Amtrak
FRA
Commuter Rail
Rosenker: Take Advantage of New Safety Technologies
WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has told the rail transportation industry to take advantage of newly emerging technologies that can provide the biggest safety improvements in coming years. Speaking to the International Railroad Safety Conference in Denver, Colo., Rosenker acknowledged the improving safety trends in the railroad industry over recent decades; since 1980, employee fatalities are down 82 percent and grade crossing fatalities down 59 percent. But accidents continue to occur, and the nation is still shocked by the collision in Chatsworth, Calif., last month that killed 25 and injured more than 100. Although
Commuter Rail
More Money For Minnesota High-Speed Passenger Rail Line
WASHINGTON — More of taxpayers’ dollars will move the Duluth to Minneapolis high-speed passenger rail line closer to completion, officials said. U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said the project has been awarded $1.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration. The funding will be used to complete an environmental impact statement for the project. “Work on the Northern Lights Express is moving along at full throttle,” Oberstar said. “This is the kind of project that will save energy and alleviate congestion on our highways. With high fuel prices, we need to do all we can to give consumers alternatives to driving.”
Commuter Rail
DOT: New Funding to Improve Intercity Passenger Rail
RICHMOND, Va. – The Department of Transportation is taking a new approach to funding intercity passenger rail projects that will lead to improved service and better on-time performance across the country, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said. Peters released new data today indicating that Americans drove 3.6 percent less, or 9.6 billion miles fewer, in July 2008 than July 2007. Since last November, Americans have driven 62.6 billion miles less than they did over the same nine-month period last year. Meanwhile transit ridership is up 11 percent, and in July, Amtrak carried more passengers than in any single month
BNSF
House Approves Rail Safety Bill; Billions to go to Passenger Rail
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved legislation that proponents say will improve the Nation’s intercity passenger rail system and the safety of the nation’s railroads. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 will increase funding for Amtrak over the next five years, require new safety controls on trains that help reduce crashes, allow states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines and allocate funding for improvements to Washington’s Metro transit system. The legislation sets “an aggressive deadline” of 2015 for implementation of positive train control (PTC)
FRA
FRA and Railroads Take Action to Strengthen Bridge Safety Policy
WASHINGTON — Enhanced bridge safety will be the result of the first standard railroad bridge inspection and maintenance agreement between railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman said. “Having a common set of baseline inspection and maintenance practices against which all railroads are measured will help ensure the structural integrity and safety of the nation’s rail bridges for years to come,” Boardman said. He added that the agreement is a major step forward in providing transparency within the industry and for the public about how the safety of railroad bridges is managed. Boardman explained that
FRA
FRA to Accept Applications for Rail Relocation and Improvement Grant Program
WASHINGTON — On Sept. 15, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will begin accepting applications for the $14.9 million available in capital grants under the new Rail Line Relocation and Improvement program. In order to be eligible for grant funding, a project must mitigate the adverse effects of rail traffic on safety, motor vehicle traffic flow, community quality of life or involve a lateral or vertical relocation of any portion of the rail line. A state or other eligible entity will be required to pay at least 10 percent of the shared costs of the project. Applications can be submitted until
FRA
Illinois Commerce Commission Receives FRA Grant for Grade Crossing Safety and Enforcement Study
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is awarding a $490,000 grant to the Illinois Commerce Commission to continue the Public Education and Enforcement Research Study (PEERS) to improve highway-rail grade crossing safety. The funds will support an expansion of the PEERS effort that provides funding to railroads, safety-related non-profit agencies, and at least 26 cities and towns in Illinois that are implementing customized public outreach and awareness programs and enforcement blitzes targeted to reduce or eliminate pedestrian and motor vehicle grade crossing violations.
FRA
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad Receives FRA Grant for Bridge Replacement Project
WASHINGTON — The Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) is receiving a $245,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a railroad bridge replacement project located between Karns City and Bruin, Penn. The Chicora Bridge project will replace a 13-foot deteriorating wood pile bridge with a new concrete box culvert that will increase the capacity of the bridge to support heavier railcars. Grant funds will also be used to perform safety inspections on four other BPRR bridges along the same rail line.
CSX
Marshall University Receives FRA Grant to Test Mobile Integrated Track Technology
WASHINGTON — Marshall University in West Virginia is receiving a $286,650 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to demonstrate and test the integration of different track inspection technologies on a mobile platform or high-rail vehicle to assist rail inspectors in identifying track flaws. The project will combine high-accuracy differential GPS with technologies that can evaluate subsurface areas under the track ballast, identify potential track buckling locations, measure track gage widths, and assess weak rail segments among other capabilities. Marshall University is partnering with CSX Transportation in the performance of this project.