Arlington, Fairfax counties update streetcar pact
Arlington County, Va., board members voted 4-1 Tuesday, July 16, 2013, to support an updated agreement with neighboring Fairfax County to advance the Columbia Pike Streetcar project.
news
Cincinnati finalizes streetcar contract
Struggling for years against a hostile sentiment from the state government and some surrounding county organizations, Cincinnati city officials are shrugging off resistance to a proposed initial streetcar line, signing a construction contract with Messer/Prus/Delta Joint Venture to proceed.
NS completes Mon Line upgrade
Norfolk Southern has completed $22.6 million in track, bridge, and signal improvements along its 85-mile “Mon Line,” a major coal route through Pennsylvania’s Monongahela Valley.
Joint venture chosen for KC streetcar contract
Kansas City, Mo., has selected Herzog Contracting Corp., in conjunction with Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. as finalists for a $102 million contract to build the city’s initial 2.2-mile streetcar line.
CSX 2Q earnings beat Street
CSX late Tuesday, July 16, 2013, reported second-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share, or $533 million, on revenue of $3.1 billion, up from earnings $512 million, or 49 cents per share, on revenue of $3.0 billion, in the second quarter of 2012.
Ed Burkhardt talks with Railway Age on Lac-Mégantic
Responding to a blog posted on this website by Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono, Rail World President and CEO Ed Burkhardt had this to say to Railway Age about the tragic accident at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway:
Wabtec gets bogies contract in Mauritania
Wabtec Corp. said July 15 that it has signed a $21 million contract with SNIM (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière), the National Industrial and Mining Co. of Mauritania, to provide bogies for new iron ore freight cars.
SYSTRA names FTA vet to planning, environmental post
Anthony Lee, AICP, has joined SYSTRA as Planning and Environmental Manager. Lee is a professional certified planner with more than 20 years of experience as a client manager, environmental planning group leader, and project manager.
Metro-North updates Bronx R-O-W work progress
Metro-North Railroad provided an update Monday, July 15, 2013, on its program to upgrade its right-of-way in the Bronx, N.Y., between Melrose and Woodlawn, used by both Harlem Line and New Haven Line services.
Commentary
Lac-Mégantic: Thinking through the unthinkable
Recently, in the wake of the terrible Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway runaway-train accident in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, a reader understandably questioned the accuracy of Railway Age Contributing Editor Frank Wilner’s statements with regard to the safety of moving crude by rail that appeared in his June 2013 Watching Washington column, “Rail’s role looks bright for crude oil market share” (p. 16).
TTCI Research Advisory Board taps Harsco’s Palese
The Association of American Railroads Associate Advisory Board has selected Joseph W. Palese from Harsco Rail to serve out the remainder of the term of a vacant seat on the TTCI Research Advisory Board. Palese’s term of service will last until Jan. 1, 2014.
MRAIL Services earns WBENC national certification
MRAIL Services, a business specializing in supplying products and services to the transportation industry, has received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Ohio River Valley-Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
WSDOT’s Hammond moves to the private sector
Paula Hammond, former Secretary of Transportation for the State of Washington, has been named Senior Vice President and National Transportation Market Leader at Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Changing of the guard at MBCR
Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad General Manager Hugh J. Kiley, Jr., is retiring from MBCR after serving for three years. Veteran railroad official Bonnie Murphy will succeed him.
Damaged turnout likely cause of fatal SNCF wreck
SNCF (French National Railways) says a detached turnout fishplate is the likely cause of the derailment of an intercity train on July 12 at Brétigny-sur-Orge south of Paris in which six people died and 62 were injured, reports International Railway Journal, , sister publication of Railway Age.
LIRR, NYCT boost service for All-Star Game
Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority properties, the Long Island Rail Road and MTA New York City Transit, are offering more train service to and from Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., as Major League Baseball’s New York Mets host the 2013 All-Star Game Tuesday, July 16.
Dueling rail proposals for LA/Ontario Airport
The San Bernardino Associated Governments has awarded a $600,000 contract to HDR Engineering to evaluate rail service to Los Angeles Ontario International Airport, located east of LA in Ontario, Calif.
Metro-North West Haven Station to open Aug. 18
The parking scramble officially begins this week for access to the new West Haven Station on Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line, in anticipation of the station’s opening for service on Aug. 18.
Pacific Harbor Line, BLET sign pact
Short line Pacific Harbor Line, Inc. (PHL) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced Monday, July 15, 2013, they have signed a new five-year labor agreement covering PHL’s operating and maintenance of way employees.
Deal frees Metrolink Perris Valley Line
A Riverside County, Calif.-based environmental group has dropped its lawsuit against a proposed 24-mile Metrolink rail extension, the Perris Valley Line, citing concessions being offered that are amenable to its concerns.