Railroad News

The Valley Metro Rail Board of Directors has approved a base five-year contract with Alternate Concepts, Inc. (ACI), to provide rail transportation services for the 26-mile system in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, Ariz.

HNTB Corporation has promoted Rob Troup to transit and rail market sector leader for the Northeast Division. The company has also added Mark Niles as senior project manager and associate vice president, based in Washington, D.C.

As an HNTB vice president, Troup is based in the Philadelphia office; he joined the firm in 2016. In his new role, Troup's focus is client development, as well as the management of engineering and design for rail and transit projects in the northeast region.

The Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a status update today on railroads' progress implementing positive train control (PTC) systems in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The status update, based on railroad-submitted quarterly data, shows freight railroads continue to make consistent progress while passenger industry progress in installing and activating the life-saving technology only slightly increased.

The Trump Administration released its proposed 2017 budget, which includes reducing funds to the U.S. Department of Transportation and eliminating Amtrak's long distance train funding, as well as popular transportation grants.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report regarding the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) planning of SafeTrack, a large-scale rehabilitation project for its rail infrastructure.

Gannett Fleming Canada ULC is expanding its transportation practice with the addition of three experienced professionals to its Toronto office: David Bannister, Yousef Kimiagar and Magdy Samaan.

Former New York MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast was honored as Railway Age's 54th Railroader of the Year at a dinner of the Western Railway Club on March 14 at the historic Union League Club, Chicago.

Siemens was chosen by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to provide innovative electrification technology to power the Guadalupe Corridor light rail line. VTA's infrastructure modernization will replace 27-year-old systems with Siemens' new state-of-the-art electrification technology that includes advanced monitoring and diagnostic features to streamline maintenance activities.

The new technology includes traction power substations that convert alternating current electricity provided by the local utility to direct current in order to power the light rail trains, modern protection communication devices and advanced circuit breakers and controllers that monitor the system and report issues if they arise. These systems can detect faults sooner and minimize stress on the line, resulting in a longer vehicle lifecycle and ultimately a more reliable ride for the approximately 10 million passengers who rely on VTA's light rail system each year.

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Kerri Tyerman, PE, joined HNTB Corporation as the transportation department manager working in the firm's New Jersey operations. She is based in HNTB's Parsippany office.

AECOM announced that Paul Praylo has been named chief operating officer of its Construction Services (CS) business, a global construction division that has grown from under $2B to nearly $7B in revenue in the last five years.

Maggie Lancaster has joined the staff of Railway Track & Structures as Assistant Editor, reporting directly to RT&S Editor and Railway Age Engineering Editor Mischa Wanek-Libman.

Representatives from the office of U.S. Congressman Bill Flores's (R-TX-17) and Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver joined representatives from Axion Structural Innovations LLC to tour Axion's Waco manufacturing facility and discuss pressing rail and manufacturing issues with various rail stakeholders and local officials.

STV has named Tyler Bonstead, P.E., AICP, as vice president and Scott McIntyre, P.E., LEED AP, as senior vice president.

Amit Bose joined HNTB Corporation as mid-Atlantic district transit and rail director, and associate vice president, based in the firm's Arlington, Va., office. His responsibilities include delivering major transit and rail projects, supporting national transit and rail programs, and growing HNTB's mid-Atlantic rail practice.

Bose has 16 years of public-sector experience serving a variety of agencies, including the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), New Jersey Transit and New Jersey Department of Transportation. His tenure at FRA included serving as deputy administrator and chief counsel. He was involved in the Northeast Corridor Gateway Program, California High-Speed Rail Project, Northeast Corridor Future, Southeast Passenger Rail and Build America Bureau, in addition to engaging with all levels of government and industry on transit and rail matters.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) broke ground March 10 on the Inland Port Dillon, which is slated to open in early 2018.

Inland Port Dillon will support growing intermodal cargo volumes between the Port of Charleston and markets throughout the Carolinas, Northeast and Midwest. This is the second inland port the SCPA has developed and follows the success of Inland Port Greer.

Orange and Durham counties in North Carolina have agreed to an accelerated schedule to update country transit plans and a cost sharing agreement for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project.

Companies whose employees depend on Caltrain to get to and from work in the Bay Area joined agency representatives in Washington, D.C., this past week to advocate for approval of a grant that would fund a modernization project.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) began the final phase of the $203-million Wilson Red Line Station Reconstruction Project.

A group of Portland area public works entities have joined forces to coordinate construction and maintenance projects to lessen potential negative impacts to the community.

The Get Portland Moving initiative is an effort by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, the Bureau of Environmental Services, the Portland Water Bureau, Portland Parks & Recreation, Multnomah County, the Oregon Department of Transportation, TriMet and Portland Streetcar to coordinate required project work in the Central Business District and Cully neighborhood of Portland, Ore.