Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 345

State of Minnesota, Northstar and BNSF Sign Key Agreement

March 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

ANOKA, Minn. — Officials from the state of Minnesota, the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) signed a key agreement today that defines Northstar’s rights to operate along the 40-mile stretch of BNSF train tracks between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis. “This agreement is another significant milestone toward delivering Minnesota’s first commuter rail system, one that is in high demand among Northstar Corridor residents,” said NCDA Chair Dan Erhart. “BNSF has a long history of working with commuter rail agencies to provide access to our right of way for passenger service while also preserving our capacity

Train Accidents Decline for Second Year in a Row Preliminary 2006 Safety Data Show

March 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The number of train accidents declined for the second year in a row and there were fewer highway-rail grade crossing collisions according to preliminary 2006 rail safety data announced today by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. “The aggressive actions we are taking to improve rail safety are paying dividends,” Secretary Peters said. “As a result, many communities where trains operate are safer,” she added, noting that 36 states experienced fewer train accidents in 2006 as compared to 2005. The preliminary statistics released today by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reveal that in 2006 railroads had

Amtrak San Joaquins Service Back to Normal

March 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OAKLAND – BNSF Railway’s annual San Joaquin Valley track maintenance and rehabilitation has concluded and all Amtrak San Joaquin trains are back to their normal schedule. The track work between Bakersfield and Fresno began in January and was recently completed. Amtrak operates the San Joaquin Service, with six daily round-trips to Bakersfield from Oakland or Sacramento, under a contract with Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation.

Amtrak Provides Study to Restore State-Supported Rail Service to Rockford and Northwestern Illinois

March 5, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — Amtrak has completed a report requested by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) that evaluates possible Northwestern Illinois routes between Chicago and Dubuque, Iowa, via Rockford, Illinois. This “Feasibility Report on Proposed Amtrak Service” is also in response to a July 2006 town meeting held in Rockford and hosted by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) who was joined by Congressman Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.), Amtrak and IDOT representatives, labor officials and community leaders from Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson, Jo Daviess, DeKalb and Ogle Counties. In the report, the approximate cost of upgrading the railroad infrastructure to accommodate passenger train speeds

CSXT Joins Call for Cleaner Air

March 2, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At the invitation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CSX Transportation (CSXT) today joined EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and other stakeholders at Port Newark, N.J., to support the agency’s overall goal of reducing diesel locomotive emissions. On hand for the announcement was CSXT Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Tony Ingram, who brought two of the new low-emission locomotives that have helped CSXT reduce CO2 emissions by 330,000 tons over the past five years. “CSXT understands that what’s good for the environment is good for our customers, our employees and our bottom line, and that’s why

Amtrak Names Eleanor D. Acheson Vice President – General Counsel

March 2, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak today announced the appointment of Eleanor D. “Eldie” Acheson, Esq. as the corporation’s new Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. She is based at the railroad’s headquarters in Washington. Acheson has more than 30 years of experience in the legal profession. She began her career as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Edward T. Gignoux in Maine from 1973 to 1974. Thereafter, she practiced law for 19 years with the Boston-based firm Ropes & Gray, becoming a partner in 1983. Acheson’s practice was in litigation. She handled a wide variety of cases with a particular

Amtrak Names Anne Witt Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Business Development

March 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak today announced the appointment of its former executive Anne (Hoey) Witt, as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development. Witt rejoins Amtrak after serving as Director of the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles and on the board with her state partners in the American Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators. Prior to her work at the DMV, Witt held the position of vice president in a number of Amtrak Departments including Service Standards; Service Operations; Reservations, Sales and Customer Relations; Customer and Corporate Communications; and Corporate Management. The newly formed Strategic Partnerships and Business Development

FRA Denies DM&E Powder River Basin Loan Application

February 26, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman today denied a $2.3 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan application from the Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern (DM&E) railroad concluding it posed an unacceptably high risk to federal taxpayers. In a decision released Feb 26, Boardman found that while the Powder River Basin project met some of the RRIF program’s statutory requirements, there remained too high a risk concerning the railroad’s ability to repay the loan even with an appropriate combination of credit risk premiums and collateral. He said he was concerned by several factors, including the DM&E’s current highly

N.J. Transit Identifies Preliminary Cause of Derailment

February 21, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. – N.J. Transit believes human error led to a track defect that is believed to have caused this morning’s derailment of Train 1252, officials said. Ten days ago, a worn switch was replaced at Ridgewood Junction and a portion of the switch was improperly installed, resulting in a condition known as “tight gauge,” where the rails are too narrow over several feet of track through the switch point. N.J. Transit’s standard procedures require a thorough inspection of any such work by a qualified employee before returning the track to service, as well as an inspection of all switches

NTSB Asks Congress to Give FRA Hours of Service Authority

February 14, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker today asked Congress to give the Federal Railroad Administration the statutory authority to revise hours of service rules for railroad workers, noting that current rules are not based on science related to fatigue. Testifying before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Rosenker said that over the past 23 years the NTSB has investigated 16 major railroad accidents in which it established that the probable cause was crewmember fatigue. Operator fatigue has been on the Board’s Most Wanted List