Railroad News

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) earlier this week announced it has rated the Hudson River rail tunnel rehabilitation project a "medium-low" priority, a designation that serves to delay the project's eligibility for federal funding under the Capital Investment Grant program.

Last year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), Amtrak and New Jersey Transit submitted a revised application for funding, including a proposal to lower the project's cost by $1.4 billion and decrease its reliance on federal funds to less than 50 percent. The revised application was part of an effort to increase the project's FTA rating above "medium low." The tunnel project's cost is estimated to be about $12 billion.

New York Air Brake LLC (NYAB) appointed Greg Dalpe senior vice president of sales and marketing. Dalpe succeeds Jason Connell, who was named president and chief executive officer of Knorr Brake Co. last month, NYAB officials said in a press release. Dalpe joined NYAB in 2015. Previously, he served as operations director and VP of operations. Prior to joining NYAB, he was a divisional quality manager and director of operations at ONEX Corp.

Terracon Consultants Inc. has acquired Skelly and Loy Inc. Terracon will maintain the existing corporate structure of Skelly and Loy and add the firm to its national network. As a result of the merger, Skelly and Loy Chair Sandi Loy Bell has retired, and President John Gunnett announced plans to retire after the companies are integrated, Skelly and Loy officials said in a press release.

Amtrak Northeast Regional routes in Virginia logged a record ridership of 100,511 passengers in December 2019, a 27 percent increase from the December 2018 level.

The holiday season helped drive the ridership increase, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) yesterday received approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to enter the final engineering phase of the the South Shore Line’s double-track project in northwest Indiana as part of the FTA’s Capital Investment Grant program.

NICTD’s double-track project calls for installation of a second mainline track on 26 miles of the South Shore Line from Gary to Michigan City. The project also includes station improvements, parking expansion, construction of nine new platforms and closure of 21 grade crossings.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) earlier this week raised the rating on New Jersey Transit’s proposed Portal North Bridge replacement project to "medium-high" priority, effectively making it eligible for federal funding. 

In September 2019, NJ Transit submitted to the FTA a revised financial plan based on federal recommendations to allocate more local money to the project and keep costs in check, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday revealed three joint ventures have been selected to submit design-build proposals to bring MTA Metro-North Railroad service to New York Penn Station by 2024.

Qualified design-build entities are: Halmar International LLC/RailWorks Corp. joint venture with Ove Arup & Partners P.C. as the lead designer; the Skanska ECCO III Penn Station Connectors JV led by designer AECOM USA Inc.; and the Tutor Perini/O&G JV with Parsons Transportation Group of New York Inc. as the lead designer. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has allocated a $10.5 million grant to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority to help fund the construction of a new rail-served warehouse.

The grant will help fund the construction of a 56,000-square-foot warehouse at the Clure Public Marine Terminal, along with rehabilitation of 1,775 lineal feet of deteriorating dock walls at Berth 10 and 11, port authority officials said in a press release.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) officials yesterday announced the agency has moved closer to receiving a $1.3 billion federal grant to help fund the third and final phase of its Purple Line subway extension.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has sent the full-funding grant agreement to Capitol Hill for a 30-day review period, the last step before the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and LA Metro sign the agreement, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

CN announced yesterday it will shut down significant parts of its Canadian rail network imminently unless protest blockades on its rail lines are removed.

The blockades are disrupting passenger-rail travel as well as Canadians' ability to move goods and enable trade, CN officials said in a press release.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) crews working on the Purple Line Extension project expect tunneling between the planned Wilshire/La Brea Station and Wilshire/Fairfax Station to be delayed until March.

Cross passage excavation, tar sands and methane pockets have slowed tunneling progress, delaying breakthrough of one tunnel boring machine to the Wilshire/Fairfax Station.

[Editor's note: The headline of this article originally posted on Feb. 11 was updated Feb. 12 at 2:56 p.m. CT)

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) crews working on the Purple Line Extension project expect tunneling between the planned Wilshire/La Brea Station and Wilshire/Fairfax Station to be delayed until March.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) board last week declared a "climate emergency" and recommitted to reducing the agency's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

VTA joins over 1,300 local governments in 25 countries in declaring a climate emergency, including Santa Clara County and the cities of Cupertino and San Jose, in which VTA serves. 

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) last month signed a three-year contract to license its GoPass mobile ticking application to Trinity Metro. 

While the GoPass app previously included Trinity Metro service, the new agreement offers added features to riders in Fort Worth, Texas, including integrated on-demand service requesting and bike-share location information, DART officials said in a press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) has filed with Transport Canada the association's latest locomotive emissions monitoring (LEM) report, which shows a decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity and criteria air contaminants despite increases in freight- and passenger-rail traffic.

The report is part of the Canadian railroads' efforts to help improve fuel efficiency and reduce transportation-related emissions.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has launched a scholarship fund to provide financial aid and career development opportunities to economically disadvantaged youth who want to attend college and pursue construction and engineering-related careers.  

The CTA Elevating Futures Scholarship Fund will award $250,000, or 10 scholarships, to Chicago Public Schools students who plan to pursue a four-year college degree in construction management, civil engineering or industrial or systems engineering, CTA officials said in a press release.

Transport Canada officials yesterday announced the Canadian government will invest CA$15 million in a rail project aimed at reducing bottlenecks on the western Canadian rail network.

The project calls for the construction of a 1,930 rail-car storage yard in Sturgeon County, Alberta, northeast of Edmonton. Major project components include a large loop track, 32 parallel storage tracks capable of accommodating rail-car storage and assembly of trains, and a connection to the CN Rock Yard's rail siding, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.

President Donald Trump's administration yesterday unveiled a proposed fiscal-year 2021 budget that calls for cutting Amtrak funding by more than 50 percent compared with 2020 levels.

The White House budget would cut funding to the Northeast Corridor from $700 million to $325 million, as well as cut funding for long-distance train routes from $1.3 billion to $611 million. After that, the White House would phase out support for Amtrak's long-distance trains, Reuters reported.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) last week recognized Keolis Commuter Services LLC and Clever Devices for achievements in sustainability. 

As part of APTA’s Sustainability Commitment program, companies pledge to take actions that lead to continuous improvements in environmental, social and economic sustainability. Based on measurable achievements, APTA honors organizations with platinum, gold, silver and bronze level recognition for their efforts, APTA officials said in a press release.