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Mar
19

NY officials seek to rename Rochester Amtrak station after Slaughter

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have called on Amtrak to rename its intermodal station in Rochester after the late U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter.

Slaughter (D-N.Y.) died last week after sustaining injuries from a fall at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 88 and in the midst of her 16th term representing upstate New York in Congress.

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Mar
19

APTA rails against public transit cuts in proposed budget

Public transit officials nationwide spoke out at a March 19 press briefing to express strong opposition to deep cuts to public transit in the Trump Administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2019.

 

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Mar
19

CAGTC: More than half of TIGER IX awarded to freight

Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 3/19/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
More than $275 million of recently announced federal grants issued under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program were awarded to freight projects or those with a strong freight component, according to the Coalition for America's Gateways & Trade Corridors (CAGTC).The freight-related awards represent 56 percent of total dollars awarded under the ninth round of TIGER grants, setting a new record, CAGTC officials said in a press release.The U.S. Department of Transportation last week announced 41 recipients of nearly $500 million in discretionary grant funding for road, transit, maritime and rail projects through the TIGER program."Investment in goods movement infrastructure is an economic multiplier," said CAGTC Chairman Tim Lovain. "The multimodal freight network directly supports 44 million U.S. jobs and the indirect benefits extend to every corner of our national economy."Funding requests from the 452 applications for TIGER IX totaled $6.15 billion, more than 12 times the $487 million made available for the program, according to CAGTC. The high number of requests indicates the need for federal investment that supports freight infrastructure, association officials said.The 56 percent of freight-related funding more than doubles the amount issued for freight projects under TIGER VIII, they said.

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Mar
19

Ontario nets funds for subway, light-rail projects

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 3/19/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Some of the funds will go toward the second phase of Ottawa's light-rail project.Photo – stage2lrt.ca

The governments of Canada and Ontario late last week signed a bilateral agreement that will provide more than CA$11.8 billion for infrastructure projects over the next decade.

The funding includes up to CA$660 million for the Scarborough subway extension in Toronto, according to a press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

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Mar
19

CATS opens Blue Line light-rail extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 3/19/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The 9.3-mile extension runs from the 7th Street Station in the Center City area to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus.Photo – Charlotte Area Transit System

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) last week opened the 9.3-mile LYNX Blue Line light-rail extension.

The largest infrastructure project in Charlotte's history, the $1.1 billion extension runs from the 7th Street Station in the Center City area to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus. The project features 11 new stations.

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Mar
19

Charlotte opens light rail Blue Line extension

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) opened an extension to its 15km (9.3-mile) Lynx Blue Line light rail line on March 16.

 

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Mar
19

High-speed mapping for high-speed rail

The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is planning the first dedicated high-speed rail system in the U.S. When completed, it will enable passengers to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours, at speeds greater than 200 mph.

 

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Mar
19

Equipment/services update: Vegetation management 2018

Progress Rail’s 75G2-HR (Hi-Rail) SkyTrim is a rough-terrain, rubber-tired vehicle with a telescoping boom and saw-type cutter head designed to trim trees on nearly any terrain.

By Michael Popke

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Mar
16

Rail supplier news from Pandrol, Stantec, Protran, WSP and REMSA (March 16)

Pandrol has signed a contract to manufacture fastening systems for Shanxi Jingshen Railway Co. Ltd. as part of a national infrastructure project in China. Under the agreement, Pandrol will manufacture FC-16 fastenings to cover 144 miles of track  through Menghua to Central china, Pandrol officials said in a press release. In total, the project involves nearly 880,000 fastening rail sets. Financial details of the contract weren't disclosed.

Stantec has opened an office in the town of Whitby in Ontario's Durham Region. The office will offer infrastructure consulting services in the land development, transportation and water sectors. Experts in the Whitby location also will provide building condition audit and environmental services. Stantec's work in the Durham Region include serving as technical adviser on GO Transit's Bowmanville rail expansion and providing engineering peer review for Whitby.

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Mar
16

Ports of LA, Long Beach post higher volume in February

The Port of Los Angeles processed 725,059 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) last month, marking the busiest February in the port's 111-year history.

February's volumes rose 16 percent compared to last year. For the first two months of 2018, overall volumes climbed 5.6 percent compared to the first two months of 2017, which was the port's best year on record, port officials said in a press release.

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Mar
16

MBTA aims to boost real-time train arrival data

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has launched two new programs designed to improve commuter-rail train arrival information on its website and mobile apps.

Known as TrainLoc and Concentrate, the programs simplify and accelerate the processing capacity of real-time data. With TrainLoc, commuter-rail train locations and predicted arrival times are now current within 10 to 40 seconds, MBTA officials said in a press release.

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Mar
16

STB to hold meetings on directed service regs

Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 3/16/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
Surface Transportation Board (STB) staff is soliciting comments on the its regulations related to emergency service and service inadequacies.The staff will hold informal meetings starting next month and throughout the second quarter with interested persons to discuss and gather feedback on the regulations, specifically known as 49 C.F.R. Part 1146, Expedited Relief for Service Emergencies and 49 C.F.R. Part 1147, Temporary Relief Under 49 U.S.C. 10705 and 11102 for Service Inadequacies.The STB's existing directed service regulations are rarely used, even in times of service deterioration, board officials said in a press release. As a result, the board is interested in exploring through informal discussions whether and how the agency's current directed service regulations need to be modified to offer a more meaningful path of relief in times of serious rail service challenges, they said.Those interested in participating are asked to contact the STB Rail Customer and Public Relations office at 202-245-0238.

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Mar
16

Ontario strikes multi-billion-dollar deal with Canada on infrastructure

The province of Ontario and the government of Canada have reached an agreement that will provide CA$11.8 billion (US$9.02 billion) toward infrastructure spending.

The two governments say the investments will create economic growth, sustain well-paying jobs, build inclusive communities and support a low carbon, green economy.

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Mar
16

Latest safety stats a mixed bag with crossing, trespassing incidents up

Recently released statistics from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reveal a mixed safety story for the rail industry with 2017 marking the lowest rate of track-caused and human factor-caused accidents ever, but the year also saw an increase in crossing incidents and in trespassing casualties.

First, the good news, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) credits rail employee's commitment to safety, as well as investments in maintenance and new technologies from railroads as reasons behind the industry's strong safety record. The AAR points to several notable safety statistics that are on a downward trend since 2000 and include a 44 percent decline in the train accident rate, a 38 percent decline in the equipment-caused accident rate, a 55 percent reduction in the track-caused accident rate, a 45 percent reduction in the human factor-caused accident rate and a 42 percent decline in the derailment rate.

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Mar
16

Virginia DRPT, CSX agreement to help progress Potomac Shores train station development

The final design of a new Virginia Railway Express (VRE) train station is making progress, following the recently completed final contract amendment between the Virginia Department of Rail Public Transportation (DRPT) and CSX Transportation (CSX).

 

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Mar
16

California high-speed rail agency begins Kern County construction

Rail News Home High-Speed Rail 3/16/2018 Rail News: High-Speed Rail
Crews have begun foundation work for a bridge that will carry high-speed trains over Garces Highway.Photo – California High-Speed Rail Authority

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has begun major construction activity for Construction Package 4, a 22-mile rail segment in Kern County.

This week, crews began foundation work for a bridge that will carry high-speed trains over Garces Highway. Drill rigs and heavy machinery have been placed at the site, where workers have begun drilling shafts 80 feet into the ground, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

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Mar
16

NH House votes to fund Boston to Manchester passenger rail study

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted to designate federal funding to conduct an in-depth financial, engineering and environmental study of a proposed passenger rail expansion project that would connect Boston, Mass., to Manchester.

 

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Mar
16

Hexion completes plant's rail-yard expansion with CN

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 3/16/2018 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
The Oilfield Technology Group (OTG) of Hexion Inc. recently completed an expansion of its resin-coated proppant manufacturing plant in Canada. Working with its primary rail partner CN, Hexion expanded and redesigned the rail yard to accommodate more than 100 rail cars at the plant, located in Sturgeon County in Saskatchewan, Alberta, OTG officials said in a press release.The expansion project, which included production capacity enhancements, was designed to increase the plant's capacity and logistics capabilities."This expansion increases our manufacturing and delivery capabilities to meet the needs of our customers in Canada," said Jerry Kurinsky, OTG's senior vice president and general manager.The plant produces a variety of products, including kRT™ 100 resin-coated frac sand.

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Mar
16

Hexion completes plant's rail-yard expansion with CN

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 3/16/2018 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
The Oilfield Technology Group (OTG) of Hexion Inc. recently completed an expansion of its resin-coated proppant manufacturing plant in Canada. Working with its primary rail partner CN, Hexion expanded and redesigned the rail yard to accommodate more than 100 rail cars at the plant, located in Sturgeon County in Saskatchewan, Alberta, OTG officials said in a press release.The expansion project, which included production capacity enhancements, was designed to increase the plant's capacity and logistics capabilities."This expansion increases our manufacturing and delivery capabilities to meet the needs of our customers in Canada," said Jerry Kurinsky, OTG's senior vice president and general manager.The plant produces a variety of products, including kRT™ 100 resin-coated frac sand.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

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Mar
16

New Jersey governor's budget would triple NJ Transit funding

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 3/16/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Gov. Murphy's budget would provide an additional $242 million for NJ Transit.Photo – Gov. Phil Murphy's Twitter account

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this week proposed tripling state funding for New Jersey Transit as part of his $37.4 billion budget plan for fiscal-year 2019.

Under the governor's proposed budget, NJ Transit would receive an additional $242 million to support rail and bus operations for a total of $383 million, NJ.com reported. The funds also would help fill gaps in staffing.

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