Railroad News

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) activated equipment on three rail lines May 1 and began operation under Amtrak's Positive Train Control (PTC) system.

SEPTA says that with the activation of PTC on the Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton and Wilmington/Newark Regional Rail Lines, its final PTC program work will focus on the boundary locations where SEPTA service abuts Amtrak.

Wisconsin awarded a $2.6-million loan to Country Visions Cooperative, which is building a new dry fertilizer plant in Plymouth with rail access.

Canadian National Railway (CN) Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer JJ Ruest has been inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame.

The International Maritime Hall of Fame was founded in 1993 by the Maritime Association Port of New York and New Jersey to recognize maritime visionaries, who, through excellence in their company, organization or services, best exemplify the qualities of futuristic thinking that will guide the maritime industry in the 21st century.

Union Pacific (UP) will invest approximately $41 million in its Oklahoma rail infrastructure as a part of the Class 1's $3.1-billion capital plan.

UP says the Oklahoma investment plan funds a range of initiatives including $40 million to maintain railroad track and $626,000 to maintain the state's bridges. Key projects include an $8 million investment in the rail line between Parsons, Kan., and Big Cabin, Okla., to replace 62,431 crossties and install 28,642 tons of ballast and a $7 million investment in the rail line between the Oklahoma state line and Gore to replace 53,308 crossties and install 24,247 tons of ballast.

Dymax Rail hosted a tour and policy discussion along with Watco Companies, LLC, for Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS) at its Wamego, Kan., facility.

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is undergoing a name change. The firm will now operation as WSP worldwide and WSP USA in the United States.

"We have shaped the transportation infrastructure and skylines of American cities with some of the nation's tallest buildings and the public transit systems of New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Now, we're moving forward as WSP USA, offering our clients the expertise to conceive and deliver the infrastructure communities need to prosper," said Gregory A. Kelly, president and chief executive officer. "Although our name has changed, our commitment to technical excellence and client service will never change."

Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) were jointly recognized with the first Railroad Achievement Award by the Association of American Railroads in partnership with GoRail.

Experts in both structural health monitoring and railroad infrastructure management took part in a first-ever technical session, "Structural Health and Performance Monitoring of Railroad Infrastructure," at the 2017 Structures Congress.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) will be performing major upgrades to the Astoria's N Line equipment, including the replacement of switches and other track work.

MTA says replacing the switches will reduce noise along the 31st Street corridor and the track work will result in increased reliability and reduced delays. The $12.4-million project will require eight non-consecutive weekend closures between May and September. On these weekends, from 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday, free shuttle buses will replace N service between Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. and Queensboro Plaza in both directions, making stops at all affected N stations.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) is raising awareness about the energized third rail on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Extension.

SCVTA says the contact rail will be energized along the entire 10-mile alignment for testing purposes, and any part of the rail corridor should be considered electrified at any time. The transportation authority says the traction power network will carry 1000 volts of direct current to the contact rails.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will begin work this fall on a piece of track that will be used for testing new Red Line cars in 2019.

The track will be adjacent to Haul Road and known as Track 61. MBTA says every element of the cars' systems will be rigorously tested to ensure that the new trains operate safely and reliably upon introduction to passenger service. After the cars are fully tested and approved by an MBTA engineering team, the new Red Line trains will start serving customers on the T's busiest subway line.

The area near the border of the United States and Canada will see a new transload facility and rail siding built.

Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Rutherford Station project, which is part of an ongoing effort to support expanded GO Regional Express Rail (GO RER).

The Premier of Quebec Philippe Couillard announced on May 5 that the province will allocate CA$100 million (US$73 million) towards the rehabilitation of the Matapédia - Gaspé line.

Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno met with State Rep. Luis Arroyo and other officials to break ground on a $7.3-million renovation of the Healy Station on the Milwaukee North Line.

The project includes the removal of the existing platforms, shelters, structural steel, ramps, stairs and railings and the construction of new platforms, shelters with on-demand heat, canopies, retaining walls, ramps (including a ramp to the outbound platform), stairs, LED lighting, gutters and storm sewer system. It also includes painting and waterproofing the adjoining rail bridge over Fullerton Avenue. The station will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Union Pacific (UP) plans to invest approximately $57 million in Kansas infrastructure in 2017. The investment is part of UP's $3.1-billion capital plan.

UP's investment plan funds a range of initiatives: $43 million to maintain railroad track and $12 million to maintain bridges in the state. The Class 1's key initiatives include a $13-million investment in the rail line between Topeka and Herington to replace 102,740 crossties and install 53,137 tons of ballast and a $4.8-million investment in the rail line between Junction City and Salina to replace 33,828 crossties and install 327 tons of ballast.

The largest container vessel to call Canada arrived on May 5 at Global Container Terminals (GCT) Deltaport, located in the Port of Vancouver. The port was able to attract the vessel due in part to its enhanced rail connections.

GCT Canada said the Hapag-Lloyd vessel is the first of a progressive ship upsizing that has been deployed as part of the Transport High Efficiency ("THE") Alliance's Transpacific mainline West Coast PN3 service.

Canada will headquarter its new infrastructure bank in Toronto, ON, and has also launched an intense search for the bank's senior leadership.

"We are excited to be taking this next step towards the creation of the bank," said Canadian Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi. "We will be looking for talented and experienced leaders from across the country to ensure that the Bank meets its mandate: build more infrastructure for Canadians that will create growth and equip our communities for a more sustainable and productive future."

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. will conduct preliminary engineering and other planning work for the new AirTrain connection to LaGuardia Airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) issued a Request for Proposals for the Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel Tier II Environmental Impact Study. The study will explore a cross-harbor freight tunnel that would offer New York City a direct link to the national freight rail network.