FRA

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FRA

DOT Signs Agreement with Kansas City Southern Railway to Relieve Freight Congestion at Laredo Border

December 25, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — An alternate route for freight rail traffic to and from the United States and Mexico to improve cross-border goods movement is one step closer to reality thanks to an agreement signed this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Kansas City Southern Railway, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced today. The East Loop Bypass project proposes a new rail bridge east of Laredo, Texas, continuing across the border and south into Mexico. “Border congestion creates an unnecessary obstacle to efficient trade with our international partners. Providing alternative routes for freight transport is good for the economy
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FRA

FRA Announces Disaster Relief Funding for Small Railroads

November 26, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is accepting applications from states for $20 million in grant funding to help small Class II and Class III railroads that sustained infrastructure damage as a result of recent natural disasters. Under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Repair Grant Program, federal grant funds may be used to repair and rehabilitate damage to railroad infrastructure sustained due to hurricanes, floods, and similar events in counties declared to be major disasters by the President from Jan. 1 to Nov. 6. Among the possible uses of the funds are restoration of railroad rights-of-way, bridges, and signals. Prospective grantees
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FRA

FRA Announces Funding for Proposed Maglev Projects East of the Mississippi River

November 26, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is now accepting applications from states or state designated authorities for $45 million in grant funding for proposed magnetic levitation (maglev) projects located east of the Mississippi River. The SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 limits the eligible projects to those in or between: Pittsburgh, Baltimore-Washington, and Atlanta-Chattanooga. FRA may award one or more grants which can be used for preconstruction planning activities and the capital costs of the fixed guideway infrastructure.
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FRA

FRA Issues Final Rule on Advanced Train Braking Technology

November 26, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Advanced brake technology will enable locomotive engineers to have better train control, lower the risk of derailment, and allow trains to safely travel longer distances between required brake tests under a new federal rule, announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. “The concept is simple, better brakes allow trains to operate more safely,” Peters said, noting that the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) final rule on Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes will facilitate the widespread deployment of this technology by railroads and railcar owners. Peters explained that ECP brakes provide numerous safety and business benefits compared to conventional air
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Amtrak

Amtrak Selects Transportation Industry Veteran as President & CEO

November 25, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s Board of Directors has selected Joseph Boardman, a nationally recognized transportation industry professional, to become president and chief executive officer of the company, effective Nov. 26. Boardman offers nearly 34 years of experience in the surface transportation industry at city, county, state, and federal government levels; most recently as the administrator at the Federal Railroad Administration, officials said. He succeeds Alex Kummant, who resigned Nov. 14. “In an attempt to maintain the momentum at Amtrak, while finding a permanent CEO candidate, the board has appointed Mr. Boardman for one year, but will conduct a search in the
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Commuter Rail

Rosenker: Take Advantage of New Safety Technologies

October 7, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
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
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Commuter Rail

More Money For Minnesota High-Speed Passenger Rail Line

October 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
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.”
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Commuter Rail

DOT: New Funding to Improve Intercity Passenger Rail

October 1, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
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
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BNSF

House Approves Rail Safety Bill; Billions to go to Passenger Rail

September 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
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)