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Purple Line public comment period extended

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) says the public comment period for the Purple Line Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) has been extended 15 days, with the comment period now ending Oct. 21, 2013.

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Alaska Railroad notes Fairbanks yard mishap

Alaska Railroad Corp. said Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, that nine flatcars loaded with pipe separated and rolled away during a switching operation at the southeast end of its Fairbanks Rail Yard early in the day.

Netherlands to AnsaldoBreda: Get your gear

Netherlands Railways has told AnsaldoBreda the Italian railcar manufacturer can pick up its 16 V250 Fyra high speed rail trains whenever it wants. NS has rejected the equipment due to what it cites as massive technical failure.

California HSR construction delayed again

California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) officials are acknowledging that initial construction of the Golden State’s planned high speed rail system, to begin in the Central Valley, will not begin this fall.

San Diego Blue Line upgrades roll

Infrastructure work is under way to modernize the 32-year-old San Diego Trolley Blue Line, the most heavily used transit service in the San Diego region, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) said Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013.

Ruddell to step down from The T

Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) President and Executive Director Dick Ruddell has announced his retirement at day’s end Oct. 4, 2013. Ruddell made the announcement Monday, Sept. 16, during a meeting of the The T’s Board of Directors.

MTA CEO outlines proposed capital program

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, divulged details of MTA’s proposed $29 billion capital program over the next five years, part of a 20-year vision.

MTA taps Kawasaki for M-9 railcar order

Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc. has been awarded a $1.8 billion contract by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to supply an initial order of 92 M-9 married-pair electric multiple-unit (EMU) cars to the Long Island Rail Road. The contract also covers additional anticipated deliveries of 584 M-9s for both LIRR and sister Metro-North Railroad.

Chevy Chase, Md., still fighting Purple Line

Maryland’s proposed Purple Line light rail transit route spanning two counties north of Washington, D.C., still is facing resistance from Chevy Chase, Md., near the route’s western terminus of Bethesda.

Staten Island: We still want LRT

The Staten Island Economic Development Corp., along with the borough’s Chamber of Commerce, continues to press for light rail – and, often specifically, an extension of New Jersey’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) – despite ongoing disinterest from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, candidates for New York City’s mayoralty, and upstate New York lawmakers.

Washington court: Link LRT OK on I-90

The Washington State Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit to forbid light rail transit on Interstate 90, removing one obstable blocking Sound Transit’s East Link Extension between Seattle and Redmond, Wash.

Second weekly gain in a row for U.S. traffic

For a second straight week – and the third time in the last four weeks – U.S. freight carload traffic gained ground when measured against the comparable period in 2012, complementing the steady weekly advances of U.S. intermodal volume, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.

PATH extension to get New Jersey nudge

Nearly a year after PATH and parent Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PA) announced plans to study a PATH extension toward (not to) Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reportedly appears ready to back the proposal.

Continental Rail Corp. eyes freight railcar program

Continental Rail Corp., a short line and regional freight railroad holding company, announced Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013 that it has engaged energy and infrastructure investment banking firm Taylor-DeJongh Ltd. to assist it with developing a freight railcar acquisition finance program.

Trainyard Tech touts Class I clients

Gibsonia, Pa.-based Trainyard Tech, LLC said Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 the company recently placed the company’s CLASSMASTER™ Process Control System into service at CSX Rice Yard in Waycross, Ga., and at BNSF Hobson Yard, west of Lincoln, Neb.