Author: Douglas John Bowen

Phoenix warms to light rail

Add Phoenix to the growing list of cities with a successful light rail launch. The 20-mile LRT line, which debuted late last December, averaged 30,600 riders per weekday, significantly above the 26,000 boardings per weekday anticipated by Metro.

Montana Rail Link taps 10East

10East Corp. says Montana Rail Link, Inc. has chosen to use the RailDOCS™ Preventive Maintenance Management System (PMMS) in support of preventive maintenance and government compliance activities in its signal department.

Balfour Beatty Rail lands two Denver RTD work orders

Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc.’s Transit division says it has successfully negotiated the first two work orders in its systems on-call services contract with the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD), with a combined value in excess of $16 million. Both work orders have a completion date of Oct. 31, 2010.

Calgary LRT notches one-billion rider mark

Calgary, Alberta’s C-Train light rail service, which opened in 1981, officially recorded its 1 billionth passenger Wednesday, as officials also noted the system now carries 280,000 riders per weekday.

Two short lines tap 10East PMMS system

10EastCorp. announced Wednesday that both the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad and theBelt Railway Company of Chicago have chosen the company’s RailDOCSTM PreventiveMaintenance Management System (PMMS) in support of preventive maintenance andgovernment compliance logistics for their signal requirements.  This includes the Tests &Inspections System and the Configuration Management System.

Weekly freight traffic still trailing 2008 levels

Freight traffic on U.S. railroads during the week ended February 7 was off again in comparison with last year, although “up slightly” from the previous week ending Jan. 31, according to the Association of American Railroads. Total volume of 28.2 billion ton-miles was 15.1% lower than the comparable week in 2008.

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RA seeks Shortline/Regional award nominees

Railway Age is collecting entries for its annual ShortLine/Regional Railroad of the Year competition, but applicants still have time to enter. Short lines and regionals—and there are more than 500 of them—are invited to submit entries describing outstanding achievement in one or acombination of areas. The entry deadline is Friday, Feb. 27, 2009.

Stimulus package flexibility could benefit rail

House Democrats Thursday demanded time to review the $789 billion economic stimulus bill crafted by congressional conference committee, but most political analysts still expected both the House of Representatives and theSenate to approve the measure. Should the package hold until President Obama signs it into law, freight and passenger railroads could benefit significantly.