Commuter Rail – Page 75 – Railfanning.org

CTA: Additional Work Means Removal of 8 Miles of Slow Zones This Year

July 11, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority announced an aggressive schedule to eliminate eight miles of slow zones on branches of two of its busiest rail lines – the north branch of the Red Line and the subway portion of the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line. The subway portion of the Blue Line work is underway and will be completed by mid-September and the Red Line work will be completed by year-end. Over the last ten weeks, CTA engineers have been focused on developing a detailed specification for re-building the Blue Line tracks from Addison to O’Hare. “We know our customers have been extremely frustrated with the Blue Line’s reliability

Additional Security Funds Possible

June 14, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Additional security grant funds for transit systems are likely as a result in increases in FY08 Department of Homeland Security appropriation bills that are pending in Congress. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee voted June 14 to approve the FY08 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill, which includes $400 million for rail/transit security grants — more than the double the amount contained in last year’s bill. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill, which also contained $400 million for its rail/transit security grant program. “The availability of additional funds will allow us to put more high priority protective measures in

CTA’s Diversey Station to Close for Renovation

June 12, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — Chicago Transit Authority’s Diversey station — on the Brown Line — will temporarily close for renovation. The closure begins June 25and will be closed for 12 months while construction crews work to upgrade and extend platforms, rebuild the stationhouse and make the station accessible to customers with disabilities. The adjacent stations – Wellington and Fullerton – will remain open during the temporary closure of the Diversey station so customers may continue to use them to access Brown Line service. When the Diversey station reopens next year customers will have a new stationhouse and platform with a new elevator and an accessible turnstile that will allow customers with disabilities

NTSB to Release Factual Reports on Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Collision

June 8, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will release a factual report June 11 into a January Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger train collision that left two workers dead and injured two others. At 1:38 p.m. Jan. 9, southbound MBTA passenger train No. 322, traveling at 60 mph, struck track maintenance equipment near Woburn, Mass. Six track employees were working on or near the equipment at the time. Two employees were fatally injured, two employees were seriously injured and two employees were unhurt. Emergency responders treated and released ten passengers at the accident scene. The information being released is factual in nature and does not provide any analysis. It will

Washington Metro to Install More Red Platform Edge Lights

June 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — It’s going to get a lot easier for Metrorail riders to know when the next train is arriving. The transit authority is installing new red platform edge lights at the Fort Totten, L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Smithsonian, Union Station, Stadium-Armory and Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail stations during the next several weeks. In late February, Metro installed new red LED (light-emitting diode) platform edge lights on the Red Line platform at the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metrorail station as part of a pilot program. “As we continue the next phase of installation of the new LED lights, we hope our customers will take note of the red platform edge lights and step

CTA Trains, Buses Back to Normal

May 20, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — Chicago Transit Authority rail and bus service is back to normal, a day after elevated trains and several bus routes that serve the Loop were temporarily rerouted due to a crane accident at a downtown construction site. CTA routes No. 20 Madison, No. 56 Milwaukee, No. 60 Blue Island/26th and No. 120 Navy Pier have returned to their regular routing eastbound. All CTA buses and trains rerouted due to the crane accident downtown are operating along their regular routes. Southbound Red Line trains will continue to operate over the elevated tracks until 1 a.m. Monday, May 21 due to planned construction and maintenance. — Special to Railfanning.org News

CTA Trains and Buses Rerouted

May 19, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — Chicago Transit Authority elevated trains and several bus routes that serve the Loop are temporarily rerouted due to a crane accident at a downtown construction site. Although trains are running, elevated trains will not serve stations along Wabash and Lake. Buses that normally travel on Washington and Madison are being rerouted. The following routes are affected: Green Line: Trains are operating into and out of the Loop via Van Buren and Wells. Brown Line: Inbound trains will only operate as far as the Belmont station before turning back. There will be no Brown Line service at Loop stations. Customers wishing to continue into the Loop can transfer to

CTA to Relocate Historic Stationhouse

May 10, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority will relocate the existing historic stationhouse at Fullerton from 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 10 until 5 a.m. on Friday, May 11. Rail service will not be affected; however, Fullerton Avenue will be closed to through traffic between Sheffield and Halsted. CTA’s #74 Fullerton bus will be temporarily rerouted eastbound via Sheffield, Webster, Lincoln, Sheffield and Fullerton then resume the regular route. The stationhouse will be temporarily stored nearby until the work to install it at its permanent location is completed. The historic stationhouse will be refurbished and opened as an auxiliary entrance/exit for customers in 2009. A new accessible stationhouse will be constructed

N.J. Seeking to Commit Another Billion Dollars to Build Trans-Hudson Passenger Tunnel

May 8, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey is seeking to increase its funding commitment for a new trans-Hudson passenger rail tunnel by a billion dollars over the next decade — raising the state’s total investment in the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) project to $1.5 billion. In a unanimous vote yesterday, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority’s (NJTPA) Project Prioritization Committee approved a recommendation to their full Board supporting Governor Corzine’s plan to exchange traditional highway dollars to fund the transit project that will double commuter rail capacity. The NJTPA’s full Board of Trustees is set to consider the measure at its meeting next week. “Looking at all of the funding

Customers On SEPTA’s Paoli Line and Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor To Enjoy a Smoother Rider After Trackwork

April 25, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

PHILADELPHIA – Customers on SEPTA’s Regional Rail R5 Paoli-Thorndale Line and Amtrak’s Keystone Service will soon enjoy a smoother ride as Amtrak embarks on a major trackwork project between Paoli and Philadelphia. Scheduled to begin May 7 and continue through mid-November, the trackwork will cause adjustments to the schedules of trains that travel through the area, but in the end will result in more reliable service. During the project, SEPTA passengers will get a sneak peak at what the trackwork means to their daily commute as trains will operate over tracks that have already been upgraded. The trackwork, which is being funded by SEPTA, calls for the installation of concrete