North America
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NewsCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority names next CEO
USA: The California High-Speed Rail Authority board has appointed Ian Choudri as the next CEO.. His start date is still to be confirmed. He will succeed Brian Kelly, who has led the authority for six years and announced earlier in the year that he intends to ...
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NewsBattery-electric trains to be ordered for Boston commuter line
USA: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board has approved a proposal to replace diesel locomotive-hauled trains on Boston’s Fairmount Commuter Rail Line with battery-electric multiple-units. An onboard battery would be charged when overhead electrification is available, including at Boston’s South station. The 15 km line from ...
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Metro Report InternationalCalgary light rail project cut back because of rising costs
CANADA: Calgary City Council has scaled back plans for the first phase of its Green Line light rail project, blaming ‘the cost inflation that is impacting all major infrastructure projects across North America’. The change follows work to reduce costs through value engineering, design optimisation and ...
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NewsStellex to acquire foundry and forge businesses
USA: Private equity firm Stellex Capital Management has reached a definitive agreement to acquire rail and industrial cast, forged and machined product manufacturer McConway & Torley and axle maker Standard Forged Products from Arcosa. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 this year. Stellex sees ...
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Metro Report InternationalRolling stock and signalling partners selected for Los Angeles driverless metro proposal
USA: One of the two consortia developing concepts for a high capacity public transport link through the Santa Monica mountains between Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and Westside has selected the companies which would supply driverless metro trains and control systems should its proposal go ahead. ...
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NewsNJ Transit orders more double-deck EMU cars
USA: The board of New Jersey’s NJ Transit has approved an order for 36 more Alstom Multilevel III electric multiple-unit cars. The maximum price of the order approved on July 24 is $170m plus 5% for contingencies. It is being placed using a December 2018 contract ...
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NewsRegional Rail acquires Cincinnati Eastern Railroad
USA: The 3i-backed short line group Regional Rail has acquired the Cincinnati Eastern Railroad, which operates on 110 km of track owned by Norfolk Southern between Clare and Plumb Run in Ohio. Traffic includes aggregates, agricultural products and paper. ‘We look forward to building on the ...
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NewsFive opportunities to improve railway safety identified in short line assessments
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute has identified five areas of strength and five areas of opportunity through an analysis of the 20 railway Safety Culture Assessments it conducted last year. A frequency analysis identified strengths in the provision of PPE; employees feeling comfortable communicating safety ...
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NewsAgreement to cut Californian rail project red tape
USA: The California State Transportation Agency and California High-Speed Rail Authority have renewed a 2019 agreement under which the state has taken on the Federal Railroad Administration’s environmental review responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act. California is the only state with NEPA assignment for rail ...
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Metro Report InternationalHitachi Rail awarded Philadelphia metro train contract
USA: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority board has approved a $724·3m contract for Hitachi Rail to supply 200 metro cars to replace the current fleet on Philadelphia’s Market-Frankford Line. A pilot vehicle is to be delivered from Hitachi’s new factory at Hagerstown in Maryland in autumn ...
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NewsWork to replace Susquehanna River Bridge gets underway
USA: A ceremony in northeast Maryland on July 19 marked the start of early construction works for a $2·7bn project to replace the Susquehanna River Bridge which forms a bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor. The 1·3 km double-track bridge incorporating a swing section opened in 1906. ...
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Metro Report InternationalCanada Public Transit Fund aims to boost public transport and housing
CANADA: The federal government has launched the Canada Public Transit Fund, a permanent programme which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said aims to transform the delivery of support for public transport by making C$30bn available over the first 10 years. Funding is to be delivered across three ...
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NewsNew York East River Tunnel rehabilitation contract awarded
USA: Amtrak has appointed a joint venture of Skanska and E-J Electric Installation Co to undertake the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project to modernise the four bores connecting New York Penn Station with Queens. Two of the four single-track tubes require significant repairs to damage caused ...
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NewsSkanska awarded Empire Corridor bridge replacement contract
USA: New York State Department of Transportation has awarded Skanska a design and build contract for the $634·8m replacement of the Livingston Avenue Bridge connecting Albany and Rensselaer across the Hudson River. The 390 m bridge incorporating a swing section is owned by CSX and leased ...
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Metro Report InternationalInglewood Transit Connector peoplemover contractor selected
USA: The Californian city of Inglewood has selected the Elevate Inglewood Partners consortium as best value proposer for the Inglewood Transit Connector project to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a 2·6 km three-station automated peoplemover. This will link Downtown Inglewood on Los Angeles MTA’s light ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst light rail vehicle delivered to Maryland’s Purple Line
USA: The first of 28 five-section light rail vehicles for the Purple Line in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC has been delivered from CAF’s factory at Elmira in New York state. Maryland Transit Administration said it is the longest LRV of its kind in the ...
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NewsVIA Rail fleet renewal funding confirmed
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail is to begin the competitive procurement of ‘new, comfortable and accessible trains’ for use across the country following the confirmation of government funding. The latest funding under the 2024 budget follows from that announced in 2018 which enabled the procurement ...
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NewsUS federal funding available for inter-city rail services
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a notice of funding opportunity, making $153m available from the Restoration & Enhancement grant programme. The grants are intended to assist with covering operating costs for projects to establish new inter-city passenger services, restore withdrawn routes and enhance existing ...
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News‘All systems go’ for Hudson Tunnel Project as funding finalised
USA: Project promoter the Gateway Development Commission has secured all of the $16bn of financing needed for the Hudson Tunnel Project to build a second pair of railway tunnels under the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. The construction of 4 km of ...
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Metro Report InternationalDenver airport peoplemover cars enter service
USA: Denver International Airport peoplemover operator Alstom has put into service the first six of 26 ‘top-of-the-line’ Innovia APM 300R peoplemover cars which it says will increase ‘capacity, efficiency and comfort’ at one of the world’s largest aviation hubs. ‘Manufactured in the US, and specifically designed ...