Railroad News

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) celebrated the groundbreaking Feb. 23 on Section 2 of its forthcoming Purple Line extension project.

The District of Columbia (D.C.) obtained Federal Transit Administration (FTA) certification for its rail transit State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program, becoming the fourth state or entity to be certified.

Under the D.C.'s SSO Program, the D.C. Fire and Emergency Management Services is responsible for providing safety oversight of the D.C. Streetcar system. Separately, the District of Columbia, together with Virginia and Maryland, are expected to jointly submit to the FTA an SSO Program certification application for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail system, which will be overseen by the Metrorail Safety Commission.

Virtually, all incidents involving winter recreation vehicles and trains can be avoided says Operation Lifesaver's (OL) Canadian arm, which released a new video campaign addressing the subject.

OL Canada says the snowmobile-focused virtual-reality video raises awareness about how to prevent collisions between trains and winter off-road vehicles. The shock value is high in the video, which immerses viewers in a 3D environment where they are treated to a snowmobile-driver's point of view of the last seconds of a ride before approaching a crossing where the ride ends in what OL Canada hopes is an unforgettable collision with a train. The video is the latest addition to the Look. Listen. Live. campaign first launched by OL Canada last April.

Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) crews will work from the end of February through mid-May to replace crossties and install grade crossings.

LIRR plans to replace timber crossties on the Montauk Branch between Patchogue and Speonk on weekdays from February 26 to May 18, 2018. This work is being performed as part of the LIRR's 2018 Annual Track Program, an ongoing initiative to renew the commuter line's track infrastructure, which LIRR says is an imperative effort to maintain and improve safety and on-time performance. The 2018 program was originally budgeted at $60 million, but as of a December 2017 update, has increased to $64 million.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have issued the final state and federal environmental document for SCVTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project.

The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/SEIR) includes responses to comments that were received during the public circulation of the draft document, which was released in December 2016, and design refinements made since then.

One of the oldest railroad bridges in Wisconsin, a more-than-century-old, 2,200-foot timber structure spanning the Wisconsin River at Spring Green on the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad's (WSOR) Prairie Subdivision, has undergone a a major improvement project. WSOR, a Watco Cos.subsidiary, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) collaborated on the project.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says a refuse truck was on the grade crossing after gates were lowered when it was hit by Special Amtrak Train 923 in Crozet, Va.

NTSB's preliminary report says the crossing was active and equipped with crossbuck signs, warning lights, bells and gates. Data extracted from the locomotive's forward-facing track camera showed that as the crossing came into view, the gates were down and the refuse truck was on the grade crossing. NTSB reports that witnesses to the crash reported that the refuse truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.

New York state has $26.5 million in funds available for rail and port projects as part of the Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program.

The TriMet Board of Directors has named Shelley Devine, the transit agency's current general counsel, as its new interim general manager.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has appointed Catherine Rinaldi as the sixth President of MTA Metro-North Railroad, the first woman to serve in that capacity.

Siemens will provide the power infrastructure for the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) light-rail system's latest expansion, officials announced.

As with is previously announced plans for Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Montana and Washington state, the focus of the state programs will be on maintenance.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its preliminary transportation occurrence statistics for 2017. Total railway incidents were up, but still in line with five-year averages.

TSB says it, along with Transport Canada, the transportation industry, as well as many other organizations and researchers, use these statistics on reportable occurrences in the air, marine, railway and pipeline modes of transportation for the identification and analysis of trends.

A project to develop a railroad transshipment center at the regional industrial park in Saint-Tite, Quebec has been awarded funds from the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED).

The CA$847,378 (US$671,382) in support of the center comes from CED's Quebec Economic Development Program. CED says the funding will allow the regional county municipality of Mékinac (MRC) to carry out various aspects of construction work, including moving and extending the railway, site development, paving and the installation of infrastructure for site security (fences, access barriers, streetlights).

HNTB has named Joseph Pizzurro, PE, as its new transit and rail practice leader.

The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) and the city of High Point, N.C., are tackling $5.1 million in improvements to the railroad corridor and drainage in the city's downtown.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on Feb. 15 examining the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC).

Juan D. Reyes III, chief counsel, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Edward Hamberger, president and CEO, Association of American Railroads (AAR), Richard Anderson, CEO, Amtrak, Paul Skoutelas, president and CEO, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), John P. Tolman, vice president and national legislative representative, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and Robert Sumwalt, chairman, National Transportation Safety Board all testified at the hearing.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on Feb. 15 examining the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC).

Juan D. Reyes III, chief counsel, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Edward Hamberger, president and CEO, Association of American Railroads (AAR), Richard Anderson, CEO, Amtrak, Paul Skoutelas, president and CEO, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), John P. Tolman, vice president and national legislative representative, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and Robert Sumwalt, chairman, National Transportation Safety Board all testified at the hearing.

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is explaining the reason behind its extended shutdown of its SubwayLink system for rail repair work.