A new study of the Port
of Vancouver’s signature project – a planned 27-mile expansion of rail tracks
to speed cargo and handle more of it – says the port will have to borrow as
much as $75 million to cover a shortfall and should adopt plans to avoid cost
overruns, The Columbian reports.
The Wheeling and Lake
Erie Railway Company will replace five railroad-crossing surfaces within the
city of Medina this month, the Sun News reports. Crossings at S. Elmwood Ave.,
S. Huntington St., W. Smith Rd., S. Prospect St., and Medina St. will each be
upgraded. During construction stretches, roads will be closed near the railroad
tracks.
The northbound platform at
the Santa Clara, Calif., Station will be demolished this week. All passengers
will board the train from a temporary platform. Passengers are asked to observe
all posted signs and follow direction from identified ambassadors in the
station. The temporary platform will be in use for approximately six months.
A major upgrade
could be on the way for the railroad crossing where one Springfield, Ohio, High School student was killed and another
seriously injured while walking to school right before the holiday break in December 2009, FOX
Toledo News reports. They were both struck by a train while walking to school. Fifteen-year-old Cody Brown was killed. His friend, 16-year-old Brianna
Mullinger, survived but lost her leg.
Lake Zurich, Ill., trustees
approved an agreement with Ciorba Group Consulting Engineers in the amount of
$126,221 for Phase I analysis for noise mitigation measures along the Elgin,
Eastern and Joliet Railroad at Monday’s meeting, Pioneer Press reports.
MTA Metro-North Railroad
timetables change on Monday, August 30 to accommodate a major, multi-year
Connecticut Department of Transportation catenary and bridge improvement
project on the New Haven Line.
NJ TRANSIT is seeking $885
million in new federal funding for the renewal and replacement of key
infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor, such as aging bridges, power supply
and signal systems between Trenton and New York City, Web site njtoday.net
reported.
Unit Rail, the rail
fastening division of Amsted Rail, appointed John Stout director of sales, responsible
for sales and marketing activities in North America for both the Unit Rail and
Advanced Track Products brands.
County officials say the
rehabilitation of the Chester Branch Railroad, a four-mile rail line extending
from Wharton, N.J., and terminating in Roxbury Township, is under way and
should be completed within four to five months, the Roxbury Register reports.
Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.,
an industry-leading rail infrastructure contractor, as part of the Denver
Transit Partners (DTP) team, reached financial close and received official
notice to proceed from the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to
construct the multi-billion dollar Eagle P3 commuter rail project. The DTP team
will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 Project.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 26, 2010.
As part of the Vision for
the New England High Speed and Intercity Rail Network, the Patrick-Murray
Administration in Massachusetts has submitted formal application for federal
High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail funds for the design phase of the
Boston South Station Expansion Project.
The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority in New York unveiled a new on-line Dashboard that will
enable the public to track the progress of the MTA’s various capital projects.
This new web tool will feature a user-friendly interactive system that will
provide information on project scopes, budgets, and schedules, all easily
accessible on the MTA’s web site, www.mta.info.
Metro Blue Line
passengers in the Los Angeles area will experience travel delays of up to 40
minutes for the next two weekends beginning this Friday night, August 13, due
to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro
Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Special Metro Bus bridge service will
parallel the train route during the construction work.
DART staff briefed the Board of Directors during a August 10 Board meeting armed with a proposed budget for FY 2011 and a revised 20-year financial plan that keeps the Orange Line extension on track and includes an extension of the Blue Line.
Union Pacific has posted an
invitation to bid for work on the CREATE B2 Project. Work includes track
roadbed, drainage, bridge and retaining wall construction to add a railroad
flyover connection between the Union Pacific line and Indiana Harbor Belt
Railroad near Proviso Yard in the near west suburbs of Chicago..
The South Shore commuter
line in northwest Indiana is alerting passengers to a series of planned
temporary weekend construction outages. The next weekend outage is planned for
August 28-30. During these construction related weekend outages, the South
Shore Line will not operate trains in either direction between South Bend and
Gary Metro Center beginning 2:30 a.m. Saturday thru 3:00 a.m. Monday. The South
Shore will operate regular weekend train service between Gary Metro Center and
Chicago.
Metra released the final
version of a new schedule for the Union Pacific North line between Chicago and
Kenosha, Wis., that will take effect on August 22. The schedule is being
changed because a major, $185-million project to replace 22 bridges on the line
on the north side of Chicago will require trains to use a single track in the
construction zone.
Preparations for
improvement of Union Pacific Railroad tracks used by Amtrak south of
Springfield will prompt two daily Lincoln Service trains to originate and
terminate in Springfield for 10 days, starting August 7. Alternate
transportation will be provided to and from points south to St. Louis for
Trains 303 & 304.
Metra and Alderman Gene
Schulter (47th) are pleased to announce that Metra is ready to move forward
with building a bigger and better Ravenswood Station at its current location on
the Union Pacific North Line. The station overhaul is part of a major
$185-million project to replace 22 bridges on the line.
It became clearer that the
state’s high-speed train will run above ground in the Peninsula and South Bay
— including on so-called "Berlin Walls" that some cities fear will
divide their communities and demolish homes and businesses, the San Mateo
(Calif.) County Times reports.
