Toronto Tunnel Partners (TTP) is the recipient of a contract with Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx to design, build and finance the Highway 401 Rail Tunnel project for the GO Regional Express Rail (RER) program.
Railroad News
Dec
19
Dec
19
Toronto Tunnel Partners (TTP) is the recipient of a contract with Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx to design, build and finance the Highway 401 Rail Tunnel project for the GO Regional Express Rail (RER) program.
Dec
19
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is "gaining speed" in its plan to drive down costs and improve operations, according to the latest annual report from the agency's Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB).
Although the MBTA's operating budget deficit was projected to reach $242 million in fiscal-year 2017, the actual deficit for the year was $30 million. That improvement stemmed from $37 million in internal cost controls and $30 million debt service savings, the report stated.
Dec
19
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has the "groundwork in place for a much better future," according to the Third Annual Report of the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB).
Dec
19
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has the "groundwork in place for a much better future," according to the Third Annual Report of the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB).
Dec
19
Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals 12/19/2017 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
New England Central Railroad's (NECR) maintenance of way employees ratified their first contract as part of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division's (BMWED) Northeastern System Federation, the union announced yesterday.The 20-person MOW department voted to join the BMWED earlier this year. The new agreement runs retroactively from July 1, 2017, through 2022, according to a BMWED press release.The contract includes 18 percent gross wage increases over the 5.5-year term, overtime pay over 40 hours per week and a minimum three hours overtime on calls outside regularly assigned hours, union officials said.In addition, the agreement provides schedule stabilization, hours of work, seniority, preference for overtime work and improvements in away-from-home expenses, they said.
New England Central Railroad's (NECR) maintenance of way employees ratified their first contract as part of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division's (BMWED) Northeastern System Federation, the union announced yesterday.The 20-person MOW department voted to join the BMWED earlier this year. The new agreement runs retroactively from July 1, 2017, through 2022, according to a BMWED press release.The contract includes 18 percent gross wage increases over the 5.5-year term, overtime pay over 40 hours per week and a minimum three hours overtime on calls outside regularly assigned hours, union officials said.In addition, the agreement provides schedule stabilization, hours of work, seniority, preference for overtime work and improvements in away-from-home expenses, they said.
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More News from 12/19/2017
Dec
19
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV, aka, drones) are becoming an important tool in railroad engineering and maintenance. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates regional/commuter rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is among the latest to adopt the technology.
Why use drones? For Keolis in the greater Boston area, the region is packed with dense forests. In 2015, there were six collisions with fallen trees and 319 trains encountered slippery conditions due to fallen leaves over a 69-day span. A drone equipped with a high-resolution camera and providing a live data feed can scan a right-of-way for these problems much faster than an inspector in a hi-rail vehicle. A drone can also collect data to inspect inaccessible areas on bridges and buildings.
Dec
19
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV, aka, drones) are becoming an important tool in railroad engineering and maintenance. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates regional/commuter rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is among the latest to adopt the technology.
Why use drones? For Keolis in the greater Boston area, the region is packed with dense forests. In 2015, there were six collisions with fallen trees and 319 trains encountered slippery conditions due to fallen leaves over a 69-day span. A drone equipped with a high-resolution camera and providing a live data feed can scan a right-of-way for these problems much faster than an inspector in a hi-rail vehicle. A drone can also collect data to inspect inaccessible areas on bridges and buildings.
Dec
19
Rail News Home High-Speed Rail 12/19/2017 Rail News: High-Speed Rail
The province has begun seeking a firm to develop environmental assessment terms of reference for a segment of the proposed Toronto-Windsor corridor.Photo – Ontario's 2016 high-speed rail feasibility report
The province has begun seeking a firm to develop environmental assessment terms of reference for a segment of the proposed Toronto-Windsor corridor.Photo – Ontario's 2016 high-speed rail feasibility report
Ontario late last week issued a request for bids (RFB) to develop environmental assessment terms of reference for the Kitchener-London segment of the proposed Toronto-Windsor high-speed rail corridor.
The terms of reference will serve as a framework for planning and the environmental assessment, Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials said in a press release.
Dec
19
An Amtrak Cascades train was traveling about 80 mph in a 30 mph zone before it derailed yesterday near DuPont, Washington, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Amtrak Cascades Train 501 was carrying 80 passengers, five Amtrak crew members and one Talgo technician when it derailed at 7:34 a.m. Pacific time while crossing an overpass.
Dec
19
Richard Kloster is senior vice president and chief commercial officer of AllTranstek LLC, a private transportation consulting company that provides fleet management, technical and strategic consulting to the rail industry. He also is a principal at FTR Intel, where he forecasts the rail equipment markets for a broad client base.
This time last year, the rail equipment outlook for 2017 looked promising. Freight volumes had picked up in late 2016, rail-car demand had improved and 2017 was looking like a possible recovery year. However, the pick-up was short lived and there was no recovery to be had — just a continued slogging through a shifting market with too many cars in some segments and not enough in others.
Dec
18
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved a $91.5 million design-build contract to the firm Halmar International to make improvements to five Metro-North stations.
Metro-North Railroad's White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale stations will undergo enhancement work as part of MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. Construction to deliver the improvements set to get underway in early 2018, officials said.
Dec
18
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved a $91.5 million design-build contract to the firm Halmar International to make improvements to five Metro-North stations.
Metro-North Railroad's White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale stations will undergo enhancement work as part of MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. Construction to deliver the improvements set to get underway in early 2018, officials said.
Dec
18
Amtrak has selected Penn Station Partners to negotiate a master development deal for Baltimore Penn Station.
The team is comprised of Beatty Development Group, Armada Hoffler Properties, Cross Street Partners, Gensler, WSP USA, Network Rail Consulting and Mace Group, among others.
Dec
18
Amtrak has selected Penn Station Partners to negotiate a master development deal for Baltimore Penn Station.
The team is comprised of Beatty Development Group, Armada Hoffler Properties, Cross Street Partners, Gensler, WSP USA, Network Rail Consulting and Mace Group, among others.
Dec
18
The 5.34-mile (8.6-km) Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Toronto-to-York subway extension opened to the public on Sunday, Dec. 17.
The new extension, also known as the TTC Line 1 Extension, connects Sheppard West Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station in York Region in the province of Ontario. TTC says the extension will reduce commute times and make it easier and faster for residents and tourists to get around.
Dec
18
The 5.34-mile (8.6-km) Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Toronto-to-York subway extension opened to the public on Sunday, Dec. 17.
The new extension, also known as the TTC Line 1 Extension, connects Sheppard West Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station in York Region in the province of Ontario. TTC says the extension will reduce commute times and make it easier and faster for residents and tourists to get around.
Dec
18
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will use a bidding firms' past performance record on previous PANYNJ projects in contract award decisions.
PANYNJ says the move is part of its "continuing effort to assure completion of Port Authority construction projects on time and within budget."
Dec
18
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will use a bidding firms' past performance record on previous PANYNJ projects in contract award decisions.
PANYNJ says the move is part of its "continuing effort to assure completion of Port Authority construction projects on time and within budget."
Dec
18
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)'s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) made strides toward accelerating environmental reviews and project delivery timelines for rail projects in Florida and Texas late last week.
USDOT signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for Phase II of the All Aboard Florida (AAF)/Brightline Project and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement review (DEIS) for the Texas Central Railway (TCR) High-Speed Rail Project.