USA railroad industry news – Page 30
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Metro Report InternationalPhoenix Valley Metro orders more LRVs
USA: Phoenix’s Valley Metro has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply a further 14 S700 light rail vehicles, augmenting the 11 ordered in 2017 The feet expansion is intended to support the 9 km South Central Extension/Downtown Hub extension which is scheduled to open in 2024. ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART CBTC contracts awarded
USA: Hitachi Rail STS USA has been formally awarded a $798m contract to design, supply and install lineside and onboard communications-based train control equipment on the San Francisco Bay Area’s 200 km BART network. Replacing the existing fixed-block signalling with CBTC forms a key element of the ...
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NewsQuality certification standard for tank wagon suppliers
USA: The Railway Supply Institute has released its RSI-100 Product Quality Certification Standard, which is intended to enable wagon component suppliers to produce tank car parts in conformance with Association of American Railroads specifications and applicable federal regulations. Unveiled on September 23, the RSI-100 standard sets out ...
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NewsNorth Carolina to buy line for proposed passenger service
USA: North Carolina Department of Transportation has been awarded a $47·5m Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements federal grant to support the acquisition of a CSX corridor between Raleigh and Ridgeway near the border with Virginia. The former Seaboard Air Line main line has been partially disused ...
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NewsShort Line Safety Institute offers assessment model to commuter operators
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute says its FRA-recognised multi-method Safety Culture Assessment process for freight railways could be easily transferable to commuter train operators. The institute said on September 17 that a recently-published study looking at the methodology and results of a safety assessment for a ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutomated bus specification completed
USA: A performance specification has been developed by the Automated Bus Consortium, which was formed to bring together transport agencies to facilitate collaborative decision-making, undertake collective pilot projects in various live service environments and combine their purchasing power. The specification combines the American Public Transportation Association’s white ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART celebrates world mask-wearing culture during the pandemic
USA: San Francisco Bay Area metro operator BART is highlighting mask styles from around the world as part of a campaign to change the way passengers think about face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Whether storytelling or celebrating culture, masks have always served a useful function’, ...
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NewsFRA approvals pave way for Texas high speed line construction
USA: Construction of the Texas Central high speed line linking Houston with Dallas is expected to start in the coming months following completion of the regulatory approval process. This concluded on September 21 when the Federal Railroad Administration released a pre-publication version of its final Rule ...
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Metro Report InternationalDenver opens North Metro Rail
USA: Denver’s Regional Transportation District formally inaugurated the first phase of its North Metro Rail commuter service to Thornton on September 21, with a ceremony attended by RTD General Manager & CEO Paul Ballard, Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede and local authority representatives. Developed by ...
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NewsProcessing track survey data
USA: Image processing specialist Ardenna has launched its cloud-based Rail-Inspector system for monitoring the condition of track and infrastructure assets using aerial survey images. Rail-Inspector is designed to process survey images and generate quantifiable track condition that can support data-driven maintenance decisions. It identifies and measures railway ...
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Metro Report InternationalSouthwest LRT federal funding confirmed
USA: After several years of negotiation, the Federal Transit Administration has formally approved a $928·8m Full Funding Grant Agreement to support construction of the Green Line extension of the light rail network in Minneapolis, which will run southwest of the city to Eden Prairie.
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NewsSiemens Mobility awarded US locomotive support contract
USA: San Diego’s North County Transit District has awarded Siemens Mobility a 20-year contract covering technical support and material management services for up to nine Charger locomotives. In 2018 NCTD ordered five charger locos to be delivered between March and June 2021 for use on Coaster ...
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NewsKatie Farmer to head BNSF
BNSF has named Kathryn M Farmer as its next President & Chief Executive Officer with effect from January 1 2021.
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Metro Report InternationalNew York Subway offers under-river connectivity
USA: New York MTA and Transit Wireless have provided the first mobile phone voice and data connectivity in one of the Subway’s under-river tunnels, with AT&T customers now able to stay connected in the East River bores between 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue on the L/Canarsie line. ...
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NewsEnvironmental approval marks milestone in California’s truncated high speed programme
USA: The board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority on September 10 approved the Final Environmental Impact Statement for an 80 km section of the planned high speed railway between Merced and Fresno, known as the ‘Central Valley Wye’. The formal approval means that environmental clearance has ...
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NewsAutomating level crossing inspections
USA: VisioStack has been awarded funding for two projects to develop automated level crossing inspection technology, as part of the Department of Transportation’s Small Business Innovation Research programme. The Aerial Crossing Inspection System project aims to use unmanned aerial vehicles and machine learning to perform level crossing ...
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NewsFreightCar America to move production to Mexico under ‘operational realignment’
NORTH AMERICA: FreightCar America has signed a letter of intent to acquire joint venture partner Fabricaciones y Servicios de México’s 50% stake in the new wagon manufacturing plant at Castaños in Mexico, and will consolidate all of its production there by January 2021. This will mean the ...
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NewsFRA updates track inspection rule
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has introduced an updated rule on the use of ultrasonic rail inspection technology with GPS location data, enabling railroads to undertake continuous testing of rails more efficiently.
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NewsX-ray train inspection systems ordered for US border crossings
USA: The Department of Homeland Security’s Customs & Border Protection agency has awarded Smiths Detection a framework contract for the supply of X-ray scanners for use at railway checkpoints on the borders with Canada and Mexico. The side-view high-energy X-ray inspection scanners will be used to screen ...
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NewsAmtrak works with Reckitt Benckiser to increase cleaning
USA: Amtrak is to work with cleaning, health and household products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser to strengthen its disinfection protocols for trains, stations and lounges. RB is to supply disinfection equipment for use across high-touch and high-traffic areas, including products which Amtrak said were proven to be effective ...