Loudoun County on board with Dulles rail

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to fund Phase 2 of the planned rail extension to Dulles Airport. The county’s estimated portion of the project, which will extend Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Silver Line from Reston to Loudoun, is $270 million.

RTD recommends Kiewit proposal to complete full I-225 rail line

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) staff recommended to the RTD Board of Directors to move forward with a proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Co., to complete the I-225 Light Rail Line to Peoria, Colo.

LACMTA gets FTA go ahead on Regional Connector Project

The Federal Transit Administration granted the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority a Record of Decision for the $1.37 billion Regional Connector Transit Corridor, officially certifying that the project has now satisfied all federal environmental guidelines.

Houston Metro celebrates six-mile mark on LRT extension

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas, has completed six miles on the light-rail transit extension. Six miles equals about 64,000 linear feet of track in the ground, leaving nine miles to go.

HDR acquires InfraConsult

HDR Engineering, Inc., has acquired InfraConsult LLC, an infrastructure management and advisory firm with five offices in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Hawaii. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Going forward, InfraConsult will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDR Engineering, Inc.

Ontario government pushes forward with previously approved transit plan

Ontario, Canada, is moving forward to deliver the largest transit expansion in the city of Toronto’s history, which will help ease congestion and create thousands of jobs.

FRA to study NEC improvements, proposes revised passenger emergency preparedness regs

The Federal Railroad Administration issued a Notice of Intent that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate potential passenger rail improvements on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Mass. The FRA is leading the planning and environmental evaluation of the NEC, an effort known as NEC Future, in close coordination with the involved states, the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission, Amtrak and other stakeholders.

UP celebrates 150 years

Founded July 1, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, Union Pacific today celebrates 150 years of building America. Starting by helping construct the first transcontinental railroad, surviving the country’s multiple economic crises, supporting America’s military men and women through conflicts and forging forward to overcome hurricanes, floods and droughts, Union Pacific remains on America’s landscape.

RTD breaks ground on two expansion projects

The Denver Regional Transportation District is breaking ground on two expansion projects. The final structure on the West Rail Line that will serve Denver, Lakewood, Golden and Jefferson County and the first segment of the Northwest Rail Line between Denver Union Station and south Westminster.

Hunter Harrison takes reins at CP

Canadian Pacific appointed Hunter Harrison as president and chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors.

Sound Transit sets budget, schedule for Northgate extension

The Seattle Sound Transit Board of Directors adopted a lifetime budget and schedule to extend light rail from the University of Washington to the Northgate area north of Seattle. Sound Transit expects to break ground on the North Link project this summer and open for service in 2021.

HART requests $1.55 billion in New Starts funding

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation submitted a request for $1.55 billion in federal New Starts funding for the Honolulu rail transit project.

Alaska Railroad to retain majority of federal funding

The Alaska Railroad Corporation was informed by the office of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) that ARRC will continue to receive funding near current levels through Federal Transit Administration formula funds.

KCS promotes Songer to vice president and chief engineer

Kansas City Southern promoted Jeff Songer from assistant vice president planning and administration for KCS’ U.S. engineering department to vice president and chief engineer of KCS U.S. subsidiary, closely coordinating with the leadership of its Mexican subsidiary, effective July 1.

CTC approves $61.3 million for SFMTA Central Subway Project

California Transportation Commission unanimously approved a commitment of $61.3 million in state high-speed rail connectivity funds to the The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Central Subway Project.

BNSF plans $92 million capital program in Oklahoma

BNSF plans to invest an estimated $92 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement projects in Oklahoma this year.

Metro-North tweaking summer schedules for construction projects

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad is making minor schedule changes effective Monday, July 2, 2012, on the Hudson and New Haven Lines to accommodate several construction projects. There are no changes on the Harlem Line.

Former N.Y. Governor David A. Paterson joins MTA Board

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority welcomed Former New York Governor David A. Paterson to its board. Gov. Paterson was nominated to serve on the board by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on April 23 and was confirmed to the position by the New York State Senate on June 20. He succeeds Nancy Shevell, who served on the board from June 2001 through January 2012. His term expires on June 30, 2017.

Phoenix completes the sale of Conshohocken Rail to FirstCity Crestone subsidiary

Phoenix Management Services, through its affiliate PMCM, LLC, sold the assets of Conshohocken Rail, LLC, on June 1, 2012, to Conshohocken Recycling & Rail Transfer, LLC, a subsidiary of Regional Rail, LLC, a holding of FirstCity Crestone LLC.

IDOT recommends Springfield 10th Street alignment in Tier 1 DEIS for Chicago to St. Louis corridor

The Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement evaluating high-speed rail service improvements along the 280-mile Chicago to St. Louis Corridor was released on Tuesday, June 26. A key question with the improvements was what route to funnel freight and passenger traffic as it traversed through Springfield, Ill. The Illinois Department of Transportation recommended rail traffic be moved to the existing Norfolk Southern corridor running along 10th Street.

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