Railroad News

The Port MacKenzie Rail Extension has reached 75 percent completion, but officials say the 32-mile embankment is closed to travel due to increased rates of vandalism.

Officials with the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough said the last segment of the project was cleared in spring 2017 and surveyors continue to install monuments along the entire route. Funding is the chief hurdle to reaching completion of the project, which is 10 years in the making. Mat-Su Borough notes that the project has been funded with voter-approved state general obligation bonds and state appropriation.

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) is launching a pilot program to test a Bluetooth pedestrian alert system (BPAS) at four locations.

The BPAS test is part of a partnership with Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has been installed at two intersections with two more installs planned. The system plays a recording that warns pedestrians of an approaching train. The speakers work with the help of Bluetooth beacon technology that is installed on the trains.

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) is launching a pilot program to test a Bluetooth pedestrian alert system (BPAS) at four locations.

The BPAS test is part of a partnership with Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has been installed at two intersections with two more installs planned. The system plays a recording that warns pedestrians of an approaching train. The speakers work with the help of Bluetooth beacon technology that is installed on the trains.

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) is launching a pilot program to test a Bluetooth pedestrian alert system (BPAS) at four locations.

The BPAS test is part of a partnership with Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has been installed at two intersections with two more installs planned. The system plays a recording that warns pedestrians of an approaching train. The speakers work with the help of Bluetooth beacon technology that is installed on the trains.

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Board of Directors approved the first contract for the project's Glendora to Montclair phase at its Sept. 27 meeting.

The $2.6-million utility relocation design-bid-build contract was awarded to W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority will begin work on the 12.3-mile, six station segment in October and spend three years relocating utilities, conducting pre-construction activities, finalizing engineering plans and hiring the design-build contract team.

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Board of Directors approved the first contract for the project's Glendora to Montclair phase at its Sept. 27 meeting.

The $2.6-million utility relocation design-bid-build contract was awarded to W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority will begin work on the 12.3-mile, six station segment in October and spend three years relocating utilities, conducting pre-construction activities, finalizing engineering plans and hiring the design-build contract team.

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Board of Directors approved the first contract for the project's Glendora to Montclair phase at its Sept. 27 meeting.

The $2.6-million utility relocation design-bid-build contract was awarded to W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority will begin work on the 12.3-mile, six station segment in October and spend three years relocating utilities, conducting pre-construction activities, finalizing engineering plans and hiring the design-build contract team.

A team of real estate investment companies yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new transit-oriented development (TOD) at the Culver City Station on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Expo Line.

Known as "Ivy Station," the $350 million transit-oriented development will feature 200 apartments, 55,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, a hotel and a 200,000-square-foot office building.

Chaney Enterprises is now offering its customers limestone that will be transported by a new short line recently completed at the company's plant in Waldorf, Maryland.

Known for providing sand and gravel, Chaney is adding limestone to its product mix to expand the company's market for construction projects, especially those in southern Maryland, Chaney officials said in a press release.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) tomorrow will activate new real-time arrival clocks at all stations on the M and W rail lines.

After the new clocks go live, NYCT will have installed clocks at 326 of its 472 stations. By the year's end, the agency will have countdown clocks at all lettered line stations, NYCT officials said in a press release.

OmniTRAX Inc., two Ohio counties and the City of Tiffin Port Authority have slated a $900,000 maintenance project for the Northern & Ohio Western Railway (NOW) this fall.

The project brings the total investment in rail and crossings on the short line to $1.6 million over the past two years.

Siemens has completed and shipped its fifth trainset for the future Brightline passenger-rail service in Southeastern Florida.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Sept. 28 that will "harmonize" the environmental review process between the three highway, transit and railroad agencies.

USDOT explains that the proposed regulatory change, affecting the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration, would allow multimodal projects to follow a single process rather than multiple agency processes. This would be done by establishing a pilot program where states would conduct environmental reviews and issue approvals for projects under state regulations instead of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Sept. 28 that will "harmonize" the environmental review process between the three highway, transit and railroad agencies.

USDOT explains that the proposed regulatory change, affecting the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration, would allow multimodal projects to follow a single process rather than multiple agency processes. This would be done by establishing a pilot program where states would conduct environmental reviews and issue approvals for projects under state regulations instead of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Sept. 28 that will "harmonize" the environmental review process between the three highway, transit and railroad agencies.

USDOT explains that the proposed regulatory change, affecting the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration, would allow multimodal projects to follow a single process rather than multiple agency processes. This would be done by establishing a pilot program where states would conduct environmental reviews and issue approvals for projects under state regulations instead of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) rail station managers are not properly maintaining emergency cabinets at stations, leaving the system poorly equipped to handle emergencies, according to the agency's recent internal review.

WMATA's Quality Assurance, Internal Compliance and Oversight (QICO) team found that managers failed to fill out cabinet content checklists at a number of stations. In addition, some stations' checklists were only partially filled out.

U.S. railroads moved 548,204 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Sept. 23, a 1.6 percent increase compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday.

Total carloads for the week declined 2 percent to 263,200 units, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume surged 5.1 percent to 285,004 containers and trailers.

Rideau Transit Group Partnership (RTG), has signed a contract with the city of Ottawa for the expansion of a maintenance and storage facility located at Belfast Road.

The facility is part of Stage 2 construction for the Confederation Line Light Rail transit system. The CA$106-million (US$85.15-million) contract includes the Early Work Package Variation Directives, preliminary work and site preparation that began in April 2017.

Rideau Transit Group Partnership (RTG), has signed a contract with the city of Ottawa for the expansion of a maintenance and storage facility located at Belfast Road.

The facility is part of Stage 2 construction for the Confederation Line Light Rail transit system. The CA$106-million (US$85.15-million) contract includes the Early Work Package Variation Directives, preliminary work and site preparation that began in April 2017.

In lieu of the changing season, Keolis Commuter Services (KCS) will perform rail-cleaning services on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rail to reduce slippery rail.

KCS explains that slippery rail occurs when leaves and debris fall onto the track. As trains pass, these transform into a thin and slick film that accumulates on the tracks. In these fall conditions, trains are required to begin slowing for stops sooner and take more time to re-gain speed when departing a station. As a result, a train needs more time to travel its route, which can create delays. Occasionally, more wheel maintenance is also required and this can impact coach or locomotive availability.