Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 348

Oklahoma City Woman Honored as 500,000th Amtrak Heartland Flyer Passenger

September 27, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City woman was surprised by TV cameras, reporters and prizes today at both ends of the Amtrak Heartland Flyer route in Oklahoma and Texas. Marilea Hoffmann was chosen by reservation number to represent the half-millionth passenger when she boarded the train at the Paul Adams Memorial Platform in Oklahoma City. A second surprise greeting occurred at the Intermodal Transportation Center in Fort Worth, where she received another round of gifts and was met by her daughter, Nancee Hoffmann of Keller, Texas. “I’ve been riding the train since the beginning,” Marilea Hoffmann told reporters in Oklahoma

Tilt Trains are Coming Back to Amtrak Cascades Service this Fall

September 27, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OAKLAND – Amtrak has received approval from the Federal Railroad Administration to make recommended repairs on the Talgo-manufactured railcars used in the operation of Amtrak Cascades service between Eugene, Ore. and Bellingham, Wash. As the trainsets are repaired, they will be rotated back into service one at a time starting this weekend. All trainsets will be expected to be repaired by early November. Amtrak anticipates that train schedules will return to normal in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel season. “We have determined the appropriate solution and are moving forward with the repairs,” said Nora Friend, Talgo’s spokesperson. “Once the

Committee Republican Leaders Oppose Re-Regulation of Rail Industry

September 25, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Republican Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee warned that re-regulation of the nation’s successful railroad industry could spell a return to a highly inefficient “Soviet-style” rail system that eliminates private investment and relies primarily on government subsidies. The Committee conducted a hearing Sept. 25 on rail competition and service. “Thirty years ago, our nation’s rail system was literally falling apart,” said U.S. Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republican Leader. “Twenty-five percent of the system had to be operated at reduced speed due to dangerous track conditions. More rail lines were bankrupt than in the

34 States Have Fewer Train Accidents During First Six Months of 2007; Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Collisions and Fatalities Show Significant Declines

September 24, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Railroad safety continued to improve significantly during the first half of 2007 as 34 states experienced fewer train derailments and collisions as compared to the same period last year, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced. A review of the preliminary statistics compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for January through June 2007 reveals that railroads had 246 fewer train accidents, or a 16.8 percent reduction, when compared to the first six months of 2006, Boardman said. In addition, highway-rail grade crossing safety improved as collisions between motor vehicles and trains fell by 122, or 8.5 percent;

Oberstar, Cummings Release Findings of GAO Report: Railroad Bridges and Tunnels May Also Be at Risk

September 23, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis Aug. 1 focused attention on the condition of the nation’s highway bridges, but a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released last month warns that many of the nation’s railroad bridges and tunnels may also be at risk. While most highway bridges are built and maintained by states and local governments, railroad bridges and tunnels are the property of the railroads themselves and do not receive regular inspections by federal safety officials. Railroads own and maintain some 76,000 bridges and 800 tunnels in the United States. “We just

Rahway Station Dedicated to Tireless Passenger Advocate

September 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — Rahway Station has been dedicated to the late L. Richard Mariani to memorialize his leadership and dedication as an N.J. Transit employee to the mission of promoting public transportation and caring for the customer. The Rahway Center Partnership unveiled a plaque during a ceremony at Rahway Station on the Northeast Corridor rail line to honor Mariani’s enduring work on projects to renovate Rahway Station and the plaza that connects the station to the surrounding neighborhood, as well as his significant customer service contributions over the course of his distinguished 26-year career at N.J. Transit. — Special to

N.J. Transit Ridership Reaches 865,000 Trips a Day

September 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — N.J. Transit ridership set new all-time highs in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07), with average weekday ridership reaching 865,000 weekday trips on the agency’s bus, rail and light rail lines. The Corporation’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The fourth quarter (April-June) showed an overall ridership increase of four percent above the same period last year. Weekday ridership increased 3.9 percent over last year, averaging 890,000 passenger trips—the highest quarterly figure in N.J. Transit ’s history — while weekend ridership increased 4.7 percent to 689,000 trips. In all, N.J. Transit carried more than 64 million

N.J. Transit to Study Initiatives Along Busy Corridor

September 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — Initiatives to increase the use of public transportation along the increasingly congested I-78 and Raritan Valley Line corridors will be explored in a study approved today by the N.J. Transit Board of Directors. The study will build upon a North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) study and advance some of the NJTPA recommendations for non-highway solutions to meet the region’s current and future mobility demands. “This study will help N.J. Transit identify opportunities as we look to offer transportation alternatives to residents and employers alike in a growing section of the state,” said NJ Transit Chairman and

Landmark Study Puts Rail Infrastructure Needs at $148 Billion

September 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — About $148 billion must be invested to expand the nation’s freight rail infrastructure over the next three decades to make sure that adequate rail capacity exists to meet future demand, according to the results of a first-of-its-kind study to measure rail capacity needs. Released Sept. 20, the National Rail Freight Infrastructure Capacity and Investment Study explores the long-term capacity expansion needs of the continental U.S. freight railroads. “These investments will help the freight rail industry ease highway congestion, reduce stress on highways and bridges, significantly lower transportation-related energy consumption and emissions, and maintain existing capacity for Amtrak and

DOT Digest: FRA Grants to Short Line Railroads and for Rail-Related Research

September 21, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — BTS Releases 2006 Border-Crossing Data. The number of trucks entering the United States from Canada and Mexico was 11.4 million in 2006, 0.5 percent higher than in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. More than 6.6 million trucks entered the U.S. from Canada and almost 4.8 million entered from Mexico. Border-crossing data posted on the BTS website includes numbers of incoming trucks, trains, buses, containers, personal vehicles, and pedestrians entering the United States through land ports and ferry crossings on the U.S.-Canada