Railway Market

Metra buying 26 new locomotives

Metra is placing a $79.4 million order with MotivePower Industries for 26 3,800-hp locomotives (above) to be delivered by the end of 2004. Fifteen of the new units will replace locomotives that went into service 24 years ago on former Milwaukee Road lines and have been rebuilt twice. Seven units will replace locomotives still to be designated, and four are earmarked to handle planned service increases. Funding will be 80% federal and 20% local, the latter coming from Illinois FIRST funds.
Features of the aerodynamically-styled new locomotives will include inverter head end power (the inverter will reduce noise and emissions while the locomotives wait in downtown terminals); microprocessor control propulsion; electronically-controlled air brake systems; and compliance with EPA Tier 1 emission requirements.
The locomotive order will be the Chicago commuter agency's first since the early 1990s. It was approved by the Metra board on Jan. 12. A month earlier, the board approved award of a $398.6 million contract to Sumitomo Corp. of America for 250 new gallery cars with an option for 50 more.

Hiawatha corridor orders 18 new lrvs

The Minneapolis Metropolitan Council awarded a $56 million contract to Bombardier Transportation for 18 low-floor light rail vehicles (below) for the 12.2-mile Hiawatha Corridor LRT, which will link downtown Minneapolis with Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America in Bloomington. LRV design and carbody fabrication will occur at Bombardier's Sahagun, Mexico, plant; final assembly will occur in Barre, Vt. If an option for 24 vehicles is exercised, the contract will be worth $112.4 million.

Equipment

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe: Awarded a contract to Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. for the supply of 26 Hydra Dump hydraulic conversion kits for air dump cars.

Las Vegas Monorail: In a contract valued at $11.1 million, Alcatel Transport Automation will supply automatic train control for Las Vegas's monorail line. Each trainset will incorporate Alcatel's Vital Onboard Control unit to provide automatic train protection and such automatic train operations as speed control, programmed stops, and door control.

NJ Transit: Union Switch & Signal will supply Advanced Speed Enforcement System (ASES) cab signaling for 24 ALP-46 electric locomotives being supplied to NJT by Adtranz and 200 Comet V cars being built by Alstom.

Facilities

California High Speed Rail Authority: Named Parsons Brinckerhoff program manager of the program environmental phase of a planned high speed rail line in California. PB will be responsible for developing technical standards that will be applied throughout the program environmental process, coordinating the segment-specific reviews with the development of an overall statewide review, and preparing the program environmental document. The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2003.

Canadian Pacific: Selected Maertens-Brenny Construction Co. to build a new 8,694-square-foot yard office at its St. Paul, Minn., terminal and repair facility. The $2 million project, which is expected to be complete by the end of June, is part of CP's $22.4 million St. Paul yard improvement program, which began in 1995. It has included such projects as the construction of a new locomotive repair shop, track upgrades and the installation of new hump retarders, and a new fueling area.

Ohio Central: CMI-Promex, Inc., will provide specialized trackwork, including four lift rails, four fixed rails, and eight rail plates, for a Zanesville, Ohio, bridge owned by CSX Transportation and operated by Ohio Central. Since the bridge is curved, CMI-Promex is designing components specifically for the application. Installation is slated for this month.

Sacramento RTD: Selected DMJM+ HARRIS, a division of AECOM Technology Corp., prime consultant to design and construct two light rail extensions: one into Folsom and the other into downtown Sacramento's Amtrak station to give riders cross-platform access to Amtrak service. Four new stations will be added as a result of the project. Design work will be complete in December, with construction complete by late 2003.

STCUM (Montreal): Named Dessau-Soprin, Inc., engineering and project manager for its rapid transit asset upgrade program, under a five-year contract. The first phase of the program will replace such systems as escalators and moving sidewalks, trackwork, traction power equipment, train controls, telecommunications, and fare collection equipment.

Wilmington (Del.) Trolley: Selected Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide preliminary engineering for its two-mile, fixed-rail electric streetcar project. Twenty-three station locations have been identified for study. Design and environmental analysis are expected to be completed by early 2002.