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Sep
04

California panel OKs $2 billion in transportation, rail improvement projects

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 9/4/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has approved more than $2 billion in funding for hundreds of transportation infrastructure, rail and local projects, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced last week.More than $690 million of the monies will be funded entirely or in part by Senate Bill 1, legislation that calls for the state to spend $54 billion to fix roads, freeways and bridges across California and puts more dollars toward transit and safety."These projects are just a small portion of the key improvements we need to maintain California's critical transportation infrastructure," said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman in a press release.Included in the funding are locally administered State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) rail projects, such as:
• Nearly $27 million for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to procure eight new zero-emission light-rail vehicles;
• $21 million toward construction of rail extensions to Larkspur and Windsor;
• $3 million toward electrification along the Peninsula Corridor;
• $3 million for 1.8 miles of new siding track and relocation of existing spur track on the Pacific Surfliner Corridor;
• $2 million toward the effort to increase rail service to Roseville; and
• nearly $1.2 million toward the San Onofre to Pulgas track Phase 2, which involves construction of 1.6 miles of additional second main track capacity adjacent to the main track, including new bridges, along the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor.
 

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Sep
04

OmniTRAX sells Hudson Bay Railway, Churchill port facilities

OmniTRAX Inc. has sold the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill to the Arctic Gateway Group LP and a consortium of First Nations and communities in association with Missinippi Rail LP. The sale closed Aug. 31.

The Arctic Gateway Group consists of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. The financial value of the acquisition was not disclosed.

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Aug
31

Ontario Trap Rock hosts U.S. Rep. Kelly in Chicago

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) on Wednesday toured Ontario Trap Rock's Middle River Marine facility in Chicago.

The company produces durable rock suited for railroad applications, including ballast. Ontario Trap Rock is a member of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) and the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA).

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Aug
31

Rail supplier news from WSP, Harsco, Stadler, Siemens and Hanson (Aug. 31)

Sound Transit has tapped WSP USA to perform design-build project management services for its Link light-rail extension to downtown Redmond, Washington. The 3.4-mile, elevated line will run from the Redmond Technology Station near Microsoft's  headquarters to the Redmond Town Center. The extension is the final segment of Sound Transit's East Link light-rail corridor. WSP's preconstruction services will include preparation and review of the design-build contract request for proposals, company officials said in a press release. The contract's financial value was not disclosed.

Harsco Rail obtained a contract from Singapore's Land Transport Authority to deliver a 16-stone grinder. Designed to accommodate electric motors, the grinder will operate on Singapore's new Thomson-East Coast passenger-rail line. Harsco has had a "strong partnership" with LTA for the past 15 years, said Harsco Rail President Jeswant Gill in a press release. The contract's value was not disclosed.

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Aug
31

R. J. Corman marks first MOW project on light rail

R. J. Corman Railroad Services completed 17.2 miles of surfacing and performed rail adjustments on two curves during a recent 48-hour shutdown of the Charlotte Area Transit Systems (CATS) light-rail system.

The project was the first time the company performed such work on a light-rail system, R. J. Corman officials said in a press release.

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Aug
31

VIA Rail allows pets on board Quebec City-Windsor trains

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/31/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Pets need to be stored in carriers placed at passengers' feet.Photo – VIA Rail Canada's 2017 annual report

VIA Rail Canada Inc. is following Amtrak's lead in allowing pets on trains.

This week, the Canadian passenger railroad updated its pet transportation policy to allow small cats and dogs on board trains operating along the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.

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Aug
31

Carleton University awarded 'Clean Rail' research grants

Rail News Home Sustainability 8/31/2018 Rail News: Sustainability
Carleton University will receive up to CA$50,000 under the Clean Rail Academic Grant Program for research into technologies and practices aimed at reducing air emissions.Carleton will receive a grant for up to CA$25,000 to assess how new lightweight materials can improve the safety, efficiency and environmental performance of the rail transportation system.The university will receive a second grant for up to CA$25,000 to create a cost-effective rail-car design that will reduce fuel consumption and emissions."Our clean transportation efforts will achieve emission reductions, improve human health and provide environmental benefits, while supporting clean growth and generating jobs for Canadians. We all benefit by supporting research of new and emerging technologies," said Catherine McKenna, Canada's minister of environment and climate change, who announced the grants this week in a press release.The Clean Rail Academic Grant is a Transport Canada program.

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Aug
31

NCDOT includes Durham-Orange light-rail project in state funding plan

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/31/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
A rendering of the Durham-Orange light-rail project, which the NCDOT anticipates will receive state funding in the next decade.Photo – GoTriangle's YouTube account

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has identified 138 regional impact transportation projects that it anticipates funding and scheduling for construction over the next decade.

The projects include seven related to rail for a total of $96 million in state funding and three related to transit for a total of $191 million.

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Aug
31

Metro SubwayLink shutdown prompts transit agency to reorganize

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/31/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
In February, MDOT MTA shut down its entire subway system for emergency repairs.Photo – Maryland Transit Administration's YouTube account

The Maryland Department of Transportation's Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) yesterday unveiled an organizational restructuring aimed at keeping the agency on track to complete more than $900 million in rail infrastructure upgrades.

The restructuring was initiated in response to feedback received through an American Public Transportation Association (APTA) peer review.

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Aug
31

UP to provide crude-by-rail service for Vista terminal in Texas

Vista Proppants and Logistics LLC has entered into a definitive agreement with JupiterMLP LLC for transloading crude oil from truck to rail at its facility in Pecos, Texas.

Vista and Jupiter plan to ship crude oil via Union Pacific Railroad through 2019 and potentially into 2020, depending on pipeline construction timelines and capacity availability, the companies announced earlier this week in a press release.

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Aug
31

UP to provide crude-by-rail service for Vista terminal in Texas

Vista Proppants and Logistics LLC has entered into a definitive agreement with JupiterMLP LLC for transloading crude oil from truck to rail at its facility in Pecos, Texas.

Vista and Jupiter plan to ship crude oil via Union Pacific Railroad through 2019 and potentially into 2020, depending on pipeline construction timelines and capacity availability, the companies announced earlier this week in a press release.

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Aug
30

MBTA launches stopped-train messages on countdown clocks

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/30/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
When a train has spent two minutes or longer than predicted in an area of track, the clocks will notify passengers how many stations away it stopped.Photo – MBTA's YouTube account

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Tuesday introduced new "stopped-train" messaging on its countdown clocks along the Red, Orange and Blue heavy-rail lines, as well as at Mattapan Trolley stops.

When a train has spent two minutes or longer than predicted in an area of track, the clocks will notify passengers how many stations away it stopped. Previously, the countdown clocks became "stuck" and simply displayed the last estimated time of arrival for a train, according to an agency press release.

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Aug
30

BLET, South Buffalo Railway reach tentative pact

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals 8/30/2018 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative contract agreement with the South Buffalo Railway Co.The agreement governs rates of pay, work rules, and health and welfare for 15 BLET members who work in the locomotive engineer craft, BLET officials said in a press release.Ratification ballots have been mailed and are due Sept. 21.Owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc., the short line operates over 52 miles of track in Buffalo, New York, with connections to CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway, CN and Canadian Pacific.

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Aug
30

NYCT wraps up first phases of flood protection in Queens

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) A and S rail service on Queens' Rockaway Peninsula will resume service Sept. 4 after completing the first two phases of a major flood protection project.

Crews installed foundations for a 20-foot-tall perimeter flood wall to surround the 3-acre site. Workers also installed steel sheet piles, extended a concrete retaining wall and began construction on a new building for compressor equipment, which provides compressed air to elevated tracks for signals.

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Aug
30

U.S. intermodal volume still outpacing carload activity

U.S. railroads' combined intermodal volume continued to surpass carload traffic in the week ending Aug. 25, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total intermodal volume rose 6 percent to 290,372 units during the week, while carloads ticked up 1.8 percent to 275,334 units compared with the same week a year ago.

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Aug
30

FTA certifies transit-rail safety oversight in Illinois, Tennessee

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has certified transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) programs in Illinois and Tennessee, the agency announced yesterday.

States with transit-rail systems in operation or under construction must get their SSO programs certified by April 15, 2019. In total, 28 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are required to obtain the certification.

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Aug
30

Brightline bond issue OK'd for rail infrastructure extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/30/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Brightline will use the financing to extend rail infrastructure into five Florida counties.Photo – Brightline

The Florida Development Finance Corp. (FDFC) yesterday approved a $1.75 billion bond issue that will finance infrastructure for Brightline's passenger-rail service in five Florida counties.

The financing will pay for infrastructure in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Brevard and Orange counties, Brightline officials said in a press release.

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Aug
30

UP's PTC work to continue into 2019-20

Union Pacific Railroad announced yesterday it will continue to "implement, test and refine" positive train control (PTC) technology in 2019-20.

The announcement was part of UP's regular quarterly updates of its PTC implementation progress.

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Aug
30

UP's PTC work to continue into 2019-20

Union Pacific Railroad announced yesterday it will continue to "implement, test and refine" positive train control (PTC) technology in 2019-20.

The announcement was part of UP's regular quarterly updates of its PTC implementation progress.

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Aug
30

APTA: Public transit use cuts traffic death rates

Rail News Home Safety 8/30/2018 Rail News: Safety
In terms of fatalities, the analysis found that commuter- or intercity-rail travel is 18 times safer for passengers than auto travel, according to APTA.Photo – APTA's Twitter account

More public transit usage can significantly lessen cities' traffic death rates, according to a recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) analysis.

Conducted by APTA and advocacy group Vision Zero Network, the analysis showed that metro areas that log more than 40 annual transit trips per capita experience a traffic mortality rate that's 40 percent lower than in metro areas with 20 transit trips per capita.

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