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Mar
28

BNSF slates $230 million for California capex projects

BNSF Railway Co. has planned $230 million in capital expenditures this year to expand capacity and perform scheduled maintenance work in California.

BNSF, which operates a 2,000-mile network in California, will install additional production track and new lift equipment at the Los Angeles Intermodal Facility, and extend the existing north lead track to improve switching capability at the Stockton Intermodal Facility.

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Mar
28

Georgia Ports Authority launches Mason Mega rail project

Rail News Home Intermodal 3/28/2018 Rail News: Intermodal
From left, GPA Board Member Charles Tarbutton, Savannah Mayor Eddie Deloach, Maritime Administrator Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, GPA Chairman Jimmy Allgood, Tracey Mason, Teresa Waters, GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch, Norfolk Southern VP Rob Martinez, CSX VP Dean Piacente and Garden City Mayor Don Bethune.Photo – Georgia Ports Authority

Georgia Ports Authority and other officials on Monday broke ground on the $127 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal.

The project will increase the Port of Savannah's rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year, and open new markets that will span an arc of cities from Memphis, Tennessee, to St. Louis, and from Chicago to Cincinnati, port officials said in a press release.

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Mar
28

Georgia Ports Authority breaks ground on Mason Mega rail project

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) broke ground on the $126.7 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal on March 26.

 

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Mar
28

Pennsylvania OKs funding for 27 freight-rail projects

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 3/28/2018 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
The State Transportation Commission approved $32 million for the projects through the Rail Transportation Assistance and the Rail Freight Assistance programs.Photo – www.governor.pa.gov

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf yesterday announced funding approval for 27 freight-rail improvement projects.

The State Transportation Commission has approved $32 million for the
projects through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program and the Rail Freight Assistance Program, Wolf announced in a press release.

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Mar
28

Norfolk Southern taps McClellan, Elkins for new roles

The Norfolk Southern (NS) board of directors has selected new roles for both Michael R. McClellan and Claude E. "Ed" Elkins, effective April 1.

 

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Mar
27

Metra to replace UP North Line bridges

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 3/27/2018 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
The railroad is replacing bridges that carry trains over Webster Avenue and the North Branch of the Chicago River.Photo – Metra

Metra next month will wrap up a multiyear project to replace bridges on the Union Pacific North Line.

Beginning April 9, the railroad will implement a new schedule for evening and weekend trains on the line to accommodate the project. The schedule change will enable Metra trains to operate on a single track between Clybourn Station and Evanston while crews complete the $15.5 million bridge replacements.

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Mar
27

UP's Iowa infrastructure to get $47 million boost

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 3/27/2018 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad's 2018 capital expenditures program includes $47 million for track and bridge maintenance projects in Iowa.The work will include $39.7 million to maintain track and $5.9 million to maintain bridges in the state.Key projects will include $12 million for work on the Mississippi River Bridge in Clinton; $8.4 million to replace 72,000 ties between Grand Junction and Mallard; and $5.7 million to replace 42,000 ties between Nevada and Tama.Over the past five years, UP has spent $357.5 million on its network in Iowa, according to a UP press release.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

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Mar
27

UP's Iowa infrastructure to get $47 million boost

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 3/27/2018 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad's 2018 capital expenditures program includes $47 million for track and bridge maintenance projects in Iowa.The work will include $39.7 million to maintain track and $5.9 million to maintain bridges in the state.Key projects will include $12 million for work on the Mississippi River Bridge in Clinton; $8.4 million to replace 72,000 ties between Grand Junction and Mallard; and $5.7 million to replace 42,000 ties between Nevada and Tama.Over the past five years, UP has spent $357.5 million on its network in Iowa, according to a UP press release.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

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Mar
27

Milwaukee receives first streetcar from Brookville

The city of Milwaukee yesterday took delivery of the first vehicle for its new streetcar system.

The 67-foot, 83,000-pound streetcar arrived from Brookville Equipment Corp.'s plant in Brookville, Pennsylvania. The unit, which rolled off a truck in downtown Milwaukee, will be stored in the streetcar system's operations and maintenance facility on N. 4th Street.

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Mar
27

Bombardier inks $288 million contract for MARC commuter-rail maintenance

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 3/27/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Bombardier has previously built multi- and single-level coaches for MARC.Photo – Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to continue providing operations and maintenance services for the Maryland Area Regional Commuter's (MARC) Brunswick and Camden lines.

The $288 million agreement extends a contract first awarded in 2012. The scope of work includes maintenance of diesel locomotives, rail cars, stations, facilities and rail infrastructure for the MTA-owned portion of the Brunswick Line.

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Mar
27

Secure Rail webcast to focus on Industrial IoT

Rail News Home Security 3/27/2018 Rail News: Security
Progressive Railroading and Secure Rail on April 11 will host a webcast titled "IIoT and the Digital Transformation of Railways."The webcast will be presented by Pranav Misal, a research analyst at ARC Advisory Group. Misal also will be a presenter at the Secure Rail Conference on April 25 in Orlando, Florida. The conference is hosted by Progressive Railroading. Secure Rail Conference registrants will have complimentary access to the April 11 webcast, which is being presented as a conference preview. Misal's webcast will emphasize the implementation of cutting-edge technologies that can help improve operations, asset maintenance and services by addressing current trends and recommendations in critical fields.For more information about the webcast, follow this link.The Secure Rail Conference will be held April 24-25. Registration and other information is available on the conference website.

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Mar
27

Union Pacific invests $110.3M in Iowa, Oregon networks

Union Pacific (UP) has announced plans to spend an estimated $47 million on its Iowa network and about $63.3 million on its network in Oregon this year to improve safety, efficiency and customer service.

 

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Mar
27

Illinois panel OKs $194 million plan for rail crossing projects

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 3/27/2018 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved a five-year plan that calls for $194 million in funding to help local communities and railroads pay for safety improvements at more than 700 rail crossings.The Grade Crossing Protection Fund will distribute the dollars over fiscal years 2019-2023 to help cover the cost of 16 new bridge projects, 194 new grade crossing projects and low-cost improvements at about 500 crossing locations."Rail crossing safety is a top priority of the Illinois Commerce Commission to prevent the loss of life due to train-related collisions. The Crossing Safety Improvement Program enables the ICC to identify and help provide funding for much-needed rail crossing safety projects on local roads and streets in communities throughout Illinois," said ICC Chairman Brien Sheahan in a press release.Major projects in the plan include:
• $12.6 million to assist Sangamon County with the cost to construct a grade separation to carry Iron Bridge Road over the Union Pacific Railroad track near Chatham;
• $9 million to assist Champaign County with the cost to construct a bridge to carry Curtis Road over Illinois Central Railroad tracks. The project will replace the existing Curtis Road grade crossing in Savoy;
• $3.5 million to assist Chicago with the cost to reconstruct a CSX bridge over 63rd Street;
• $2 million to assist Elmhurst to construct a new pedestrian grade separation of Union Pacific Railroad tracks adjacent to York Road;
• $2 million to assist Mundelein with the cost to construct a pedestrian-rail grade separation of the Wisconsin Central Ltd. tracks near Hawley Street; and
• $1 million to reconstruct roadway approaches and install gates and automatic flashing light signals on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at the Illinois Central Railroad tracks in Decatur.The ICC prioritizes projects based on factors such as collision history, traffic volume, engineering requirements and geographical location.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

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Mar
27

Illinois crossing projects get $194M

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved its annual 5-year plan for the Crossing Safety Improvement Program, which will roll out highway-rail safety projects throughout the state.

 

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Mar
27

Ontario to issue RFQs for GO Regional Express Rail project

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 3/27/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The upcoming contract will integrate rail operations and maintenance with the infrastructure and vehicle upgrades needed to deliver electrified service on the GO rail network.Photo – GO Transit

The province of Ontario yesterday announced plans to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to select a team to design, build, finance, operate and maintain its GO Regional Express Rail (RER) project.

The contract will integrate rail operations and maintenance with the infrastructure and vehicle upgrades needed to deliver electrified service on the GO Transit rail network, according to a press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

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Mar
27

Ontario preps for expanded GO service

Ontario is adding new stations and performing upgrades across its GO Regional Express Rail (RER) network to prepare for additional all-day, two-way GO train service for commuters in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

 

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Mar
27

BNSF addresses STB's service concerns

BNSF Railway Co.'s $3.3 billion capital investment plan will put the railroad in a position to meet customers' growth and service expectations this year, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last week.

Ice is one of two Class I executives to respond so far to the STB's recent request for 2018 service outlook reports, as the board looks into shippers' complaints about deteriorating freight-rail service.

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Mar
27

BNSF addresses STB's service concerns

BNSF Railway Co.'s $3.3 billion capital investment plan will put the railroad in a position to meet customers' growth and service expectations this year, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last week.

Ice is one of two Class I executives to respond so far to the STB's recent request for 2018 service outlook reports, as the board looks into shippers' complaints about deteriorating freight-rail service.

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Mar
27

Plans for new NOLA intermodal hub

The Port of New Orleans has given its blessing, and more, for a plan to redevelop a defunct city shipyard into an intermodal terminal.

A new joint venture has acquired the former Avondale shipyard, a 206-acre site that under Northrup Grumman Corp. constructed its last ship for the Navy in 2013 and was once the largest private employer in Louisiana.

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Mar
27

NTSB’s Sumwalt offers updates on rail at ‘Most Wanted’ midpoint

Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), offered insight on the status of important rail safety changes at the midpoint of the Most Wanted List 2017–2018 cycle in a March 26 blog post.

The NTSB released its 2017–2018 Most Wanted List in November 2016, following a new two-year cycle format rather than the previous annual timeline used.

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