Skip to main content
Jun
26

WSP USA’s new tunnel doctor

Dr. Axel Nitschke has been named a tunnel practice leader in the Washington, D.C. office of WSP USA (formerly WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff).

 

Continue reading
Jun
26

Canada pledges $333 million for Finch West light-rail line

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 6/26/2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Alstom is building 17 Citadis Spirit light-rail cars for the project.Photo – Metrolinx

The Canadian government plans to commit up to CA$333 million for the Finch West light-rail project in Toronto, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced late last week.

Expected to cost CA$1.2 billion, the project involves building a 6.83-mile light-rail line along the surface of Finch Avenue in Toronto. The route will originate at the Toronto Transit Commission's future Finch West subway station on the Toronto-York Spadina expansion.

Continue reading
Jun
26

L.K. Comstock obtains MTA contract for LIRR project

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded a $66.5 million contract to L.K. Comstock & Co. Inc. for a project that will add a second track on the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).

A subsidiary of RailWorks Corp., L.K. Comstock will be responsible for track and systems installation on the Main Line Ronkonkoma Branch. The second track will extend over 13 miles between Ronkonkoma and Farmingdale, N.Y., according to a company press release.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Rail supplier news from Alstom, Nomad, Yusen, Road & Rail and Transdev (June 23)

Rideau Transit Group (RTG) has awarded a CA$300 million contract to Alstom to supply 38 Citadis Spirit light-rail cars for the second phase of Ottawa's O-Train extension. The Citadis units are low-floor vehicles that feature a wide central aisle and interior circulation, Alstom officials said in a press release. Alstom already is supplying 34 Citadis cars for Ottawa's O-Train Confederation Line under a 2013 subcontract agreement with RTG. Alstom will maintain vehicles and the light-rail system for 30 years. The O-Train extension's second phase will add 7.4 miles to the Confederation Line, which is now under construction.

Nomad Digital has extended its partnership with Great Britain's Network Rail to provide rail infrastructure maintenance data. Nomad's on-board connectivity server enables Network Rail engineers to gain access to raw data picture files, which they can monitor to identify any concerns with the track. Network Rail's measurement fleet surveys the rail lines regularly to identify any issues. The measurement trains use four 3-D cameras and two thermal imaging cameras to scan the track as it passes below. The images are  relayed to a database system, enabling Network Rail staff to find issues more quickly, according to the company.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Canada pledges funds for Yonge subway extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 6/23/2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The extension would run 4.6 miles north inton southern Ontario's York Region.Photo – Metrolinx

The Canadian government has pledged more than CA$36 million to support planning and preliminary engineering for the proposed 4.6-mile extension of the Yonge Subway line into southern Ontario's York Region.

The project calls for extending the subway from the existing Finch Station in Toronto to the Richmond Hill Center in York Region. The federal funds are part of the first phase of the "Investing in Canada" plan, which provides support public infrastructure across the country.

Continue reading
Jun
23

BLET ratifies pact with Indiana and Ohio Railway

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the Indiana and Ohio Railway (I&O), the union announced yesterday.

The five-year pact covers rates of pay, work rules and health and welfare benefits for 50 engineers, conductors and trainees. Wages will increase 28.6 percent over the life of the contract, which ends Dec. 31, 2020, according to a BLET press release.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Great Lakes Basin clarifies location of proposed freight-rail line

Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc. (GLBT) yesterday filed a response to the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) request for additional information on the company's proposed new freight railroad that would operate through Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

On June 2, the STB told GLBT that it needed to provide more details in its application for regulatory approval to build the new rail line. Among the board's demands was a list specifying the cities and counties through which the railroad would operate.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Kiewit named construction manager of Valley Metro light-rail extension

Valley Metro's Rail Board has approved Kiewit as the construction manager at-risk for the South Central, the agency's next light-rail extension.

Kiewit will partner with Valley Metro, the city of Phoenix, project designer AECOM, station artists and local community to build the extension, Valley Metro officials said in a press release.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Operation Lifesaver, FRA award $217,000 for rail safety education

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) yesterday announced the award of $217,000 in grants for rail safety education projects in 15 states.

The grants, funded by the Federal Railroad Association (FRA), will be distributed to Operation Lifesaver chapters in the states to pay for public education and awareness programs that promote rail-crossing safety and trespass prevention, OLI officials said in a press release.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Sound Transit finalizes $87.7M TIFIA loan for maintenance facility

Sound Transit and the U.S. Department of Transportation executed an $87.7-million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to build a new maintenance base in Bellevue, Wash., to support future light-rail expansions.

 

Continue reading
Jun
23

Sound Transit finalizes $87.7M TIFIA loan for maintenance facility

Sound Transit and the U.S. Department of Transportation executed an $87.7-million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to build a new maintenance base in Bellevue, Wash., to support future light-rail expansions.

 

Continue reading
Jun
23

Sound Transit finalizes $87.7M TIFIA loan for maintenance facility

Sound Transit and the U.S. Department of Transportation executed an $87.7-million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to build a new maintenance base in Bellevue, Wash., to support future light-rail expansions.

 

Continue reading
Jun
23

Union Pacific to invest $2.5 million over two key projects in Wisconsin rail maintenance

 

The Class 1 says it will boost Wisconsin's safety and efficiency with a $265,000 investment to maintain railroad track and $2-million investment to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects include a $721,000 investment to install a new bridge near Lowell and a $500,000 investment to install a new bridge near the village of Wilson.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Union Pacific to invest $2.5 million over two key projects in Wisconsin rail maintenance

 

The Class 1 says it will boost Wisconsin's safety and efficiency with a $265,000 investment to maintain railroad track and $2-million investment to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects include a $721,000 investment to install a new bridge near Lowell and a $500,000 investment to install a new bridge near the village of Wilson.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Union Pacific to invest $2.5 million over two key projects in Wisconsin rail maintenance

 

The Class 1 says it will boost Wisconsin's safety and efficiency with a $265,000 investment to maintain railroad track and $2-million investment to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects include a $721,000 investment to install a new bridge near Lowell and a $500,000 investment to install a new bridge near the village of Wilson.

Continue reading
Jun
23

L.A. Metro OKs $1.4 billion budget for Gold Line extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 6/23/2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The Gold Line extension to Azusa, Calif., opened in 2015.Photo – Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) board yesterday approved a $1.4 billion budget to extend the Foothill Gold Line 11.5 miles east to Claremont, California.

The board also approved partnership agreements that establish a funding plan and shared roles and responsibilities between Metro and the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, the agency tasked with building the extension.

Continue reading
Jun
23

BART budget looks toward future

In effort to control expenses in the face of a three-percent decline in ridership, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors approved a $1.92 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018.

The budget will allow BART to integrate new rail cars into service before the end of the calendar year, as well as gear up for the opening of two extension projects and the full implementation of a major system reinvestment program all while closing an estimated deficit of $31 million.

Continue reading
Jun
23

BART budget looks toward future

In effort to control expenses in the face of a three-percent decline in ridership, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors approved a $1.92 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018.

The budget will allow BART to integrate new rail cars into service before the end of the calendar year, as well as gear up for the opening of two extension projects and the full implementation of a major system reinvestment program all while closing an estimated deficit of $31 million.

Continue reading
Jun
23

BART budget looks toward future

In effort to control expenses in the face of a three-percent decline in ridership, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors approved a $1.92 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018.

The budget will allow BART to integrate new rail cars into service before the end of the calendar year, as well as gear up for the opening of two extension projects and the full implementation of a major system reinvestment program all while closing an estimated deficit of $31 million.

Continue reading
Jun
23

Lhota named MTA's chairman

Joseph Lhota will return to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as chairman, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

Lhota served as MTA chairman in 2012 until he stepped down to run for New York City mayor, but lost to Bill de Blasio in 2013.

Continue reading