North America – Page 56
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NewsCN to acquire Massena line from CSX
NORTH AMERICA: CN has signed an agreement to acquire CSX’s 350 km Massena line which runs from Valleyfield in Québec to Woodard in New York state. The route serves cities including Beauharnois and Huntingdon in Canada and Massena, Norwood, Potsdam and Gouverneur in the USA. ‘With this ...
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NewsMetrolinx orders double-deck coaches
CANADA: Ontario transport authority Metrolinx has ordered a further 36 double-deck coaches from Bombardier Transportation to bolster GO Transit services in the Toronto area. The 31 standard and five accessible BiLevel cars will be produced Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant. ‘Our government is committed to building the transportation ...
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NewsWinchester & Western Railroad sold
USA: OmniTRAX announced on September 11 that it had completed its previously-announced $105m acquisition of Winchester & Western Railroad from minerals company Covia Holdings Corp. Class III railway W&W has two divisions totalling 160 km, with an 85 km route in the Shenandoah Valley connecting Maryland, West ...
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NewsLB Foster boosts Rail division
LB FOSTER: Rail infrastructure, engineering and technology specialist LB Foster has announced a series of management changes in its Rail division. Greg Lippard Greg Lippard has been named Vice-President, Rail. In addition to his responsibilities for the Rail Distribution, Allegheny Rail Products and Transit Products business and ...
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NewsTsunami Gate wagon to make a splash at Railway Interchange
USA: A patent-pending Tsunami Gate door system that allows shippers to customise grain discharge speeds is at the heart of the latest design of covered hopper wagon to be developed by The Greenbrier Companies. The 147 m3 capacity wagon can be emptied in 30 sec, with automated ...
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NewsIcomera wins GO Transit wi-fi contract
CANADA: Transport authority Metrolinx has selected Icomera to roll-out wi-fi and an entertainment system across the GO Transit fleet of 943 rail vehicles and 532 buses in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. Installation is scheduled to begin later this year, with the first wi-fi expected to ...
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NewsGaspésie railway rehabilitation funding
CANADA: The Canadian government’s Disaster Mitigation & Adaptation Fund is to provide C$45·8m for the rehabilitation of a section of the provincially-owned railway to Gaspésie in Quebéc. The section has been out of use since 2015 because of the poor condition of the infrastructure and ...
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Metro Report InternationalPreferred bidder selected for Hurontario LRT project
CANADA: Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx have selected the Mobilinx consortium as preferred bidder for the contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Hurontario Light Rail Transit project to the west of Toronto. The contract is expected to the be awarded later this year. Mobilinx is ...
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Metro Report InternationalPhoenix voters reject plan to block light rail funding
USA: Residents of the city of Phoenix have voted overwhelmingly to reject a local legislative measure that would have halted funding for expansion of the city’s Valley Metro light rail network. Mayor Kate Gallego confirmed on August 28 that voters had rejected the Proposition 105 and 106 ...
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NewsAustralian investment group FSI to buy Patriot Rail
USA: Australian investment group First State Investments announced an agreement to acquire 100% of the equity of short line group Patriot Rail & Ports from SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners on August 26. Terms were not disclosed. Formed in 2006 and acquired by SteelRiver in 2012, Florida-based Patriot now has ...
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NewsOmniTRAX acquires Cleveland Commercial Railroad
USA: OmniTRAX has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Cleveland Commercial Railroad and its wholly owned subsidiary Cleveland Harbor Belt Railroad for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close by the end of August, with the CCRL to be renamed as the Cleveland ...
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NewsFRA announces state of good repair grants
USA: The federal government has approved more than $272m of funding for 10 ‘state of good repair’ projects, the Federal Railroad Administration announced on August 21. The money is intended to co-fund works to improve publicly-owned railway infrastructure and the performance of inter-city passenger services. FRA said ...
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Metro Report InternationalQuébec City transport funding announced
CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Québec’s Minister of Transport François Bonnardel announced joint funding to establish tram and bus rapid transit routes in Québec City on August 19. The Québec provincial government will provide C$1·8bn, with a further C$1·2bn coming from the federal government’s Investing in Canada ...
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Metro Report InternationalKiewit and Parsons awarded Los Angeles Gold Line extension contract
USA: The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority awarded the main design-build contract for the Foothill Gold Line light rail extension to a joint venture of Kiewit and Parsons, the authority announced on August 14. The $805·6m contact covers the first phase of the eastern extension from APU/Citrus College ...
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Metro Report InternationalCRRC metro train enters service in Boston
USA: The first trainset that CRRC is supplying for the Boston Orange Line entered passenger service on August 14. In 2014, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority awarded CRRC MA a contract to supply 152 cars for the Orange Line and 132 cars the Red Line. This was followed by ...
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NewsSavage to build and operate Texas rail terminal
USA: ExxonMobil and SABIC have appointed Savage to design, build and operate a rail terminal to handle polyethylene traffic at the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures petrochemical plant in San Patricio County, Texas, which they plan to open in 2022. Savage will provide shunting, wagon washing, loading and repair services ...
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NewsCanadian government funds rail capacity works
CANADA: The government has announced C$12·4m of funding for two projects designed to enhance rail freight capacity, reduce bottlenecks and increase competition by offering shippers access to two railways. The first project covers track upgrades on the Great Sandhills Railway short line which runs from Burstall, Saskatchewan, ...
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Metro Report InternationalNew York’s 42 St Shuttle to be refurbished
USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on August 2 that the 42 St Shuttle metro line in Manhattan is to be modernised. Work is due to begin on August 16 and end in 2022, with no interruptions to service. Opened in 1904, the 42 St Shuttle connects ...
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In depthNew York: From Penn Station to Empire Complex
Overcrowded, outdated and confusing, New York Penn Station has been roundly criticised in recent years as a symbol of the Big Apple’s inability to develop modern infrastructure. But multiple improvement projects are now underway, raising hopes that a more spacious and comfortable hub could yet emerge. Nick Kingsley reports from Manhattan.
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Metro Report InternationalMaryland Purple Line depot topped out
USA: The Maryland Transit Administration held a ceremony on July 30 to mark the topping out of the Glenridge Operations & Maintenance Facility being built for the future Purple Line light rail route. Planned to accommodate 200 staff when fully operational, the 15 800 m2 site will contain ...