Search Results for: union pacific

Stadium-goers to get benefit of stimulus funds to unclog rail congestion






The $100-million federal
grant awarded to the Chicago region Feb. 17 to unclog rail congestion will
benefit Jimmy Buffett Parrotheads and Chicago Fire soccer aficionados along
with freight haulers, motorists and rail passengers, the Chicago Tribune
reports. That’s because $20 million of that money will go toward building a
rail/highway underpass on 71st Street, west of Harlem Avenue and across from
Bridgeview’s Toyota Park, a 28,000-seat sports and music venue.

Metra approves final design for CREATE’s Englewood Flyover






The CREATE Program partners are pleased to announce
that the Chicago area’s Metra Board of Directors has approved the final design
contract for the 63rd and State Improvement Project (CREATE Project P1, Englewood
Flyover). TranSystems Corp. was awarded the $5.65-million contract. The flyover
will carry the north-south Metra Rock Island commuter rail line over the
east-west Norfolk Southern/Amtrak line (a federally designated High Speed Rail
Corridor), eliminating conflict between 68 Metra Rock Island trains and
approximately 60 freight and Amtrak trains that presently cross at grade each day.

Racine firm devises sophisticated machinery for nation’s train lines

When railroads were first stretching their tentacles across vast new parts of this country, each new expanse of track was bought with Herculean human labor, the Racine, Wis., Journal-Times reports. No longer. Maintaining and replacing the rails still requires manpower, but far less of it. Mechanization has replaced much of what the gandy dancer and the sledgehammer achieved.

Railroad yards still help propel local economies






A morning swig from a
plastic milk jug, the refrigerator where it was kept and the spoon used to
shovel that first bite of breakfast – the journey these everyday items take
from raw materials to finished products started at local railroad yards,
according to the Redlands, Calif., Daily Facts.

UP gives historic rail bridge to city






A rusty Missouri River
railroad bridge that came to symbolize the battle between historical tourism
and modern transportation has been saved from demolition due largely to federal
stimulus funds, local newspapers report. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Union
Pacific has agreed to give the old bridge to the central Missouri city of
Boonville, which hopes to convert it for use by hikers and bikers on the Katy
Trail State Park.

Favorable federal rating for BART Silicon Valley






The first phase of the
Santa Clara, Calif., Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) BART Extension to
Silicon Valley has been given an overall project rating of "medium" in the Federal
Transit Administration New Starts Annual Report for Federal Fiscal Year 2011,
which was released Feb. 3.

Rail plan tops city leaders’ priorities for Washington trip






February 14, 2001

Supporters of consolidating
Springfield, Ill., rail traffic on the 10th Street corridor plan to take a wish
list of overpass construction, track relocation and other design improvements
on an annual trip to Washington D.C. next month, The State Journal-Register reports.
The list will exceed the $26.5 million sought for the same project last year,
Gary Plummer, president and CEO of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce,
said Friday.

Elgin, Ill., group studying future of transportation






Continuing talks on
making the area more environmentally friendly focused Tuesday night on
expanding the use of trains, buses and bicycles countywide, according to the
Elgin Courier News, The Elgin, Ill., Community Network hosted a discussion at
Gail Borden Public Library that looked at the future of transportation in the
area. Among those attending were representatives from Metra, Kane County
Division of Transportation and Schaumburg-based engineering firm TranSystems,
the company contracted to draft the city’s Bikeway Master Plan.

Measure R on right track for rail deal






Measure R money isn’t
just for road projects’ it can now be used to purchase railroad tracks, the
Foothills Sun-Gazette reports. The Tulare County, Calif., Board of Supervisors
approved an amendment to the Measure R expenditure plan that will allow the
county to purchase railroad fixtures including ties, ballast, tracks and
signals to ensure that the property is maintained for rail use.

Contract awarded for Mesquite Regional Landfill rail yard






Coffman Specialties, Inc., of San Diego has been awarded a
$36.3-million contract to construct a rail spur and intermodal rail yard at the
Mesquite Regional Landfill, where municipal solid waste will be received for
disposal by way of California’s first waste-by-rail project. The Sanitation
Districts of Los Angeles County awarded the contract to Coffman Specialties,
the lowest of eight bids received for the project that will include a rail
spur, bridge and construction of the facilities where containerized trash will
arrive by train for disposal at the regional landfill. The Mesquite Regional
Landfill is located about five miles east of Glamis, Calif.

Funding keeps Metra in neutral






Two planned Metra stations
could transform neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and North Sides — spurring
economic development, curbing carbon emissions and making it just plain easier
for residents to choose public transportation, proponents say, according to a
report in the Chicago Tribune. But when that vision will become reality is
uncertain.

Future of rail in Missouri could depend on Washington






Whether
you might take the train for holiday travel in the future might well depend on
a $200-million request for federal funds. Missouri Transportation Director Pete
Rahn says people are being drawn to rail travel for reasons other than saving
money on fuel, local media report.

Ft. Worth mayor seeks fix of rail line






Fort Worth officials and
regional planners have long tried to get federal support behind solving the
infamous freight train delays at a railroad intersection south of downtown, the
Dallas Morning News reports. Mayor Mike Moncrief on Dec.21 seemingly made more
progress with one phone call than North Texas politicians have made in years of
lobbying federal lawmakers. Moncrief’s audience: Vice President Joe Biden.

Railway hubs lay down tracks for expansion






This city (Chicago) was
built on railroads that moved meat from its famous packing houses, steel from
its mills, corn from surrounding fields. Today Chicago is still the nation’s
leading rail hub, with about 37,500 rail cars passing through daily, the Washington
Post reports. But massive congestion on Chicago tracks costs millions of
dollars in shipping delays, and it causes substantial noise and air pollution
as trains idle for hours, waiting for track clearance. The problem threatens to
get worse since freight traffic is expected to double in the next 20 years.

Silicon Valley Project causing daytime lane closures in Milpitas






To advance the BART to
Silicon Valley Project parking spaces and lane closures will occur while crews
conduct work to identify utilities along Capitol Ave between Trimble Road and Montague
Expressway in Milpitas, Calif., Monday, December 21, 2009, through Thursday,
December 31, 2010, weekdays only, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (excluding lunch from
12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.). Utility investigation activities include quick vacuum
excavation in a one-foot x one-foot hole approximately five to six feet in
depth, extracting the material to expose and survey the utility, to confirm
utility and depth.

Durbin reports major funding for Illinois projects

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that the final Omnibus Appropriations Act that includes $126,432,544 in funding for several Illinois projects was approved by a joint House and Senate Conference Committee of which Durbin is a member. The House and Senate are expected to take up and pass the legislation before the end of the year. The bill will then go to the President for his signature.

Missouri officials dedicate new rail to Amtrak

For most of its existence, the Amtrak service through the Missouri River Valley has operated on schedule no better than 79 percent of the time, and as low as 55 percent, local media report. Over the past month, Amtrak has been on time on 94 out of a hundred runs, Web site www.connectmidmissouri.com reported.