Hearings will be held at eight sites in Virginia and North Carolina in July on a draft environmental statement that is key step toward bringing fast new train service to the southeastern United Sates.
Building on a policyshift announced earlier this year by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood,the Federal Transit Administration today asked for public comment on how tochange the way major transit project proposals seeking federal funding arerated and evaluated.
Some media reports areindicating that the Canada Line in Metropolitan Vancouver, B.C., is "nearingcapacity" as daily ridership levels climb closer to the 100,000 mark. This iscertainly a milestone that has been reached much sooner than originallyprojected, but it is nowhere near the capacity of the system.
Duluth, Minn., has earned a reputation for its ability to handle massive yet delicate pieces of wind power equipment, moving nearly one million freight tons of such components in the past five years, the Duluth News Tribune reports.
Up until now, ships and trucks have carried the load, but June 3 marked a new chapter for the port when crews that have transferred cargo from water to rail see their first train shipment of wind equipment set off down the tracks.
Its destination? The Casper, Wyo., terminal—more than 750 miles away.
The greater efficiency of moving cargo long distances by rail instead of truck could open up new markets to the Twin Ports, said Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.
"Wind energy is a tremendous growth industry, both domestically and globally, and rail offers a great logistics alternative for long-distance moves of this type of dimensional cargo," he said, in a statement.
"While trucking will always play an essential role in the wind energy supply chain, combining the efficiencies of water and rail transport further expands the service area of the port of Duluth. Working collaboratively, we can all contribute to a cleaner, greener world," Ojard said.
The wind equipment destined for Casper began its journey in Denmark and arrived in Duluth two weeks ago aboard the Dutch-flagged Metsaborg.
A second ship, the Gibraltar-flagged BBC Sweden, is expected to arrive next week, loaded with nacelles and hubs for the same 101-megawatt wind farm in Converse County, Wyo., setting the stage for another rail shipment of wind power components in the near-future.
So far, most of the wind power equipment that has flowed through Duluth has been imported from abroad for domestic use. But the port also has seen some outbound shipments of U.S. equipment destined for export, and Ron Johnson, the port authority’s trade development director, said a rail/marine option could give the port a competitive advantage in attracting cargo in both directions.
The first train is scheduled to depart Duluth at carrying 24 Siemens wind turbine nacelles and spinner/cones, plus 33 containers of supplemental equipment.
"Adding a rail alternative to trucking allows us to expand our transportation capacity and provides significant efficiency and environmental benefits for long-distance transports," said Sally Chope, transportation and logistics manager for Siemens’ wind power business in a press release. "We utilize rail transport whenever possible for long hauls (over 1,000 miles). It’s a much greener option, resulting in as much as an 80 percent carbon footprint reduction."
The Association of American Railroads said Thursday that intermodal volume on U.S. railroads for the week ended May 29 was the highest since November 2008. The 225,111 trailers and containers hauled in
Canadian Pacific told analysts at its annual investors day in Vancouver Wednesday that it remains undecided on building a line to the Powder River Coal Basin in Wyoming, an option it acquired
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Dan Elliott Wednesday said Canadian National must hold to the terms STB announced when CN acquired the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. “We are fully behind that decision,”
RMI, a provider of transportation management software, announced Thursday that RailAmerica, Inc. will implement RMI’s RailConnect® systems at all 40 of its North American railroads. RMI said RailAmerica plans to use RMI’s mCrew product
Washington, D.C.’s District Council is considering a plan to circumvent a federal law banning overhead wires to power streetcars in the city’s historic district, which would enable the city to re-establish streetcars on
The Finance For Business North East Technology Fund (The North East Technology Fund) said Thursday it had invested £750,000 (about $1.01 million) into Newcastle, England-based Nomad Digital Ltd., which offers on-board IP
Canadian federal authorities are considering new penalties for railroads convicted of breaking safety rules, including identifying a specific railway employee for possible incarceration if a railroad is found guilty of violating the
Bombardier, Inc. reported Tuesday that its rail segment booked new orders valued at $2.9 billion in the quarter ended April 30, up sharply from the $1.2 billion in orders for the same period last
ALK Technologies, Inc. Wednesday announced the release of PC*MILER 24, offering routing, mileage, and mapping guidance. Users now have access to a Least Cost Routing feature to generate optimal routes based on
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), New Jersey Transit, and MasterCard Worldwide announced Tuesday the launch of a six-month pilot program in which MasterCard PayPass will be accepted for
Fairport, N.Y.-based RailComm said Tuesday it has been selectedto provide a wireless remote control derail system at Amtrak’s Maintenance Facility in Los Angeles. Two customized Local Control Panels, located within the maintenance
While most measures of railroad safety are solidly positive, the latest fatality figures tell a slightly different story. Statistics for January through March this year show 153 deaths from all causes, up
Progress Rail Services Tuesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD) for $820 million in cash from Berkshire Partners LLC and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC. Upon
Caltrain officials say the Federal Railroad Administration has granted a waiver allowing operation of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger rail equipment built to European standards in mixed traffic. The waiver, deemed by Caltrain to
CSX officials Tuesday confirmed press reports of an accord reached late last week between the Class I railroad and New York State on implementing HrSR (higher speed rail) along the Empire Corridor,
Bombardier Transportation has won a $241 million contract to supply, install, operate, and maintain a 3.6-kilometer (2.2-mile) INNOVIA Monorail 300 system for the King Abdullah Financial District, the new financial and business center under development in
