Peter Burling, chairman of
the Rail Transit Authority in New Hampshire, envisions a rail line running
between Boston and Concord, N.H., at speeds of up to 90 mph, the Concord
Monitor reports. The rail would carry Massachusetts shoppers to Nashua and
travelers to Manchester Airport. It would take sports fans to Celtics games and
workers to their jobs in Boston.
Preliminary designs of
Norfolk Southern’s $112-million Alabama cargo-loading rail hub call for 15-foot
berms next to McAdory Elementary School and a 16-foot sound wall along the
access road behind the Sadler Ridge subdivision, the Birmingham News reports. The
design will be shown at a public meeting Norfolk Southern is holding at the
Bessemer Civic Center. Some residents of the area and parent of students at the
school are vehemently opposed to the project.
Metrorail riders in the
Washington, D.C., area soon will be able to use four major cell phone providers
to make calls or access the Internet from 20 of Metro’s busiest underground
stations.
Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile began
installing hardware at designated Metrorail stations that will allow Metrorail
customers to make calls, send text messages or surf the Web from 20 stations
starting Friday, October 16.
The North Charleston, S.C.
feud with the CSX railroad line got a little hotter this week when an employee
cited during a sign-removal dispute last month apparently failed to show for
his court appearance, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. A bench warrant
was issued for a CSX employee who allegedly played a role in the railroad’s
attempt to remove a sign telling motorists where to direct complaints about
bumpy railroad crossings.
Looking forward to
possible economic development in the South County, the Lassen County, Calif.,
Board of Supervisors, Union Pacific and Lassen Valley Railway, an affiliate of
V&S Railways, reached an agreement that will save the Wendel/Flanigan rail
line-a piece of infrastructure that could prove invaluable in the future-for at
least one year, the Lassen Valey Times reports. Union Pacific, the current owner of the 21.77 miles of rail
line, abandoned it in 2007, and planned to sell it for salvage and dispose of
the property.
John Lanigan, BNSF’s
executive vice president and chief marketing officer, was a keynote speaker at
the groundbreaking of a new rail project to support Vancouver’s Port Terminal 5
expansion in the state of Washington, according to the company newsletter. A
crowd of more than 250 people made up of state and local officials, port and
transportation personnel and area residents attended the official
groundbreaking.
The sale of a Canadian
National Railroad line to shortline operator Grenada Railway, LLC, has had
local businesses and officials concerned about the future of the rail in Tate
County, Miss., The Democrat reports But after a report by Larry Hart, current
Water Valley mayor and a former railroad employee, things might be better than
they first seemed.
The New Jersey Department
of Transportation will be closing Sixth Street in Newark as construction
progresses on a project to replace the Third Street, Fifth Street, Sixth
Street, Seventh Street and Roseville Avenue bridge decks over the NJ TRANSIT
Morristown line in Newark, the Star Ledger reports.
The Société de transport
de Montréal informed clients that, after 11 weeks of renovations aimed at
extending the service life of its systems and installations, Charlevoix métro
station once again opened its doors on August 17, as planned.
Directors of Genesee and
Wyoming Inc., parent company of Huron Central Railway, have agreed to a
tentative deal that will keep the local railroad operating until August 14,
2010, SooToday.com reports. Sault Ste. Marie Mayor John Rowswell tells
SooToday.com that he has received confirmation of the ratification.
The Montreal, Maine &
Atlantic Railway said that it is taking steps to sell or abandon its tracks
between Millinocket and Madawaska, Maine, because they are no longer profitable
to maintain, according to the Bangor Daily News. The company is asking the
state to consider buying the tracks and maintaining them. If that were to
happen, the Maine Department of Transportation and the railway could work out a
deal so the company’s trains would use the rail lines without an interruption
in service.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed
Rendell is trying to land $47 million in federal aid to upgrade Harrisburg rail
freight facilities, the Harrisburg Patriot News reports. The money would help
Norfolk Southern add a third unloading track and install additional parking
spaces for trailers at the terminal along Industrial Road.
Where are all the trains? When
Canadian National Railway won federal approval to buy the EJ&E line for
$300 million in December, suburbs worried about the effects of heavy freight
traffic, the Plainfield, Ill., Sun reports.
Major U.S. freight
railroads and their advocates have argued for years that government investment
is needed in the country’s rail system to take freight off congested highways
and keep the economy moving, Reuters reports. But supporters say rail
investments have been largely ignored by Congress, suggesting political support
is lacking, despite warnings action must be taken sooner rather than later.
Sullivan City, Texas, Mayor
Rosendo Benavides traces his finger along a line on the map leading from Monterrey
to South Texas, The Monitor of McAllen, Texas, reports Abruptly, right before
it crosses the Rio Grande near his small town of 4,000, it jags straight east –
running near the river before heading into the United States near Brownsville. That
line – a Kansas City Southern railroad track that stops just across the river
from Sullivan City – offers the best chance his city has to secure an
international bridge, he said.
Allen Jones has found out
that no matter how sophisticated the world is, working for the railroad still
requires the use of a sledgehammer and a switch broom, the Morning Sun of Blue
Springs, Mo., reports. These two hand tools are still the most frequently used
implements when doing track work. The sledgehammer, of course, is for driving
steel, pushing rails wider and setting flags. The switch broom has a hoe-like
end for removing rocks from between the rails at railroad switches. The broom
end of this tool is used to sweep dirt, leaves and snow from between the rails.
An announcement will be
made August 13 as to whether a deal has been inked between Huron Central Rail
and its stakeholders to keep the rail line operational for at least another
year, the Sault Star reports. Meetings have been taking place throughout the
week with those stakeholders, including large users Essar Steel Algoma and
Domtar, the provincial and federal governments, municipalities, and the rail
line.
Joe Fratesi, the city’s
CAO, who chairs a committee to broker a deal between Huron Central Railway and
the interested parties, said he’s "encouraged" by the continuing
meetings.
"This all needs to
be pulled together by the end of the day Thursday," Fratesi said.
"Huron Central Rail has made it clear that there will be no extension of
the deadline that has been set and unless a deal is reached that it’s
comfortable with and concludes before the 15th, all things set in motion to
stop the line will continue."
Mayor John Rowswell said
the federal government has sweetened the pot with an offer to consider "at
great speed," a $1.5-million application to FedNor to contributed to a
short-term fix for the Sault-to-Sudbury line.
MPP David Orazietti said
earlier this week the province would be "supportive of considering
short-term financing," for the ailing railway to the tune of "several
million" dollars.
"Now, it’s a matter
of city council saving the day," said Rowswell.
The mayor said council
will be asked tonight to temporarily "backstop," a total of $3
million in pending federal and provincial funds, so that work on the railroad
can begin "now, this summer, this fall."
Council has called a
special meeting for 4:30 p. m.
"There are
implications for many communities if the railway shuts down, but (there are)
more immediate and larger ones for Sault Ste. Marie and its industries,"
Fratesi said.
Rowswell said saving the
rail line is crucial to the city’s future, including the its ambition to turn
itself into a multi-modal transportation hub.
Norfolk Southern will
construct a new intermodal terminal in Greencastle, Pa., to serve the
Mid-Atlantic region, as part of the railroad’s multi-state Crescent Corridor
initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route between the
Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The $95-million facility, at which freight moving
in containers and trailers will be transferred between train and truck, will
occupy a 200-acre site adjacent to the planned Antrim Commons Business Park and
is expected to open in late 2011.
Squabbling in Congress
over how to pay for transportation could mean no federal cash in the near
future to fix Chicago’s freight train bottleneck, a top official warned, the
Daily Herald reports. At a forum on freight
rail, representatives from the U.S. and Canadian governments and the business
community emphasized that trains are cheaper and more fuel-efficient than
trucks to move goods. Transport Canada official Kristine Burr said the public
and private sectors were investing $2 billion in freight rail projects there.
Virginia will apply for
$72 million in federal stimulus money this month to build a third set of rails
between Prince William and Stafford counties, Inside NoVa.com reports. The
state is expected to file for the money Aug. 24, and if approved, it will go to
fund a third set of train tracks between Powell’s Creek in Dumfries and the
Widewater area of Stafford County.
