The American Public Transportation Association said Tuesday it will hold a media conference call Wednesday to brief callers on the “negative impact” the House Ways and Means Committees’ surface transportation proposal holds for public transit.

Uralvagonzavod, Russia-based OJSC and Bombardier Transportation reportedly have established a joint venture to manufacture streetcars for the world’s largest nation, signing a letter of intent.

RailComm has expanded its existing yard system at BNSF's mechanical facility in Memphis, Tenn. RailComm's Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) System is used to remotely control derails.

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France-based Thales Group said Monday it had landed a contract with Singapore’s SMRT Corp. Ltd.to supply its SelTrac Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) to resignal SMRT’s North-South and East-West rail lines, covering a combined 100 kilometers (62 miles) and serving 54 stations. The contract is worth roughly $154 million. 

Following the lead of New Jersey, San Diego County, Calif., and sister Texas city Austin in an effort to sway the Federal Railroad Administration on safety oversight—though taking a different approach—the Denton County Transportation Authority says it will seek an Alternative Vehicle Technology (AVT) waiver so that DCTA can operate new Stadler GTW diesel multiple-unit (DMU) trains without temporal (time-of-day) separation from freight trains.

The nation's freight railroads say they have reached a tentative agreement with the last of 13 labor unions, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees.

Markup by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Thursday of its version of surface transportation reauthorization legislation, H.R. 7, included a 33-to-22 vote to remove bigger truck language from the bill. The Committee also inserted language seeking a comprehensive study to assess the impacts of heavier and longer trucks on safety, cost to the highway infrastructure and freight diversion.

Progress Rail has announced it is closing its London, Ontario, locomotive operation, where 450 workers have been locked out since New Year’s Day.

Full disclosure and credibility claim right upfront: I ride the bus. More than once a year. And more than one O/D pair. That’s just to make it clear that the Managing Editor of Railway Age isn’t completely blinded by, or supportive of only, the rail passenger mode. (I’m lucky; I get to ride the ferry, too.)

So: I ride the bus. All you BRT advocates out there, especially those arguing it’s “just like light rail, but cheaper”: Do you ride any bus at all, let alone any BRT?

U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending Jan. 28, 2012 was down 2.8% compared with the fourth week of 2011, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. By contrast, U.S. intermodal volume for the week rose 5.5% compared with the same week last year.

Intermodal container volume set a new record in 2011 with 12.4 million moves, beating former record-year 2007 by 3.7%, the Intermodal Associaton of North America (IANA) said Thursday.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday introduced a five-year surface transportation funding bill, a successor to the now-expired SAFETEA-LU, that would extend Congress’ mandated deadline for Positive Train Control (PTC) by five years, from Dec. 31, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2020. It also would revamp the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program--and allow larger and heavier trucks on U.S. highways

BNSF Railway Co. on Wednesday announced a planned 2012 capital commitment program of approximately $3.9 billion, up $400 million, or about 11.4%, from its 2011 capital spend of $3.5 billion.

Though conflicting concepts on the future of U.S. ground transportation are part of the process, the American Public Transportation Association is encouraged by action by both houses of Congress to renew federal surface transportation funding, APTA said Tuesday.

Legislation designed to fix the nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure will actually accelerate road and bridge damage and trigger an increase in taxpayer subsidies to the trucking industry, the Association of American Railroads said Tuesday, pointing to language in a House bill that allows for 20% heavier trucks and triple trailers.

Hampton Roads Transit will add a new crossover on The Tide light rail transit system. To facilitate construction this weekend, LRT service will be suspended between Harbor Park and EVMC/Ft. Norfolk stations during construction the weekend of Feb. 4-5.

Florida’s Pinellas County Project Advisory Committee on Monday formally adopted a proposal to build 24 miles of light rail transit linking St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Pinellas Park, and Gateway.

Bombardier Transportation said Tuesday it will deliver up to 60 FLEXITY trams to Basel, Switzerland’s Transport Authority (BVB). Bombardier notes it is the largest order placed by BVB in the agency’s 116-year history. The contract is worth roughly $241 million.

The Federal Transit Administration Monday gave the city of Milwaukee environmental approval for an initial streetcar line. City Engineer Jeff Polenske said FTA had issued a “finding of no significant impact” (FONSI) for the proposed route.

The Association of American Railroads says the nation’s major freight railroads are projected to invest a record $13 billion in capital expenditures in 2012 to expand, upgrade, and enhance the nation’s freight rail network.