AECOM wins New Orleans streetcar expansion contract
AECOM Technology Corporation has been awarded a $10.6 million contract for the second phase of the New Orleans Streetcar Expansion project in the Rampart/St. Claude corridor.
AECOM Technology Corporation has been awarded a $10.6 million contract for the second phase of the New Orleans Streetcar Expansion project in the Rampart/St. Claude corridor.
Canadian Pacific has completed the first year of infrastructure enhancements as part of an aggressive three-year plan to upgrade its North Main Line between Winnipeg, MB, and Edmonton, AB, Canada.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $10 million in federal resources to help upgrade the rail line near Devils Lake, N.D. These federal resources will be added to additional funding the state’s congressional delegation worked to secure from Amtrak and BNSF to help cover the cost for the project, which many deem critical to regional commerce.
HDR appointed three to key executive management positions. HDR, Inc. Chairman and CEO Richard R. Bell, who led the company’s employee ownership buyback in 1996, is retiring at year-end after 37 years with HDR. Bell will continue to serve on HDR’s Board of Directors.
The Damage Prevention & Loading Services (DP&LS) group will be fully integrated into the Association of American Railroads’ Transportation Technology Center subsidiary next year.
The Federal Railroad Administration gave more than $177 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation for a passenger rail project that will operate twice daily round-trip service between Chicago and the Quad Cities and put nearly 2,000 Americans back to work this spring.
The Federal Transit Administration will provide $116 million to extend TRAX light-rail transit service from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, into the suburb of Draper. The 3.8-mile extension is the final project in a bold seven-year, 70-mile effort to significantly expand transit options for residents and commuters in the Salt Lake City area, one of the nation’s fastest growing cities.
The Federal Railroad Administration gave $7 million to Georgia and Washington D.C. to continue work on the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor linking Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., to Washington, D.C.
Canadian Pacific has improved service for its Canadian grain customers this crop year by reducing scheduling variability and increasing access to rail car supply. Crop year-to-date, empty order fulfillment, a metric that highlights rail car availability, has increased by 19 percent or 11,000 units versus a year ago.
The future of mass transit in the Charlotte region reached another milestone this month. The Charlotte Area Transit System received its Record of Decision from the Federal Transit Administration for the LYNX Blue Line Extension light rail project.
At the second annual awards ceremony in Mexico City on December 6, Kansas City Southern de Mexico recognized ArcelorMittal, Cemex, Dow Química Mexicana, ExxonMobil, Mexichem, M&G Polímeros, Petróleos Mexicanos, Ternium and Vitro. By choosing to use rail on shipments that could have moved by truck, these companies reduced their carbon footprint by avoiding the generation of 316,823 tons of CO2 by shipping their freight via rail.
Former Richardson, Texas, Mayor Gary Slagel was appointed by Richardson, Addison, Highland Park and University Park to represent them on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board of directors.
Watco Companies named Geoff Holder has regional safety manager for the east region and named Jamie Brooks administrative assistant for the Gulf region.
Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority will advance major projects to rebuild sections of the Red and Orange lines December 2 to December 4.
Washington state regulators approved funds to improve the safety at railroad crossings in Clark County.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $928.6 million grant to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for initial construction of California high-speed rail. Construction will begin next year in Fresno, Calif., creating tens of thousands of jobs in California.
The Surface Transportation Board issued a decision granting final approval for the Alaska Railroad Corporation to construct and operate approximately 35 miles of a new rail line connecting Port MacKenzie in south-central Alaska, to a point on ARRC’s existing mainline, between Wasilla and an area north of Willow, Ala.
Travelers using Seattle’s historic King Street Station, grand and ornate when it opened in 1906, will be transported back to that era when seismic and utility upgrades and historic restoration work are complete in two years.
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will receive $5.7 million through the Federal Transit Administration’s TIGGER III Grant Program. The funds will be used to construct Tri-Rail’s first green, LEED certified, sustainable station at Pompano Beach. The SFRTA project was one of 46 nationwide selected to receive grants.
The FTA reviewed 266 project applications representing more than $1 billion in funding requests from transit providers across the country. The awards to the projects selected totaled over $100 million.
“We are grateful to the FTA for providing the funds to go forward with this very important project. It is a win-win for South Florida. A win for the environment and a win for the economy due to the construction jobs it will create,” said SFRTA Chair, Commissioner Kristin Jacobs.
The rebuilt Pompano Beach Station will generate more than 100 percent of the station’s energy demand through solar panels. The project will send the excess energy to the power grid and store daytime energy for nighttime lighting of the station, parking area, and other parts of the facility.
Implementation of this demonstration project will result in a significant reduction in energy consumption, which is consistent with the FTA’s livability and environmental sustainability goals to support green building. Tri-Rail’s Pompano Beach Station will be the first transit station in the State of Florida to be 100 percent supported by solar energy and will become SFRTA’s green station prototype for future improvements at all Tri-Rail stations.
Portland-area TriMet’s ridership during the month of October showed strong upward trends and reached new records. For the month, there were 8.8 million trips taken on buses, MAX and WES Commuter Rail, up more than two percent compared to October 2010.