Nomad Digital honored for Dubai Metro WiFi work
Britain’s Nomad Digital says it has won the Railway Interiors Expo Award for Passenger Service Innovation of the Year for its work in providing WiFi capabilities to the Dubai Metro. Nomad’s system
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$4.1 billion in spending bill for intercity passenger rail
The $1.1 trillion spending bill approved late Thursday by House-Senate conferees contains $4.1 billion for new and existing intercity passenger rail. Amtrak gets $1.6 billion to maintain and improve its current operations,
Austin adds streetcars to rail wish list
Texas’ capital city, awaiting regional rail service delayed by at least one year, is nonetheless evaluating possible streetcar alternatives. Austin’s City Council Thursday approved $1 million to complete a preliminary engineering study for a streetcar operation designed to connect some of the city’s key business districts.
LACMTA approves LRT for South LA
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority late Thursday approved plans for an 8.5-mile light rail line, running roughly north-south, dubbed the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project. LACMTA cited input from numerous community leaders
Western high speed rail alliance formed
Five regional planning organizations Thursday announced the formation of the Western High Speed Rail Alliance (WHSRA). The alliance envisions a Denver-to-Los Angeles corridor with regional hubs in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Phoenix
Senate draft rereg bill lacks sharp claws and teeth—for now
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, chaired by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has released a draft version of its so-called “reregulation bill,” the Senate Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act,
UP marks milestone for Pipeline Express Service
Union Pacific says its Pipeline Express service has reached a milestone by delivering its 25,000th rail car of customerproduct since being formed in 2005. Pipeline Express serves the steel pipeline industry for
Railroad ton-miles down 4.8% from last year
The Association of American Railroads reported Thursday that traffic volume on U.S. railroads for the week ending Dec. 5 added up to an estimated 31.8 billion ton-miles, down 4.8% from the same week last
Hiawatha Line adds final station, plans Saturday debut
Minneapolis’ Metropolitan Council will open the America Boulevard Station (at 34th Avenue) to Hiawatha Line light rail riders Saturday, after dedicating the station Wednesday, one month ahead of deadline. The new stop
Union Pacific reconfigures executive team
Four key executives at Union Pacific will be taking on new assignments as of Jan. 1, 2010. • Dennis J. Duffy (top), currently executive vice president-Operations, will become vice chairman-Operation, remaining as
Florida legislature approves landmark rail bill
In a special session devoted to passenger rail matters, Florida legislators have approved a far-ranging statewide passenger rail program. The state Senate approved the measure 27-10 late Tuesday after a labor protection
November freight traffic shows strength, AAR reports
U.S. freight carload traffic was down 8.2% in November compared with the same month a year ago, and down 17.4% compared with November 2007. But if Thanksgiving week were excluded, the month
Amtrak upgrading West Coast passenger info systems
Amtrak has awarded a software maintenance contract to Eta Phi Systems, Inc. for a legacy Automatic Vehicle Location and Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) used on the Capitol Corridor (Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland/San Francisco-San Jose),
Toronto OKs capital budget heavy on public transit
The Toronto City Council Tuesday adopted a C$2.5 billion (US$2.4 billion) capital budget for 2011, 55% (about US$1.49 billion) which is targeted at acquiring buses, subway cars, and light rail vehicles for
Rail bill clears Florida House; Senate fight looms
A passenger rail package that passed the Florida House on Monday would create a new regional rail system for Central Florida (SunRail), provide annual funding for for the existing Tri-Rail system serving southeastern Florida,
New York MTA faces “shocking” new tax shortfall
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has learned that revenue from a new payroll tax for transit will run about $200 million short of expectations, a development that MTA’s chief financial officer, Gary Dellaverson, called
Amtrak notches stellar Thanksgiving ridership
Amtrak says its ridership during the Thanksgiving Day week this year set an “all-time record,” with ridership up 4% compared with the comparable period in 2008; ticket revenue rose 1% compared with
REMSA undergoing significant restructuring
In preparation for Railway Interchange 2011, the consolidated show that will be a joint effort involving four of the industry’s principal trade associations, REMSA (Railway Engineering Maintenance Suppliers Association) is undergoing a
PATH capital budget for 2010: $356.9 million
The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail system will get $356.9 million for new rolling stock, a new signal system, and other improvements under a preliminary capital spending program announced by the Port Authority of New York
FTC clears BNSF takeover; Berkshire plans stock split
The Federal Trade Commission has given Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.,operator of BNSF Railway. The approval, which was expected, appeared Mondayin a list of antitrust clearances routinely issued by the FTC.