North America – Page 91
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NewsAppeal court ruling provides high speed funding fillip
USA: Three judges of the State Appellate Court in Sacramento ruled on July 31 to support an appeal by California High Speed Rail Authority against a prior judgment blocking the sale of $9·95bn in so-called ‘Proposition 1A’ bonds. Judge Michael Kenny had ruled on November 25 that when Californian voters ...
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NewsGBW Railcar Services established
USA: The Greenbrier Companies and Watco announced the formal establishment of their equally-owned GBW Railcar Services wagon repair joint venture on July 21. The companies said GBW has ‘the largest independent railcar repair shop network in North America’, with a total of 38 repair, refurbishment and maintenance workshops. ‘GBW will ...
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NewsCrude oil rules to be tightened
USA: The Department of Transportation issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on July 23 setting out ‘comprehensive proposals’ to improve safety in the movement of flammable materials by rail, with a particular focus on crude oil and ethanol. The proposals are based on an Advanced Notice published by the Pipeline ...
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NewsRefrigerated freight services launched
USA: McKay TransCold launched TransCold Express last month, saying it is 'the first refrigerated boxcar unit train connecting the Midwest and West Coast in over half a century'. The service runs over the BNSF network between Selma in California and the RidgePort Logistics Center 60 km southwest of Chicago, where ...
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NewsSouth Coast Rail project management contract awarded
USA: The $2·3bn South Coast Rail project to provide electrified commuter services from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston has moved ‘decisively from planning to design and construction’ Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary & CEO Richard A Davey announced on June 18, when MassDOT awarded Vanesse Hangen Brustlin and ...
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NewsDon’t squelch oil by rail, says Greenbrier
USA: Announcing provisional orders from ‘multiple customers’ for an initial 3 500 of its Tank Car of the Future flammable products wagons on June 19, Chairman & CEO of The Greenbrier Companies William Furman warned that government regulation must not delay the implementation of new design standards or impede the ...
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NewsKeolis takes over Boston commuter services
USA: Keolis Commuter Services took over from Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co as operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's 14 Boston commuter rail services with effect from July 1, saying it would improve punctuality, safety, cleanliness and customer service on the fifth largest commuter network in the USA, and the ...
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NewsFirst Toluca works contract awarded
MEXICO: The Secretariat of Communications & Transport has selected a consortium of Constructora de Proyectos Viales de México and La Peninsular Compañía Constructora as preferred bidder to undertake civil works on the first section of the 57∙7 km electrified passenger railway from Mexico City to Toluca. With a winning bid ...
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NewsAmtrak and California abandon joint rolling stock procurement
USA: Plans to undertake a joint procurement of high speed trainsets have been shelved by Amtrak and the Californian High Speed Rail Authority. Amtrak said on June 23 that meetings with representatives of the rolling stock supply industry had indicated that the requirements were too diverse to be met by ...
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News‘Cap-and-trade’ revenues to support Californian high speed programme
USA: The California state budget for 2014-15 includes a commitment to provide a further $250m for the planned San Francisco – Los Angeles high speed rail project.The contribution would be provided using revenues accrued by the state’s emissions trading scheme. More significantly, the budget, backed by Governor Jerry Brown and ...
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NewsOmniTRAX to manage Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad
USA: The Brownsville Navigation District authority which manages the port of Brownsville, Texas, has appointed regional and short line group OmniTRAX to manage the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad on its behalf. The deal runs for 30 years, and includes the development of an industrial park on adjacent land. ...
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NewsGreenbrier and Watco to combine wagon maintenance activities
USA: Wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies and short line and wagon repair group Watco are to combine their wagon repair, refurbishment and maintenance workshops through the formation of an equally-owned joint venture to be known as GBW Railcar Services. Announcing the plan on June 4, the companies said the ...
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NewsILCAD 2014 targets professional drivers
INTERNATIONAL: Railway operators in more than 45 countries across the world are participating in the sixth International Level Crossing Awareness Day on June 3. The campaign is intended to raise public awareness of the safety risks surrounding level crossings, in order to change the behaviour of road users, including vehicle ...
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NewsRapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad begins operations
USA: The newly-established Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad subsidiary of short line and regional railway group Genesee & Wyoming began operating freight trains on the west end of the former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern network on June 1. This follows the completion of a deal to acquire around 1 ...
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NewsGovernor launches Indiana Gateway project
USA: Indiana governor Mike Pence joined FRA Deputy Administrator Karen Hedlund, Amtrak's Chief of State Contracts Michael Franke and Norfolk Southern Assistant Vice-President Jeff Harris at Hammond on May 29 to mark the start of work on the US$71·4m Indiana Gateway project. This is intended to relieve congestion and accelerate ...
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NewsDirect service from Chicago to Mexico
NORTH AMERICA: BNSF Railway and Ferromex have announced that on May 27 they are due to launch a direct intermodal service between Chicago and Silao in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Container trains will be interchanged between the two railways at the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez border crossing, with Ferromex operating ...
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NewsAgreement to continue VIA Rail service in New Brunswick
CANADA: An agreement has provisionally been reached to support the continued operation of VIA Rail’s Ocean service over a 71 km section of the former New Brunswick East Coast railway, Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced on May 12.The Ocean runs three times per week between Montréal and Halifax, but ...
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NewsAtlas Railroad Construction reorganises to grow
USA: Genesee & Wyoming Inc's Atlas Railroad Construction subsidiary is to be reorganised into a region-based commercial and operating structure, intended to facilitate expansion into the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest of the country. As part of this reorganisation, Atlas is relocating its headquarters from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania to Jacksonville, Florida. ‘Moving ...
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NewsRail.One opens Iowa sleeper factory
USA: Lieutenant Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds inaugurated Rail.One’s concrete sleeper factory in Clinton on April 29. The company has invested $22m in building the plant, which was completed in under 12 months and is expected to produce 600 000 sleepers a year for the North American market. ‘The plant ...
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NewsEconomical shunter unveiled
CANADA: TractivePower Corp has unveiled its TP56 three-axle industrial switcher, primarily intended to compete in the 'railcar mover' market, shunting wagons in industrial sidings. It makes use of readily available off-the-shelf industrial and railway components, and has been designed to be serviced in the field. The TP56 is powered by ...