Railroad News

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold its first hearing of the 115th Congress next week and will explore how and what to build in order to meet the needs of the 21st century.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold its first hearing of the 115th Congress next week and will explore how and what to build in order to meet the needs of the 21st century.

A state senator from Massachusetts is requesting the Trump Administration to include a proposed high-speed rail line between Boston and Springfield on future infrastructure priority lists.

State Sen. Eric Lesser (D- 1st Hampden & Hampshire) sent a letter to the White House urging the president to include the high-speed line as a priority following reports that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line was included on a list of priority infrastructure projects.

A state senator from Massachusetts is requesting the Trump Administration to include a proposed high-speed rail line between Boston and Springfield on future infrastructure priority lists.

State Sen. Eric Lesser (D- 1st Hampden & Hampshire) sent a letter to the White House urging the president to include the high-speed line as a priority following reports that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line was included on a list of priority infrastructure projects.

The Sound Transit Board of Directors has awarded Max J. Kuney Company a $93 million contract to build its Bel-Red/130th Station and guideway.

The Sound Transit Board of Directors has awarded Max J. Kuney Company a $93 million contract to build its Bel-Red/130th Station and guideway.

Sound Transit’s Board of Directors has chosen an alignment to bring light-rail service to Federal Way.

Sound Transit’s Board of Directors has chosen an alignment to bring light-rail service to Federal Way.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded a $98 million contract to L.K. Comstock & Company Inc., an electrical contractor and RailWorks Corporation subsidiary, to upgrade the Brooklyn, N.Y., Kings Highway Interlocking signal system.

The project plan includes a 55-month work schedule with an expected completion in 2021. The contractor is set to install the modernized signal system and equipment suited for communications-based train control (CBTC). RailWorks Transit, another subsidiary of RailWorks Corporation, will conduct necessary track and civil work, representatives say.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded a $98 million contract to L.K. Comstock & Company Inc., an electrical contractor and RailWorks Corporation subsidiary, to upgrade the Brooklyn, N.Y., Kings Highway Interlocking signal system.

The project plan includes a 55-month work schedule with an expected completion in 2021. The contractor is set to install the modernized signal system and equipment suited for communications-based train control (CBTC). RailWorks Transit, another subsidiary of RailWorks Corporation, will conduct necessary track and civil work, representatives say.

BrightBlue, the first trainset for Brightline, began a testing phase Jan. 20 along a nine-mile test track.

The tests will continue for several weeks and will cover three areas including dynamic testing of the rolling stock, system integration tests between the train and railway infrastructure and a series of tests required by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Operation Lifesaver Canada (OL Canada) launched a new safety outreach initiative to educate Canadians of the dangers of trespassing on railway property.

The three new public service announcements (PSAs) focus on people engaging in common behaviors, such as wearing headphones or taking selfies with their mobile devices while walking along railway tracks, and highlight the often tragic results of forgetting about rail safety.

The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) Executive Committee has promoted Urszula Soucie to chief operating officer and Sean Winkler to director of advocacy. The association says the changes are effectively immediately.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board of Directors has awarded a $1.37 billion contract to the joint venture Tutor Perini/O & G to construct the second section of its Purple Line Extension Project.

Parks Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway have completed their Canada-CP Grizzly Bear Research Initiative and will now institute measures aimed at reducing railway related risks to grizzly bears.

Union Pacific achieved its best annual employee-safety rate in 2016, improving on the record set in 2015 and making 2016 the safest year in the Class 1's 154-year history.

The company's employee reportable injury rate, measure by injuries for every 200,000 employee hours worked, declined 14 percent from 0.87 in 2015 to 0.75 in 2016. In 2015, the employee reportable injury rate improved 11 percent from 2014.

The Foothill Gold Line light-rail extension from Glendora to Montclair will begin construction in October 2017 and take two years longer to complete according to a new schedule.

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (construction authority) Board of Directors approved an updated workplan and schedule for the 12.3-mile extension at its January 25 meeting. The updated schedule is based on detailed constructability reviews completed late last year on the project's draft advanced conceptual engineering (ACE) documents.

NioCorp Developments Ltd. is removing plans for a 4.3-mile rail spur and supporting infrastructure that would have been constructed as part of its planned Elk Creek Superalloy Project.

The project, located in Elk Creek, Neb., originally called for delivery of 7,000 metric tons per week of reagents needed for separation and purification of the three superalloy metals that NioCorp plans to produce. However, the company explained that recent metallurgical process advancements will allow many of those reagents to be recycled from material that was previously planned for disposal.

TranSystems Corp. has appointed David Maas, PE, as the new senior vice president of its freight rail and intermodal sector.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) has approved a construction contract for McCourt Construction Company to build its new Blue Hill Avenue commuter rail station.