Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 327

N.J. Transit Adopts $1.7B FY09 Operating Budget

July 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — The N.J. Transit Board of Directors adopted a Fiscal Year 2009 Budget that supports historic ridership levels by increasing seat capacity, modernizing the bus and rail fleets and maintaining the system in a state of good repair. The N.J. Transit Board approved a $1.7 billion FY09 operating budget and a $1.29 billion capital plan that advances major capacity-enhancing projects, funds improvements at bus and rail facilities and supports the purchase of transit vehicles to replace aging equipment. “Ensuring that the residents of New Jersey have a safe, efficient and reliable public transit system has been a priority

ARC Gets $75M in Funding

July 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, both Democrats, said they successfully appropriated $75 million towards the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project – more than five times the amount dedicated last year – further advancing the engineering of two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River. “The unwavering support from senators Lautenberg and Menendez for this critical project will help provide relief to the state’s transportation system,” N.J. Gov. Jon S. Corzine said. “We applaud their efforts to secure record levels of appropriations for this project.” “This funding is keeping the ARC Tunnel project moving

FRA Issues Proposed Rule to Improve Protection for Railroad Roadway Workers

July 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to improve protection for roadway workers from train or equipment movements on an adjacent track. The proposal would require railroads, contractors to railroads, and roadway workers to adopt and comply with additional on-track safety procedures. It will cover work groups using certain maintenance equipment, when at least one worker is on the ground and the centerline of the adjacent track is 19 feet or less from the centerline of the track being worked on. FRA is also proposing to expand requirements for job safety briefings, training, and

CP, CN Implement New Rail Terminal Efficiencies at Deltaport

July 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

VANCOUVER — CN and Canadian Pacific (CP) announced an agreement allowing the Deltaport Division of a jointly owned rail subsidiary to manage rail switching operations for CN’s and CP’s intermodal trains at Deltaport, a marine container terminal located at Roberts Bank, south of Vancouver’s inner harbor. “Deltaport Division will streamline the logistics chain at the terminal, generating greater efficiencies in the overall rail and port operation,” said Keith Creel, CN executive vice-president, operations. “These service and productivity gains support Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway Initiative, which aims to bolster the competitiveness of the nation’s west coast ports.” CN and CP move approximately

STB Announcers Hearing’s Speakers

July 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has provided a schedule of speakers appearances and their time allocations for the Board’s July 22, 2008 public hearing for the proceeding entitled, Common Carrier Obligation of Railroads—Transportation of Hazardous Materials, STB Ex Parte No. 677. The Tuesday, July 22 hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Board’s Hearing Room on the 1st Floor of the agency’s headquarters at Patriots Plaza, 395 E St., S.W., in Washington. The Board initially announced the public hearing in STB Ex Parte No. 677 (Sub-No. 1), in a decision issued to the public on June 4, 2008

CSX Announces Preliminary Voting Results for 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

July 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. announced that the preliminary report of IVS Associates, Inc. (IVS), the independent inspector of election for CSX’s 2008 annual meeting of shareholders, indicates that Board nominees Donna M. Alvarado, John B. Breaux, Steven T. Halverson, Edward J. Kelly III, John D. McPherson, David M. Ratcliffe, Donald J. Shepard, and Michael J. Ward, and TCI Group nominees Alexandre Behring, Christopher Hohn, Gilbert H. Lamphere and Timothy T. O’Toole are the twelve nominees to the Board who received the most votes cast at the meeting. In addition, based on the independent inspector’s preliminary review of proxies submitted,

CSX Reports Record Second Quarter Earnings

July 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. reported second quarter 2008 earnings of $385 million, or a record 93 cents per share. Last year CSX reported second quarter earnings of $324 million, or 71 cents per share. Second quarter 2008 results included 4 cents per share associated with the resolution of certain tax matters. On a comparable basis, excluding this item, second quarter EPS was up 25 percent from a year ago. “CSX continues to deliver significant value for shareholders and demonstrate the secular strength of our business,” said Michael Ward, chairman, president and CEO. “The strong earnings performance delivered by this

Amtrak Re-launches Regional Service as Northeast Regional

July 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced the re-launch of its Northeast Corridor Regional service, renaming it Northeast Regional. Traveling between Boston, New York, Washington, Richmond and Newport News, Va., the service, Amtrak’s busiest, transported more than 6.8 million passengers last fiscal year. Anticipating a busy summer travel season and the impact of an integrated marketing campaign, Amtrak expects the re-branding of the Northeast Regional and its associated service improvements to attract an additional 136,000 passengers to the service, valued at $8.9 million in ticket revenue annually. So far this fiscal year (October 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), Amtrak’s Regional service

FRA Issues Final Rule for Rail Relocation and Improvement Grant Program

July 11, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a Final Rule detailing the eligibility requirements and selection criteria for capital grants under the Rail Line Relocation and Improvement program created in the SAFETEA-LU legislation. 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. Under the law, half of all grant funds are reserved for projects costing no more than $20 million each. A state or other

Mudslide Causes Deraiment in Iowa

July 9, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

GUTTENBERG, Iowa – A mudslide caused four locomotives to derail and crash into the Mississippi following, authorities said. The locomotives were pulling and Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad freight train at the time of the derailment. “Early reports indicate that a large boulder and embankment slide occurred in the area of the derailment,” the railroad said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. “It is suspected that heavy rain saturations weakened the bluff embankment causing the slide.”