LA to study underground alternative for Regional Connector
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors approved the addition of a new fully underground light rail alternative underneath Little Tokyo for the Regional Connector Transit Corridor Study now in environmental review. The new alternative was added to meet the concerns of the Little Tokyo/Arts District Community raised during scoping and ongoing working group meetings. Community members opposed an at-grade crossing at First and Alameda Streets, asserting the alternative would disrupt street activity in the historic Little Tokyo area.
The new alternative now enjoys full community support and will consist of two variations for a complete underground crossing at this intersection, keeping trains fully grade-separated. It also includes an additional underground station. Portals would be built on both First and Alameda Streets to allow trains to surface and connect to the existing Metro Gold Line both to Pasadena and East Los Angeles.
KC's struggling Union Station makes switch to new track
It may not be as much fun. It's not what was promised. But it will be open, and that's undoubtedly a success, the Kansas City Star reports. A decade after voters rejuvenated the architectural corpse of Union Station - helping to infuse $263 million into its bloodstream - leaders of the former train depot are moving forward with a new business plan to save the life of the grand building that has been hemorrhaging millions of dollars since the day of its rebirth.
Under the new plan, the 96-year-old station may look more like an office park than a cultural attraction. It is a major shift in emphasis that was underscored last week with Union Station's desire to woo the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City Area Development Council to 35,000 square feet of empty office space there.
In essence, the shift also calls on Kansas Citians to pare back - for at least the next two to five years - some of the romantic notions they may still hold of Union Station as a center promising fun-filled entertainment.
Two pieces of good news: First, the station is no longer on the brink of being boarded up. Officials last week said that 2009 ended with a much smaller deficit than projected and that they expect expenses to at least break even in the future.
"I have a passion for the place," said Mike Haverty, who, as Union Station's board chairman and the chief executive officer of Kansas City Southern Railway, retains wistful boyhood memories of the place. "It's not going down on my watch. It's not," he said.
Second, Union Station's leaders are backing off on their call for a tax increase - for now. Meanwhile, the prime focus at the station won't be as much making the place lively as it will be keeping it alive. "The first thing is to survive," said Haverty, a sentiment reinforced by Union Station CEO George Guastello. "We have to stabilize the patient," Guastello said. "Stop the bleeding."
Yesterday, VIA Rail Canada Inc. and the Canadian government announced a joint investment to build a new station in Windsor, Ontario, featuring improved and expanded facilities. The government will provide $6 million for the project through Canada’s Economic Action Plan. To be built on a site near the existing facility by fall 2011, the station will replace a structure built by CN in the early 1960s and expanded by VIA Rail in 1982.
Oregon DOT orders two trainsets from Talgo-America
On Friday, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced it negotiated the purchase of two new passenger trains from Talgo-America for $36.6 million. The 13-car trains will be used for Amtrak Cascades service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia.
To be delivered in 2012, the trains will be assembled at a new Talgo plant to be established in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to announce today that Talgo-America will create a train-building facility at a former Tower Automotive Corp. plant in the city. Last year, the Wisconsin DOT negotiated a $47.6 million deal with Talgo-America to build two 14-car trains for Amtrak's Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line. By pooling the train purchase with Wisconsin, ODOT — which will use stimulus funds for the transaction — saved about $6 million, according to the Oregon agency.
With Olympics over, Vancouver ponders transit residuals
Transit officials in Vancouver are evaluating various transit services set up in part to handle Winter Olympic crowds, trying todetermine which pieces should remain in operation to handle the city’s residents and workers.
TransLink may embed the price of transit into ticket prices for one-day sporting events, such as Vancouver Canucks hockey games, to help maintain the TravelSmart program established during the winter games.
During the 17-day Olympic activities, which formally ended Sunday, record numbers of people used transit, with 280,000 boarding the Canada Line on Feb. 18 alone. During the first week of the Olympics, an average of more than 1.6 million people a day used buses, SkyTrain, the SeaBus, and the West CoastExpress.
On Capitol Hill, industry leaders emphasize rail’s valuable role
Support for a healthy national rail network is vital to sustaining more than a million jobs and powering U.S economic recovery, according to numerous freight rail representatives, their passenger rail counterparts, local business leaders, elected officials, and others (including representatives from Railway Age) who canvassed Capitol Hill Thursday as part of industry’s annual “Railroad Day on Capitol Hill” event.
Washington policymakers were reminded that freight railroads generate nearly $265 billion in total annual economic activity and that every freight rail job supports an additional 4.5 jobs elsewhere in the economy.
“Sometimes when new federal polices are formulated, the true impacts on American businesses and consumers are not fully taken into account,” said Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “Who better to tell members of Congress of these impacts and importance of freight rail, than the employees, businesses, and local elected officials that work hard every day to deliver on freight rail’s vital role in the nation’s economic recovery.”
“The federal government encouraged the creation of short line railroads to preserve freight service, and in doing so has facilitated the industry’s growth to 552 short line railroads that support tens of thousands of jobs,” said Richard F. Timmons, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. “Federal policies like the short line tax credit will enable companies to make over $330 million in track upgrades each year, and support thousands of new jobs in the rail industry.”
“Supporting funding for rail is a good investment in America’s future,” said Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and founding member of OneRail, a coalition advocating for policies for passenger and freight rail. “Improving the nation’s rail infrastructure will create vital jobs, de-congest chokepoints, put more freight and passengers on fuel-efficient trains, and reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions.” OneRail brings together freight and passenger rail, transit, environmental, and labor groups. In this vein, Canby urged Congress to continue to make rail-related projects eligible for federal funding, such as infrastructure programs in the jobs bill currently moving through the Senate.
MTA Metro-North Railroad, MTA Long Island Rail Road
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the tri-state region, in effect through 6 p.m. tonight, Friday (2/26). Overnight, snow accumulations of 3 to 20 inches have been reported throughout the MTA service area, with highest amounts in the northern suburbs. Snow will continue throughout the day with more accumulation expected.
MTA subways, buses, railroads and bridges & tunnels are scheduled to operate at normal or near normal morning rush hour service levels, with the following exceptions: New York City Transit Subways has its cold weather service plan in effect that will impact some service. Those impacts are reflected by line in the Current Service Status box at left and in the New York City Transit Service Advisory below. Buses may experience sporadic snow related delays. Also, Metro-North Railroad, will run a special a.m. peak schedule that will cancel and combine some trains due to significant weather conditions north of the city.
All agencies will continue to clean their infrastructure, while monitoring possible icing conditions that could potentially have an impact on service.
NJ Transit
With another major blast of winter weather upon us, NJ TRANSIT has mobilized its operations, customer service and police personnel across the state to ensure a ready response to the storm.
Systemwide: Depending on the impact of the storm, it may be necessary for NJTRANSIT to modify service as conditions change. Customers are advised to allow extra travel time and to check njtransit.com before starting their trip.
Rail Service: Trains systemwide are subject to 10 to 15 minute delays due to weather conditions and slow boarding at stations. In addition, Port Jervis Line rail service is temporarily suspended between Port Jervis and Harriman stations due to storm damage.
All NJ TRANSIT rail station buildings and waiting rooms will remain open extended hours, including evenings and overnight, until Monday, March 1, due to extreme cold weather conditions.
SEPTA
Regional Rail: Paoli/Thorndale (R5) all trains will be operating local service. Up to 15 minute delays possible on all lines do to weather conditions.
Trolley Lines: Route 10 operating normal service.
Market Frankford Line: Service is operating every 10 minutes with no A/B stops.
Norristown High Speed Line: Route 100 all local service every 15 min, no Bryn Mawr or Hughes Park
VRE’s 11-mile extension takes big step forward
The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board has authorized a $2.7 millioncontract with STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates to make an environmental study andprovide preliminary engineering services on the proposed extension of VRE 11miles on Norfolk Southern's B line into the Gainesville-Haymarket area in westernPrince William County. The action came at a vote taken last Friday.
"I think this will be one of the most significant stations in VRE's historyone of these days, and we'll put more people on at this location than at anyother station," VRE board member and Prince William Supervisor W.S.Covington III told a Washington Post reporter. The environmental and engineering study is funded by the Virginia Department ofRail and Public Transportation with the help of an $875,000 in-kind match fromNorfolk Southern. The Gainesville-Haymarket project, now estimated to cost up to $244 million,would add a track to the B line within existing right of way and up to three stations.
SunRail startup’s latest obstacle: Amtrak Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman says the National Railroad Passenger Corp. will require similar liability protection that Florida has offered Class I railroad CSX Corp. if Amtrak is to continue serving central Florida while SunRail regional rail service is established. In a letter mailed Monday to the Florida Department of Transportation, Boardman said he was terminating a previous agreement Amtrak had with the state to share tracks with SunRail. In an interview Tuesday ,Boardman voiced concerns over liability if Amtrak and SunRail were involved in an accident. Boardman wants the state to shield Amtrak from some potential lawsuits and claims. "Amtrak can't take the business risk," he said.
The proposed $1.2 billion regional rail service would include six central Florida counties, with Orlando serving as the hub city. Florida has continued to work with CSX in advancing the regional rail service, which has survived several attacks from opponents within the state legislature. Under the proposal, CSX would sell roughly 61 miles of right-of-way to the state, retaining trackage rights for freight rail operations.
DART to delay opening of Orange Line's initial segment Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) expects the opening of the Orange Line’s first segment to be pushed back up to eight months because of utility relocation delays associated with the Texas Department of Transportation’s work on portions of State Highway 114.
DART and DOT staffs continue to work on shortening the delay and no new opening date has been set for the new 9.3-mile light-rail line’s initial segment. However, based on the highway project’s current status, the Orange Line’s first segment from Bachman Station to Las Colinas likely would open in August 2012 instead of December 2011, said DART officials in a prepared statement. A second segment from Las Colinas to Belt Line had been projected to open one year after the first segment’s opening, while a final segment from Belt Line to the DFW Airport was scheduled to open in December 2013.
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