Railroad News

Ensuring that rail and transit systems are maintained in a state of good repair (SGR) "is critical to providing efficient, reliable, and safe service," says Bentley Solutions Executive-Rail and Transit Andrew Smith, host of a webinar on "well-maintained, reliable transit infrastructure—track, signal systems, bridges, tunnels, vehicles and stations."

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) officials will be conducting a pilot security screening program this Thursday and Friday at the World Trade Center PATH station.

PANYNJ says the pilot program is part of its ongoing evaluation of new technology to ensure the highest level of safety for the traveling public across all agency facilities.

WSP USA has tapped Maxine Hill as its New York City area manager for transportation and infrastructure.

Cargill is investing CA$20 million (US$15.7 million) to build a rail expansion at its Lethbridge, Alberta, facility.

Cargill says the rail expansion will "move grain more efficiently out of the elevator and toward the West Coast, providing more opportunities for local farmers to sell and deliver their grain." The expansion will more than double loading capacity at the Lethbridge facility and should be finished midway through the 2018 harvest.

West Virginia has joined a small, but growing, number of states to obtain Federal Transit Administration (FTA) certification of its State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program.

West Virginia's certifications bring the total to 12 states that have obtained FTA certification of their SSO Programs ahead of the April 15, 2019 deadline. An additional 11 states have their SSO Program under review by the FTA, two have their SSO Programs submitted to FTA, which leaves only six state certifications not submitted. Should any of the 30 states required to obtain certification fail to do so, FTA would be prohibited from distributing any new federal funds to those states until certification is obtained.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has entered into an agreement with Herzog Technologies, Inc. to supply Positive Train Control (PTC) support to its members.

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) has added to its Board of Directors Brett Urquhart of Vossloh/Rocla, vice president Class 1 Vossloh North America and vice president Rocla Concrete Tie, and Curtis Bilow, corporate director-Freight Rail/Regional Industrial Manager, Ames Construction.

An increasing number of rail-related companies are joining an initiative to develop secure digital transactions.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has been awarded a $574,000 grant to fund planning, surveying and permitting for a 4,300-foot rail connection in Jackson County.

The grant awarded to MDEQ, which was announced by U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss), as well as Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss), is being provided as part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The legislation provides funding for Gulf Coast states affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

The Association of American Railroads and Norfolk Southern filed comments with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on May 7 asking for a level regulatory playing field regarding automation.

Specifically, AAR's comment asks the U.S. Department of Transportation "to take the same supportive regulatory approach with railroads that it has with automation of trucks and cars."

Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC), a civil, building and specialty construction company, announced May 7 three recent low bids for new civil projects totaling about $1 billion.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) unveiled a three-year capital project to reconstruct platforms and address structural deficiencies at 20 Metrorail stations on Monday.

WMATA notes that rebuilding platforms is a heavy construction activity that requires that tracks to be taken out of service to allow for demolition of existing structures, access to the construction area and concrete pouring. To add perspective to the ambitious nature of the program, WMATA reconstructed platforms at Minnesota Avenue and Deanwood stations took approximately three years to complete.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) voted May 7 to award a nearly $7 million contract to Hardesty & Hanover, LLC to design a replacement for the drawbridge above the Saugus River.

voestalpine Nortrak announced May 8 the launch of a new North American marketing and distribution agreement with Getzner USA to serve freight railways.

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx announced May 7 that Mosaic Transit Group (Mosaic) has signed a contract worth CA$2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) to design, build, finance and maintain the Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

On May 3, a consortium of Manitoba First Nations, led by Chief Glenn Hudson, and in partnership with iChurchill Inc., a private Canadian company, said it entered into an agreement to purchase the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), the Port of Churchill and associated assets.

HBR, which is owned by OmniTRAX, Inc., has had service suspended since May 2017 following damage that was the result of severe flooding.

Sound Transit has promoted Don Billen to executive director of the Planning Environment and Project Development (PEPD) department.

Billen previously served as PEPD's deputy director and since September 2017 as its acting executive director. He will be responsible for leading the PEPD in long-range planning and advancing voter-approved capital projects from the earliest stages through environmental review and preliminary engineering. During the project development process, PEPD defines station and alignment locations, access improvements, station area plans and sustainability features. The department works closely with partner organizations, community members and internal design, engineering, construction and operation staff. Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to, leading the agency's environmental compliance, transit oriented development, innovation and sustainability efforts.

STV, a transportation design firm, will serve as the lead designer for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) $1.3 billion Green Line Light Rail Extension (GLX) work.

Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) will soon begin a 17-weekend series of tunnel and station closures to complete federally mandated Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment and software installation and testing.

Ottawa's Light Rail Transit (LRT) project is getting a CA$50 million ($US38.9 million) boost for its work that will extend the line.