All North America articles – Page 13
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NewsAmtrak begins Amfleet I refurbishment programme
USA: Amtrak has announced the start of work to refurbish its Amfleet I hauled coaches, which are widely used on its Northeast Corridor and Midwest inter-city services. The $16m refurbishment and overhaul programme covers more than 450 vehicles, with completion planned for mid-2018. A phased approach is ...
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Tikhvin begins delivering bogie castings to North America
NORTH AMERICA: United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin plant in Russia has begun shipping Barber S-2-HD bogie side frames and bolsters for the North American market, after obtaining Association of American Railroads approval for their use on wagons for unrestricted interchange in Canada, Mexico and the USA. UWC plans to supply ...
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Virginia main line upgrading moves forward
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration announced on September 8 the completion of a Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a capacity and speed enhancement programme on the 197 km corridor running south from Washington DC to Richmond, Virginia. The railway is owned by Class I freight railroad CSX, but ...
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Genesee & Wyoming forms Mexican train ferry joint venture
NORTH AMERICA: Genesee & Wyoming announced on September 5 that it had formed a 50:50 joint venture with SEACOR Holdings to own CG Railway, the operator of a train ferry service between Mobile, Alabama, and Coatzacoalcos in Mexico. Terms of the joint venture were not disclosed. Recently acquired by SEACOR ...
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Railway supply industry news round-up
Systra announced on August 31 that it had completed the acquisition of International Bridge Technologies. This will enable the consultancy to establish ‘a global bridge centre of excellence’ that will offer specialist design expertise. This is Systra’s first acquisition in a specific engineering discipline, marking a significant strategic move, the ...
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Canadian government demands Manitoba railway repairs
CANADA: The federal government is seeking to restore rail services along the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects Churchill in northern Manitoba with the Canadian National network at Flin Flon Junction, near The Pas. Following what HBR owner OmniTRAX described in June as ‘catastrophic’ flood damage, trains have been unable to ...
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Hazardous materials training academy for short lines
USA: The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has awarded the Short Line Safety Institute a $500 000 grant to create a Hazardous Materials Training Academy in Washington DC. ‘Small railroads will greatly benefit from the expertise and resources the Hazardous Materials Training Academy will provide’, said SLSI Executive Director ...
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4Transit awarded C$300m Toronto RER contract
CANADA: The 4Transit joint venture of Hatch, Parsons, and WSP Canada has been awarded a C$300m contract to provide technical advisory services for two major work packages within transport agency Metrolinx’s Regional Express Rail programme to upgrade the rail network in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area. ‘This massive transformation ...
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SMART commuter rail line opens
USA: Celebrations on August 25 marked the opening of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District commuter line in the North Bay area of California. T-shirts and free travel were offered on the first day, followed by half-price travel until the introduction of normal fares on September 5. SMART runs for ...
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Knoxville Locomotive Works obtains Tier 4 certification
USA: Knoxville Locomotive Works has obtained EPA Tier 4 emission certification for its SE Series of four-axle and six-axle diesel locomotives. KLW produces remanufactured locomotives based on EMD and GE components and new MTU engines. The Tier 4 certification includes shunting locomotives rated at 2 000, 2 200 and 2 ...
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Texas-Mexico rail border facility upgraded
NORTH AMERICA: Kansas City Southern, US Customs Border Protection and Mexican customs agency SAT inaugurated a joint rail freight processing facility at the Laredo border crossing in Texas on August 17. The facility enables Mexican export processing to be undertaken at the US railhead, ...
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Railways prepare for total solar eclipse
USA: Amtrak is to run a special train on August 21 to enable people to reach one of the best locations for viewing the first total solar eclipse to be visible from the continental USA since 1979, and the first to be visible coast-to-coast since 1918. The Eclipse ...
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High speed rail promoter Texas Central selects planning and construction contractors
USA: Privately-financed high speed line project promoter Texas Central has appointed Fluor Enterprises and The Lane Construction Corp to refine the construction planning, scheduling and cost estimates for the project, and to support procurement. It is envisaged that the two contractors would also design and build the project following financial ...
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Penn Station co-ordination review
USA: Amtrak announced on August 9 that it had commissioned an independent review of the way in which the three railroads serving New York’s Penn Station work together. The objective is to improve the ‘design, functionality, communications and co-ordination’ of the passenger facilities. While Amtrak is the station owner, commuter ...
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Alameda Corridor East grade separation trench opens
USA: A 2·3 km long, 9 m deep and 20 m wide cutting built at cost of $313m as part of a grade separation project designed to ease traffic congestion in the San Gabriel Valley east of downtown Los Angeles was officially opened by the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority on ...
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Federal funding to revive border crossing
USA: Texas Department of Transportation has a received a US$7m grant from the US Department of Transportation towards a US$16∙2m ‘public and private partnership’ to replace the bridge connecting Presidio with Ojinaga in Mexico, and upgrade 115 km of the connecting South Orient Rail Line. The bridge has been closed ...
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Amtrak and Lyft announce partnership
USA: Passengers can now use the Amtrak mobile app to access rideshare company Lyft’s app to book first and last mile travel to and from a station. Announcing the partnership on August 1, Amtrak said Lyft operates in more than 360 locations, covering 80% of the population and 97% of ...
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Stadler completes first US-assembled Flirt
USA: Stadler has completed the first Flirt multiple-unit to be assembled in the USA at its plant at North Salt Lake in Utah. The DMU for the TEX Rail project will be officially unveiled at the ATPA Expo in Atlanta in October. In 2015 the Fort Worth Transportation Authority ...
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Connecticut awards Hartford Line operating contract
USA: Connecticut Department of Transportation has awarded a joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts a $45m contract to operate CTrail Hartford Line commuter services between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield for five years from the expected launch in May 2018. TASI/ACI will be responsible for operating the ...
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GE Transportation to end locomotive production in Erie
USA: GE Transportation announced on July 27 that it intends to transfer the production of locomotives from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Fort Worth in Texas. The move is planned by the end of 2018, and would see the loss of up to 575 jobs in Erie. The proposal is subject to ...
