Railroad News

Sound Transit and developer Gerding Edlen last week broke ground on a transit-oriented development (TOD) project near the Capitol Hill light-rail station in Seattle

The four-building development will include 428 apartments, 178 of which will be affordable housing units, agency officials said in a press release. The project also will feature 210 underground parking spaces, about 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail and a centerpiece public plaza to serve as a venue for community events.

Shale Support, a Houston-based provider of frac sand and logistical solutions to the oil and gas proppant market, has purchased two sand mines in Kinder and central Louisiana.

The acquisition will add 2 million tons of nameplate capacity to Shale Support, increasing the company's total capacity to 5 million tons annually, company officials said in a press release.

The Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) has completed construction of the initial route of the city's new streetcar system.

The project remains on time and on budget, DPW officials said in a press release.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday signed legislation that advances a proposal to build an AirTrain connection to LaGuardia Airport.

The new law will allow multiple potential alignments to be considered during an upcoming environmental review of the proposed AirTrain-to-LaGuardia project, planned between the airport, an MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station and MTA New York City Transit's 7 subway train at Mets-Willets Point in Flushing, Queens.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has named Vanessa Allen Sutherland vice president law.

Prior to joining NS, Sutherland served as chief executive officer and chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in Washington, D.C.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has named Vanessa Allen Sutherland vice president law.

Prior to joining NS, Sutherland served as chief executive officer and chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced $225 million in federal funds for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line light-rail extension.

The grant marks the second installment of federal funding as part of a $996 million full funding grant agreement signed in 2015. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) released the first $100 million installment in late 2017.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) last week marked the final day of service for its original MR-63 train.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has named Jennifer Bergener chief operating officer.

She'll be responsible for all of the agency's transit operations, including rail and future streetcar operations. Bergener also will oversee the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN), as well as microtransit and contracted services.

CN officials announced last week the railroad will spend CA$40 million this year on infrastructure in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

In New Brunswick, the Class I will spend CA$30 million to install 20 miles of rail and more than 50,000 ties, as well as rebuild road crossing surfaces and perform maintenance on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

CN officials announced last week the railroad will spend CA$40 million this year on infrastructure in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

In New Brunswick, the Class I will spend CA$30 million to install 20 miles of rail and more than 50,000 ties, as well as rebuild road crossing surfaces and perform maintenance on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

Valley Metro has chosen Jacobs Engineering Inc. to design the second phase of the transit agency's Northwest light-rail extension in Phoenix.

The firm will collaborate with the city, station artists, community members and the project's construction contractor — a Kiewit-McCarthy joint venture — to determine the "best means and methods" for the project's design and construction, agency officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) late last week called on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to address an "unsafe condition" created by rubber barriers between its new 7000-series rail cars.

The FTA made the demand after a visually impaired rider in late May fell onto the track at the Van Ness-UDC Station when she mistook the opening between two cars as a doorway. The passenger sustained minor injuries.

Canada's Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced late last week the government would invest CA$167 million in three projects to improve port infrastructure and rail infrastructure.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, with investments from Canadian Pacific and CN, will lead the first two projects, according to a press release.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced late last week that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) have begun the process to consider proposals from private operators to build and operate a high-speed rail line along state owned property between Orlando and Tampa.

FDOT kicked off the process after receiving an unsolicited proposal from private passenger-rail operator Brightline, which proposed to build and operate the line along the CFX right of way. As a result of Brightline's proposal, the FDOT has initiated an open procurement process so that any private entities may apply.

U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) early this week toured RailWorks Track Systems' plant in Deer Park, Texas.

Representatives from rail advocacy organization GoRail, the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association also were on the tour.

Union Tank Car Co. (UTLX) this summer will begin a project to expand its rail-car repair facility in El Dorado, Kansas. The expanded plant's capabilities, which will include exterior blast and paint operations, will enable the company to service a broader spectrum of cars from customers' fleets, UTLX officials said in a press release. Built in the early 1960s, the 40-acre plant is next to BNSF Railway Co. track and services tank cars in ethanol service, as well as hopper cars moving grain and other food-grade products. Over the next few years, the company plans to hire about 70 new employees at the expanded facility. The project is slated to wrap up in early 2019.

Siemens AG and Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG last month signed an agreement to develop a condition monitoring solution for the Voith Scharfenberg coupler. Voith will develop the solution, while Siemens will integrate the application into its Railigent platform, which is based on its MindSphere Internet of Things operating system. Railigent offers a range of digital services to manage rail assets, including apps for smart monitoring, data analysis and smart prediction for rolling stock, signaling and other rail infrastructure. Voith's new solution will monitor the coupler's deformation tube and damper, company officials said in a press release. The companies plan to hold a joint presentation of the preliminary solution at InnoTrans 2018, which will be held Sept. 18-21 in Berlin.