Union Pearson Express wins Global AirRail award
A panel of international transportation experts has named Canada’s Union Pearson Express as Project of the Year at the Global AirRail Awards in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Bombardier resumes CTA car delivery
Delivery of Chicago Transit Authority’s 5000 Series transit cars resumed last week after being suspended this spring, reportedly due to quality control issues at Bombardier Transportation’s facilities in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Amtrak sprints toward a higher speed future
The Northeast Corridor’s “New Jersey Raceway” is receiving some of the most significant improvements since the original NECIP and NHRIP projects.
SEPTA receives Ritron digital locomotive radios
Carmel, Ind.-based Ritron, Inc. said Tuesday, June 11, 2013 it has delivered an order for 350 pieces of the Ritron NXDN digital locomotive radios to the Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA).
Conquering Rolling Contact Fatigue and Gage Corner Cracking
Eddy Current inspection may be a technology whose time has come.
Gage Corner Cracking (GCC) of rail and wheel from Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) has been historically difficult to measure due to technology limitations in quantifying the length and depth of such cracks. Even though ultrasonic inspection of rail takes place on a daily basis in North America, the technology of ultrasonics is limited to internal rail defects and does not lend itself to detect surface defects in most cases. Other technologies for detecting surface defects have been trialed with little real world success due to implementation limitations, accuracy concerns, and scaling issues.
Creative, collaborative—and unusual—co-loading
A standard U.S. 53-foot X 102-inch trailer can hold 43,000 pounds of lading and 3,800 cubic feet of freight at full capacity. A 60-foot high cube boxcar can handle almost five times that weight and delivers twice the available cubic capacity. In order to optimize capacity utilization, companies employ numerous resources and sophisticated software solutions to get as close to these “perfect load” metrics as possible. When either of these limits is reached, most load planners consider the load “complete.” But is it really?
CP train crew saves a life, commended for bravery
On the evening of May 11, 2013, Canadian Pacific Railroad Engineer Fred Jarrell and Conductor Ben Goar were moving their train next to Warner Road near Childs Road in St. Paul, Minn., along the bluffs of the Mississippi River, when they noticed a boy hanging onto the bluffs.
LACMTA eyes contractor for Crenshaw LRT
A report released Friday, June 7, 2013, by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff recommends LACMTA award a $1.27 billion contract to Walsh-Shea Corridor Constructors, to advance the Crenshaw Line light rail transit project.
AnsaldoBreda feuds with Belgian, Dutch railways
Stung by recent criticism of its rail products from at least two authorities (and possibly from U.S.-based rail observers as well), AnsaldoBreda is defending its product line, particularly its high speed rail equipment, suggesting any problems result from improper use.
UP, Dow Chemical release joint safety update
The Dow Chemical Company and Union Pacific said Friday, June 7 they have published a new report on the progress of a cooperative agreement that began in 2007 to improve rail safety and security.
New Affiliate, Associate members join AAR
The Association of American Railroads last month added one new Railroad Affiliate Member and four new Associate Members.
APTA notes safety, security award winners
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is touting the winners of the first annual Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards, which acknowledges rail transit agencies in North America for their excellence in safety and security programs and operations.
TriMet, county reach property transfer pact
Clackamas County, Ore. commissioners have unanimously approved a property transfer that will allow TriMet to build the Trolley Trail through Milwaukie and Oak Grove concurrent with Portland-Milwaukie light rail transit construction, extending TriMet’s reach into Portland’s southeastern suburbs.
CHSRA finalizes first HSR contract
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has awarded a $985.1 million contract to a joint venture led by Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini to oversee construction of the first phase of the state high speed rail network. Work is scheduled to begin this summer.
Fort Lauderdale streetcar funding plan OK’d
Property owners in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will pay a special assessments tax to help pay for implementation of phase one of The Wave, the city’s initial streetcar line.
Louisiana rail yard taps RailComm system
Fairport, N.Y.-based RailComm says it has provided a yard control system to a yard in Geismar, La.
AAR: Good week, and month, for U.S. rail freight
Solid U.S. rail freight traffic growth marked the last week of May—ending June 1, 2013, as measured by the Association of American Railroads—and the entire month, AAR said Thursday, June 6.
Public workshops to explore advancing The Tide
Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) will oversee three public workshops this month on the proposed extension of The Tide light rail transit to Naval Station Norfolk.
MotivePower gets order from Australian lessor
Wabtec Corp. said Wednesday, June 5, 2013 its MotivePower subsidiary has received an order to build six additional locomotives for CFCLA Rail JV Pty Ltd., a joint venture of CFCL Australia Pty. Ltd. and Marubeni Corp. of Tokyo. In 2012, the company ordered 10 MotivePower locomotives.