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UP anniversary event: Video Remake Contest

As part of the launch of its 150th anniversary celebration website, Union Pacific Railroad says it will award more than $35,000 in prizes to the top entries that remake the company’s classic 1970s television commercial, “We Can Handle It.” 

AAR data show traffic surge in December

U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending Dec. 24, 2011 was up a hefty 11.9% compared with the same week one year ago, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. U.S. intermodal volume for the same week was up 22.9% from the same week last year. 

As New Year begins, transit benefits shrink

Parking commuter benefits will rise from $230 to $240 per month in 2012, but corresponding public transit user benefits provided by employers will be cut severely, due to the inability of Congress to reach consensus on the matter. 

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Bombardier wins $296 million U.K. add-on order

Bombardier Transportation announced Dec. 28 it has secured an add-on order, worth $296 million, for 130  ELECTROSTAR electric multiple-unit (EMU) cars for the U.K.’s Southern rail operation.

RSI: Congress may increase truck size, weight

A lobbying effort by the trucking industry could encourage Congress to increase truck sizes and/or truck weight on the nation’s roadways in the next surface transportation bill now being considered in both the House and the Senate, according to Railway Supply Institute President Tom Simpson.

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Canada’s rail sector rebounds

The Railway Association of Canada reported Tuesday that the nation’s rail sector has rebounded from the global economic downturn, posting solid volume growth and investing “significantly” in capacity and efficiency initiatives.

China develops 500 km/h HSR train

China’s official news agency, Xinhua, announced that the Ministry of Railways over the past weekend launched a test train capable of achieving 500 km/h (310 mph) cruising speeds. CSR Corp. Ltd. built the train.

Employment gains in year, slips from past month

Employment numbers released by the Surface Transportation Board show Class I railroads employed 160, 119 people in mid-November, down 119 positions (0.08%) from the previous month but up 3.27% from November 2010.

Titan wins Amtrak marketing contract

Advertising company Titan says it has landed the exclusive right to sell Amtrak’s media in the Northeast Corridor from New York to Washington D.C., beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The contract encompasses station

North American ameriTRAM tour continues

Contrary to published reports, KinkiSharyo has continued to showcase its prototype ameriTRAM streetcar even after the APTA Annual Expo in New Orleans last October. The company had its prototype on display at the maintenance shops for Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit (HBLRT) in Jersey City, N.J., on Dec. 23.

Deutsche Bahn unit orders 90 Bombardier EMUs

Bombardier Transportation says it will supply 90 of its 430 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains to Germany’s DB Regio AG, worth $648 million, to serve the Frankfurt metropolitan area. The new

Veolia awarded Sprinter contract extension

Veolia Transportation says it has been awarded a two-year contract extension for operations and maintenance of the North Country Transit District (NCTD) Sprinter service in northern San Diego County, Calif.  Sprinter, the

MTA adopts budget, advances capital program

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York has approved a $12.6 billion operating budget with no planned fare increases of service cuts though it comes with a funding gap of $68 million. “The 2012 budget is largely similar to the Final Proposed Budget presented to the Board in November,” said MTA in a statement Wednesday.

ProTran1 lands Australia contract

ProTran1 says that After three years of development, the company has been awarded a major contract from Australia’s Imtram, Ltd., to supply several fail-safe bi-directional Portable Automatic Track Warning Systems which will be used by several Australian railways for work zone protection. 

Bombardier wins Essen, Germany, tram order

Bombardier Transportation said Thursday the Essen Transport Authority (EVAG) has ordered 27 FLEXITY Classic trams; the contract is worth $94 million.  Bombardier will deliver two pre-series vehicles in August 2013, while the

Sumitomo affirms Metrolinx DMU add-on order

Sumitomo Corp. of America this week has affirmed that it, in conjunction with partner Nippon Sharyo, entered into an agreement October 31 to supply Greater Toronto Area’s Metrolinx with six additional diesel multiple-units

STB clarifies regulatory-review issues

The Surface Transportation Board announced a ruling Wednesday clarifying the scope of a Presidentially-mandated review to determine “whether any o fits existing regulations may have become outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and how to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them, as appropriate.”

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