Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 308

BNSF Reopens Chicagoland Rail-Served Terminal

August 20, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH — BNSF Railway Company today announced the reopening of a rail-served building materials transload facility under the management of Partners Warehouse, LLC, at Eola, Ill. Operating as Partners Dimensional Services, the facility has received a complete track and maintenance overhaul to better handle dimensional (oversized) materials such as lumber, steel, and other building products. Security has been upgraded and lighting added for continuous operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “This is the only yard of its type close to the growing housing market in the western Chicago suburbs and with immediate access to major North/South and East/West highways,” said Vann Cunningham, BNSF assistant vice president,

Amtrak Ridership Flying High: Soaring Sales for the Heartland Flyer Train

August 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

AUSTIN – The newest figures show people are increasingly opting for the Amtrak Heartland Flyer train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth and avoiding the higher cost of driving their own cars and trucks. For the 10 months ending July 31, ridership on the daily trains is up by more than 17 percent over the year-ago period (67,141 vs. 57,327), with growth of more than 40 percent in July 2008 versus July 2007 (11,721 vs. 8,362). Amtrak operates the Heartland Flyer (Trains 821 & 822) under contracts with the Oklahoma and Texas state transportation departments. These are two of the 14 states for which Amtrak operates service that supplements the

Officials Tour Trenton’s New Transit Center

August 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — With the construction phase of the Trenton Transit Center project coming down the home stretch, Governor Jon S. Corzine joined federal, state and local officials today to tour the rebuilt, expanded and renamed facility — heralding a new era of transportation in the state capital. The newly expanded transit center comfortably accommodates more than 16,000 passenger trips each weekday, making it N.J. Transit’s third-busiest outlying station. “This attractive and functional facility demonstrates what we can achieve with the wise use of state and federal funds,” said Governor Corzine. “This project advances our policy of promoting public transportation and will help us capture the many economic and environmental

Rail Reregulation Rejected by Eastern Region of Council of State Governments

August 17, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Eastern Regional Conference of the Council of State Governments has come out against schemes to reregulate the nation’s freight railroads. In a resolution passed August 13 by the group’s executive committee, the Council warned that congressional proposals to reregulate the railroads “may significantly reduce income and in turn reduce the ability (of railroads) to raise capital needed for future infrastructure expansion.” The northeastern region of the U.S. “will require significant railroad corridor development through railroad company/state government partnerships to accommodate future goods and passenger movement,” according to the resolution. The resolution notes that expanding the capacity of the freight rail network “would yield impressive public benefits by

Freight Railroads Seek to Allow Risk Sharing as Condition for Transport

August 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Calling the safety of the American public of paramount importance, the nation’s freight railroads today urged the country’s shippers of highly hazardous materials or toxic inhalation hazards (TIH) to become full partners with the railroads in safely transporting those dangerous commodities. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and the communities through which we operate,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) during a hearing at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on the railroad industry’s common carrier obligation as it relates to hazardous materials. “It’s only reasonable that those who make extremely hazardous materials demonstrate that they also

Multilevel Railcar Fleet’s Good Track Record Sets Stage for More Improvements

August 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Millions of new vehicles crisscross North America’s railroads each year on their way from assembly plants to distribution centers and dealers. Railroads now carry approximately 70 percent of all new vehicles manufactured in the United States.

Amtrak: July 2008 Amtrak Ridership Sets All-Time Monthly Record

August 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak ridership in July Fiscal Year 2008 increased to 2,750,278, nearly a 14 percent increase, marking the most passengers carried in any single month in Amtrak’s 37 year history. Total ridership for the Fiscal Year to date — October 1, 2007 – July 31, 2008 — reached 23.7 million, topping the 21.3 million from the same period last year. Total ticket revenue for the fiscal year to date reached $1.4 billion, a 14.1 percent increase over the same period in FY07. For the month of July, ticket revenue increased by 18.6 percent to $168 million. “Increasing fuel prices, highway congestion, airline issues and environmental awareness continue to make

N.J. Transit Buys Additional Multilevel Vehicles

August 13, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — The N.J. Transit Board of Directors approved the purchase of 50 additional Multilevel Vehicles to help meet increasing ridership demand on the corporation’s busiest commuter rail lines. “These vehicles have helped provide a near-term solution to capacity demands while we, in partnership with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, advance a long-term response to ridership growth through the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) tunnel project,” said Governor Jon Corzine, who this morning rode an MLV train on the Northeast Corridor. The purchase will bring N.J. Transit’s total number of the popular rail cars to 329. The cars offer 15-20 percent more seating capacity

FRA Calls on Railroads to Join in a New Safety Program Designed to Reduce Risks that Can Lead to Train Accidents and Employee Injuries

August 12, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON- Improving upon the historic levels of safety achieved in recent years by the nation’s railroads will require the use of a new risk-based approach to identify and correct safety issues before they result in train accidents and employee injuries, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman told industry leaders at a Rail Safety Summit. “Fixing something after it breaks or writing rule violation notices is increasingly unlikely to result in significant additional gains in rail safety,” Boardman said, who announced the Risk Reduction Program (RRP) which is aimed at supplementing current federal regulations, inspection requirements, and other compliance and enforcement activities. Boardman said the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has recently

Man Convicted of Metrolink Murders

August 6, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES — A California man has been found guilty of multiple murders in a fatal January 2005 Metrolink train wreck. Juan Manuel Alvarez is on trial for first-degree murder and other charges. His trial could continue until July. Police said Alvarez parked his SUV on the Metrolink tracks with the intent of killing himself, but changed his mind, left his SUV on the tracks and watched the wreck unfold. However, prosecutors are challenging whether Alvarez was trying to commit suicide when he parked his SUV on the tracks and now say he may “have even been carrying out a ritual of Aztec human sacrifice,” The Los Angeles Daily News