Railroad News

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has revealed its intent to award a $790 million grant and $629 million low-interest loan to Sound Transit to enable the start of construction on the Federal Way Link light-rail extension, Sound Transit officials said yesterday.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) late last week transmitted the $790 million full funding grant agreement (FFGA) to Congress, starting a 30-day notification period. The action means that the FTA intends to execute the grant after the 30 days expires, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) earlier this month partnered with Lyft to offer Metrolink riders a free ride-hailing option between four commuter-rail stations and Ontario International Airport in Southern California. 

SBCTA will cover up to $35 off each Lyft ride connecting a rider from the Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario-East stations to the airport.

The North County Transit District (NCTD) yesterday completed track repairs on portions of the right-of-way on the Del Mar Bluffs in California, that were damaged by erosion washouts following a rainstorm in late November. 

Last week, Mid-Coast Transit Constructors and DrillTech constructed steel-reinforced shotcrete retaining structures between the existing concrete piles at a section of track near 15th Street in the Del Mar, California. Crews also installed a temporary fix with two steel plates and concrete slurry at a second erosion point, NCTD officials said in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) board last week approved a development agreement with Trammell Crow Co. to construct an underground parking garage and residential and commercial towers near the SMU/Mockingbird Station in Dallas. 

The transit-oriented development (TOD) will be constructed on surface parking lots at the station, which is one of DART’s busiest. This will be the second TOD to be constructed at the station, DART officials said in a press release.

Inadequate securement of cargo on an A-frame flat car led to the derailment of Canadian Pacific train near Saint-Polycarpe, Quebec, in July 2018, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced last week.

The incident occurred when the leading end of a boxcar struck a 21-foot section of stock rail that had fallen from the end of the preceding A-frame flat car. The stock rail had been loaded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with unbundled crossties on the deck of the flat car and secured using two loops of steel banding routed through anchor rings. 

Metrolink’s Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) program is expected to create 1.3 million jobs and increase the gross regional product by almost $684 billion through 2050, according to a Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC) study presented to Metrolink's board last week.

SCORE is a 10-year, $10 billion capital improvement program to upgrade regional rail infrastructure and improve commute times and air quality in advance of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

—Compiled by Michael Popke

—Compiled by Michael Popke

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate Editor

Iteris Inc. was awarded a $2 million subcontract by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) to provide traffic operations analysis and traffic engineering design services for a new light-rail system in LA County. Iteris will provide design services for the light-rail system at more than 60 signalized intersections as part of the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Project, Iteris officials said in a press release.

HNTB Corp. hired Kimberly Proia as project director and vice president, and Debbie Gies as senior project manager for program management. Proia will serve as deputy project manager for Sound Transit’s West Seattle and Ballard Link light-rail extension project. Proia has 25 years of experience managing U.S. transit-rail projects, HNTB officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Gies will work with transit agencies on project management, operations coordination, construction staging logistics and public outreach. She has 27 years of experience. Previously, she worked for another transportation consulting firm and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as deputy director of light-rail operations.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) generated $1 billion in positive economic impact for the San Diego region, according to a report from the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University. 

The report concludes that every dollar of public investment into SDMTS returns $2.82 in the form of jobs, infrastructure investment, productivity gains, environmental benefits and money saved by riders.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Transit Innovation Partnership and Empire State Development earlier this week hosted a summit to speed up modernization of MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) subway signaling system. 

The summit challenged about 100 company participants from four continents to reimagine signaling infrastructure and advance the transition to 21st century signaling technologies. 

The Bi-State Development Board earlier this week voted to explore possible options for assuming control of the Loop Trolley streetcar operations in St. Louis, Missouri. 

The 2.2-mile Loop Trolley, which is operated by the nonprofit Loop Trolley Co., is financially strapped and set to close by Dec. 29. It needs about $240,000 more a year to operate, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier this week.

G3 yesterday announced plans to build two new grain elevators in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

G3 will construct one elevator in Vermilion, Alberta, which will have a capacity of 34,000 tons and be located on a CN line. The second elevator, which will be built in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, will have a capacity of 42,000 tons and be located on a Canadian Pacific line.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced yesterday the approval of 26 freight-rail improvement projects, along with the state's share of the cost.

The projects are designed to improve freight mobility while creating or sustaining more than 390 jobs, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has created a new pilot program to expedite long-term, low-cost loans for short-line and regional railroads, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced yesterday.

The Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Financing Express (RRIF Express) is aimed at reducing the time and costs associated with securing loans to modernize aging freight-rail infrastructure.