Railroad News

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) introduced Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act "to better secure [the] country's public transit systems."

Rep. Lipinski, co-chair of the House Public Transportation Caucus and a senior member on the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, says the legislation would reauthorize Surface Transportation Security Inspectors and the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response program, which expired in 2011. The bill would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research programs through 2020, which focuses on solutions to fill capability and vulnerability gaps, such as explosive detection.

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) introduced Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act "to better secure [the] country's public transit systems."

Rep. Lipinski, co-chair of the House Public Transportation Caucus and a senior member on the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, says the legislation would reauthorize Surface Transportation Security Inspectors and the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response program, which expired in 2011. The bill would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research programs through 2020, which focuses on solutions to fill capability and vulnerability gaps, such as explosive detection.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joseph Lhota yesterday announced he will conduct a top-to-bottom audit to overhaul MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) subway system.

The agency will work with transit experts and management consultants to perform the audit, which will examine NYCT's challenges and limitations to identify strategies for short- and long-term changes.

Utah Transportation Authority's (UTA) S-Line streetcar could soon see a double track added to a portion of the line in South Salt Lake.

Salt Lake County Council voted to provide $4.5 million for the project, in hope to move riders every 15 minutes instead of the 20-minute frequency the cars currently run at. UTA says the money from Salt Lake County, along with funds allocated by the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program, would be enough to get the project off the ground and provide for at least four years of extra operational and maintenance costs. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $6 million.

Utah Transportation Authority's (UTA) S-Line streetcar could soon see a double track added to a portion of the line in South Salt Lake.

Salt Lake County Council voted to provide $4.5 million for the project, in hope to move riders every 15 minutes instead of the 20-minute frequency the cars currently run at. UTA says the money from Salt Lake County, along with funds allocated by the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program, would be enough to get the project off the ground and provide for at least four years of extra operational and maintenance costs. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $6 million.

Utah Transportation Authority's (UTA) S-Line streetcar could soon see a double track added to a portion of the line in South Salt Lake.

Salt Lake County Council voted to provide $4.5 million for the project, in hope to move riders every 15 minutes instead of the 20-minute frequency the cars currently run at. UTA says the money from Salt Lake County, along with funds allocated by the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program, would be enough to get the project off the ground and provide for at least four years of extra operational and maintenance costs. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $6 million.

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was named Outstanding Public Transportation System for 2017 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) TTC last won the award in 1986.

TTC credits this award to the five-year plan the transit commission developed in 2013. TTC says the five-year plan "put the customer at the center of all that it does, from service planning to service delivery, including a new station management model, customer charter, fleet and infrastructure renewal, and how it manages its people – its most important asset."

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was named Outstanding Public Transportation System for 2017 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) TTC last won the award in 1986.

TTC credits this award to the five-year plan the transit commission developed in 2013. TTC says the five-year plan "put the customer at the center of all that it does, from service planning to service delivery, including a new station management model, customer charter, fleet and infrastructure renewal, and how it manages its people – its most important asset."

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was named Outstanding Public Transportation System for 2017 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) TTC last won the award in 1986.

TTC credits this award to the five-year plan the transit commission developed in 2013. TTC says the five-year plan "put the customer at the center of all that it does, from service planning to service delivery, including a new station management model, customer charter, fleet and infrastructure renewal, and how it manages its people – its most important asset."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an edict to the MTA to focus on "transformational change" for the city's rapid transit network, the first segment of which opened in 1904.

Cuomo did this on the final day of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Genius Transit Challenge Conference, just two days after an unsecured segment of replacement rail apparently caused a New York City Transit subway train to derail in Harlem.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an edict to the MTA to focus on "transformational change" for the city's rapid transit network, the first segment of which opened in 1904.

Cuomo did this on the final day of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Genius Transit Challenge Conference, just two days after an unsecured segment of replacement rail apparently caused a New York City Transit subway train to derail in Harlem.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an edict to the MTA to focus on "transformational change" for the city's rapid transit network, the first segment of which opened in 1904.

Cuomo did this on the final day of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Genius Transit Challenge Conference, just two days after an unsecured segment of replacement rail apparently caused a New York City Transit subway train to derail in Harlem.

Britain's infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has ordered seven Stoneblower track geometry machines from Harsco Rail.

Delivery will start in late 2019 and take two years to complete. The new units will replace Stoneblowers that have been in use for more than 20 years.

Britain's infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has ordered seven Stoneblower track geometry machines from Harsco Rail.

Delivery will start in late 2019 and take two years to complete. The new units will replace Stoneblowers that have been in use for more than 20 years.

Britain's infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has ordered seven Stoneblower track geometry machines from Harsco Rail.

Delivery will start in late 2019 and take two years to complete. The new units will replace Stoneblowers that have been in use for more than 20 years.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on July 10 will add a waterproof membrane to the exterior of Red Line tunnel walls to help prevent leaks and arcing insulator incidents.

A proprietary, polymer-based material will be installed along a 9-mile tunnel segment that runs from the Farragut North Station in Washington, D.C., to the Grosvenor Station in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Cando Rail Services obtained two contracts to provide rail switching services at Domtar pulp and paper mills in Wisconsin.

The new agreements call for rail switching service at mills in Rothschild and Nekoosa, Wisconsin. Cando has had a contract to provide rail switching service at Domtar's mill in Dryden, Ontario, according to a Cando press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has finished installing security cameras in all of its rail cars, the agency announced yesterday.

The new cameras are aimed at bolstering BART's existing security infrastructure network, which includes other cameras on platforms, inside and outside stations and on police officers themselves.

U.S. rail traffic continued its climb in Week 25, with railroads reporting an increase of 3.6 percent in carloads and intermodal units compared with traffic during the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced yesterday.

Total carloads for the week ending June 24 were 263,504 units, up 2.3 percent compared with the same week in 2016. Intermodal volume during the week rose 4.9 percent to 281,190 containers and trailers compared with last year's figure.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Alene Tchourumoff chair of the Twin Cities-area Metropolitan Council.

Tchourumoff has been serving as Minnesota's state rail director since May 2016. She has a decade of experience in infrastructure planning, transportation policy and finance, according to a press release issued by Dayton's office.