rights of way from a to-be-determined point between Clement
Avenue and Viaduct Road northward to just past the intersection at Braddock
Road. In return, North Charleston would assist CSXT in acquiring city-owned
property making up the new route. North Charleston would also pay CSXT between
$3 million and $5 million in tax-increment financing revenue for the old rights
of way.
Shipyard Creek Associates,
meanwhile, would move ahead with construction of an intermodal facility on its
Macalloy property, a project it’s been pitching for years. That Macalloy site
is located practically adjacent to the container terminal being constructed by
the State Ports Authority on the former Navy base and would serve as a rail
yard for CSXT.
In the past, officials from
the state and CSXT’s chief rival, Norfolk Southern, have claimed that such an
arrangement would be unfair. Those officials have trumpeted the need for dual
access to the port terminal and said that Norfolk Southern would be at
competitive disadvantage if it had to pay CSX for access to its tracks.
The threat of northern rail
access loomed, but North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey is now close to
vanquishing that possibility. He said that the proposed memorandum provides
dual access.
"Is it equal dual access?"
Summey said. "I don’t know if that’s available at any port."
The new plan relies heavily
on federal grant financing and the "existence of sufficient property tax
revenues to permit bonding against city TIF districts."
Summey said that a series
of federal grants over a period of several years would be needed to pay for the
project and that the parties involved will move ahead in seeking those funds if
the memorandum of understanding is approved.
Two years after officials
gathered in Mechanicsville, N.Y., to announce a $40-million "rail
logistics center," work on the project has yet to begin, the Albany
Times-Union reports. But that could soon change.
Kansas City Southern said
that the KCS board of directors elected Michael R. Haverty, currently chairman
and chief executive officer, to the position of executive chairman and elected
current president and chief operating officer, David L. Starling, to president
and chief executive officer, both effective August 1, 2010. Haverty will continue
to concentrate on the strategic direction of the company and oversee long-term
business decisions.
During the recession in the
early 2000s, U.S. freight railroads slashed spending and services. When
business revived, they were roundly criticized for bottlenecks and delays, The
Wall Street Journal reports. This time around, the railroads have continued to
spend heavily, plowing more than $20 billion into capital improvements to widen
tracks and tunnels, upgrade cars and engines and enhance their technology.
Coleman Young died a
dozen years ago. If the former Detroit mayor were with us today, he surely
would be delighted with news of a billion-dollar investment in Detroit’s
railroad infrastructure, the Port Huron Times Herald reports.
Pacific Harbor Line said
that M. D. "Mike" Stolzman, vice president, has been promoted to
president, succeeding Andrew C. Fox, who is promoted to managing director, a
newly created position. Otis Cliatt succeeds Stolzman.
CSX Transportation officials
told the Albany Times-Union editorial board June 23 that adding passenger
trains traveling 110 mph to CSX tracks would cut the amount of freight traffic
the railroad could handle.
America’s growing economy
moves more and more freight on rails and Ohio is increasingly one of the
critical links to keep those goods rolling. Already nearing completion of its
Heartland Corridor between Chicago, Columbus and the Port of Norfolk, Va.,
Norfolk Southern is extending the corridor’s reach to Cincinnati.
At its regular meeting
June 22, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Board considered several
resolutions, including:
• Authorizing a $140,000
change to the design of the Buckeye-Woodhill light-rail station. The new design
will offer a canopy and a series of ramps on each side of the tracks, instead
of elevators/escalators. RTA will also look at the cost of heated sidewalks, to
keep the ramps safe in snow and ice.
• Authorizing agreements with the City of Cleveland
that will allow federal funds to flow through RTA to the City of Cleveland to
plan an intermodal transportation facility on the Lakefront, near Dock 32.
It’s a 2.4-mile Metrorail
extension that will take the stress out of getting to and from Miami
International Airport. And with less than two years to go before its scheduled
spring 2012 opening, the project now has an official new name. Formerly known
as the Miami Intermodal Center-Earlington Heights Connector, Miami-Dade Transit
(MDT) is pleased to reintroduce the project as the AirportLink.
A lousy economy and lack of interest have forced the West Virginia Public Port Authority to postpone plans for the Prichard Intermodal Terminal, the Associated Press reports.
George Duggan will be joining the Coal Marketing Team as vice president, succeeding Sami Shalah, who is retiring in August. Duggan will report to Steve Bobb, group vice president, Coal.
Katie Farmer will be joining the Consumer Products team as vice president, Domestic Intermodal, succeeding George Duggan. Farmer will report to Steve Branscum, group vice president, Consumer Products.
Tom G. Williams has been named vice president, Industrial Products Sales, succeeding Katie Farmer. Williams will report to Dave Garin, group vice president, Industrial Products.
The governments of Canada
and Ontario and the City of Toronto officially kicked off the start of
construction to revitalize Union Station and strengthen its position as
Canada’s premier inter-regional and intermodal transportation hub.
Florida East Coast Railway named
James Hertwig president and CEO of the company effective July 1, 2010. Hertwig is an accomplished expert in
intermodal transportation and is highly respected throughout the industry. He
has been president and CEO of Carolina Freight Carriers Corporation, president
of Landstar Logistics, Inc., and most recently president of CSX Intermodal.
The North Carolina
Department of Transportation’s Rail Division has applied for federal planning
funds that would allow for the expansion of intercity passenger rail service to
the western and southeastern parts of the state.
Graham Construction
Services, Inc., is working on several transit projects that will transform
Minnesota’s commuter landscape. These include Graham’s activities on the
Central Corridor Light Rail Transit (CCLRT) Advanced Traffic Improvements
project and on the 4th Street Advanced Utility Construction project. In
addition, the company has completed the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit line
extension to Target Field.
Noise from the operation of
Norfolk Southern’s railroad hub in McCalla, Ala., would have no impact on an
adjacent elementary school or many of the surrounding homes and only a minimal
impact on other homes, an expert said May 25, according to The Birmingham News.
Seneca Group LLC has been
awarded a contract by the United States Trade and Development Agency to perform
a Definitional Mission to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to work with government
officials to develop projects in the railway sector that will generate U.S.
exports.
Stretching nearly four
miles from east to west, the rail hub near North Baltimore will be largest CSX Transportation
site for the shuffling of rail containers, the Sun Sentinel reports. Wood and
Henry County officials took a tour of the sprawling site sitting on 500 acres
running on the north side of Ohio 18, just outside North Baltimore.
