Amtrak awarded Michael Baker Jr., Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker International, a three-year, $4.2 million dollar contract to provide construction management and inspection services for five major projects as part of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Amtrak Hudson Line Improvements Program.
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), launched a new public service advertising (PSA) campaign called See Tracks? Think Train!, which aims to reduce pedestrian and driver injuries and fatalities around railroad tracks by highlighting behaviors that put people at risk.
Harsco Corporation Board of Directors has unanimously selected F. Nicholas Grasbergeras as the company’s president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. The appointment is the first step in a planned transition during which Grasberger will continue his duties as chief financial officer while the search for his successor in that role is conducted, and will become the company’s president and chief executive officer by mid-year 2014 once this process is complete.
Kinkisharyo, a North American manufacturer of low-floor light-rail cars, awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Protran Technology LLC to outfit more than 500 railcars with the Protracker Roadway Worker Protection System (RWPS).
Union Pacific Railroad began work to improve infrastructure in Nebraska and by investing more than $9 million in the rail line between near Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Arlington, Neb. The project began April 1 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month.
A record number of attendees joined researchers from Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Association of American Railroads 19th Annual Research Review April 1-2, 2014. This year’s theme was “Innovative Technology Developments in North American Railways.”
The Senate Finance Committee passed legislation, Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act, on April 3 renewing a set of provisions known as “tax extenders.”
Two Illinois state agencies pledged funding for transportation studies covering Decatur and Macon County that will examine how to increase and better handle freight moving through the region. The studies will look for ways to capitalize on growth of multi-modal shipping at the region’s Midwest Inland Port and at the operations of Archer Daniels Midland Co.
The Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee published a series of recommendations to improve roadway worker projection when trackwork occurs where adjacent track is present. Between 1997 and 2012, 25 percent of roadway worker fatal accidents have occurred on adjacent track.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) began a project in late March to rehabilitate aging rails on San Jose Avenue, adjacent to the Cam Beach Yard near Balboa Park Station.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) published its report on an April 2013 Canadian Pacific accident and found poor drainage and water-damaged track bed led to 17 cars derailing.
IntegriCo Composites is making a $20 million capital investment to establish a manufacturing facility near Springhill, La., that will produce transportation infrastructure components including crossties, rail crossings and industrial mats from landfill-bound plastic waste. The company also will relocate its corporate headquarters from Temple, Texas, to Webster Parish, La.
A peek at Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) priorities for the 2014-2015 budget shows an increased focus on employee safety and keeping aging equipment well-maintained for reliability and passenger safety.
According to the Metropolitan Council, the Southwest Light Rail Transit staff in Minneapolis, Minn., has recommended building shallow tunnels for light- rail tracks and a bridge over a channel between two lakes for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Green Line Extension. Planners also recommended keeping Mitchell Station as the westernmost station in Eden Prairie.
Service on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subways will operate 90 minutes longer on its Red, Orange, Blue and Green Line trains, effective immediately.
Late night service will operate as it does during the day, serving customers at the same stations and stops. The last Red, Orange, Blue and Green Line trains will depart downtown stations at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and approximately 1:00 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights. Extended late night service will operate approximately every 15-20 minutes, with more frequent service in the core of the system.
“Our customers are always asking for more service and I am happy that we are able to bring extended weekend hours to them beginning on March 28,” said MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott. “From students to entrepreneurs to service employees, late night service will allow a wide cross-section of our vibrant population to better travel home from both work and play.”
To help cover the cost of the additional service, the MBTA has launched a sponsorship program and has partnered with leading businesses from the Greater Boston area. The Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Dunkin’ Donuts, Suffolk Construction and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association have signed on as the first sponsors of the late night service pilot program. In total, sponsors are contributing more than $1.5 million in support to help cover the estimated $16 million cost of late night service.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and the Moynihan Station Development Corporation (MSDC) have developed a coordinated transportation resiliency program to help prepare the region for future emergencies, reduce the impact of future storms on vital transportation infrastructure and improve the long-term reliability and resiliency of the public transportation network.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price have announced their support for a high-speed rail route between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO) now has access to the final appropriation of $187.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the North and Southeast Lines.
Trainmen and engineers represented by the United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (UTU-SMART) and employed by Chicago Rail Link have ratified a new six-year agreement, with 95 percent of the affected employees voting in favor of the deal.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved eight highway-rail grade crossing projects in Lucas, Seneca, Stark and Wood counties.