The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is requesting public input as it launches an update to its State Rail Plan, which, the agency says, “addresses existing and future passenger and freight rail services in Oklahoma.”
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) of Central Oklahoma wins a USDOT grant to evaluate at-grade crossings along a proposed commuter rail corridor. Also, Utah Transit Authority (UTA) finalizes plans for a new TRAX light rail line; the Minnesota governor’s budget proposal reduces support for rail operations at Metro Transit; Chicago’s Metra is reopening one commuter rail station and closing another temporarily for rehab on its Metra Electric Line; and Amtrak Virginia sets an all-time record with 2024 ridership.
The Oklahoma & Kansas Railroad, LLC (OKRL), a subsidiary of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, LCC (Rock Island), will lease and operate approximately 37.26 miles of rail line owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (OKDOT) and Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA), according to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which has approved the transaction.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is permitting the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Rock Island) to provide service for 30 days over rail line owned by the state of Oklahoma and the
The State of Oklahoma, by and through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), and the Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA) have petitioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for an emergency order allowing the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, LLC (Rock Island) to provide local rail service on the Blackwell Subdivision, 35.3 miles of rail lines owned by ODOT and BIA and leased to the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad Company (BNGR).
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued an emergency order requiring Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad (BNGR), a Class III railroad headquartered in Blackwell, Okla., to “discontinue operation of all trains, locomotives and any other on-track rail vehicles or equipment under any circumstances,” stating that the short line is operating with “a complete disregard for the safety of the public.”
Amtrak can now operate up to 110 mph through most of the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, and awaits approval of a federal grant to plan an Oklahoma City-Newton, Kans., connection. Also, Metrolinx offers a new way to pay for transit fares in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area; New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reports nearly $500 million in upgrades to Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction subway station complex, and could consider re-instating Twitter to publish service alerts; and TransLink ridership in Metro Vancouver rebounds in 2022.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation expects to spend approximately $100 million over the next three years upgrading 300 highway/rail grade crossings now only marked with crossbucks to full warning systems gates, lights and bells, as well as concrete crossing surfaces.
