CALIFORNIA, BAY AREA. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has decided to halt a $647 million full funding agreement for Caltrain's electrification project until President Donald Trump develops his fiscal-year 2018 budget, acording to a February 21st report from Progressive Railroading.
This electrification project includes electrical mutiple unit (EMU) cars such as shown above.
The FTA notified Caltrain Executive Director Jim Hartnett last week. In a February 17, 2017 letter, FTA Executive Director Matthew Welbes said the delay will allow the project to be considered in conjunction with Trump's FY 2018 budget, as well as the companion FTA report to Congress on annual funding recommendations for its Capital Investment Grant program.
The railroad is evaluating options for maintaining the project's viability in the face of uncertainty over the timing of the grant approval, Caltrain officials said in a press release.
"Clearly, the FTA's evaluation demonstrates that this federal investment should be made based on the merits of the project, and we expect that the [U.S. Department of Transportation] will continue with a fair process," Caltrain spokesman Seamus Murphy said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our congressional delegation, stakeholders and funding partners to support whatever actions are needed to provide our communities with the transit system they deserve."
Late last month, Republican legislators representing California in Congress asked the Trump administration to delay approval for the project, which would lay the foundation for eventual high-speed rail service between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The lawmakers argued that providing funds for Caltrain's electrification project would be "an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars." They also called for an audit of California's overall high-speed rail project's finances. Caltrain has been planning for the electrification project since the 1990s, before voters in 2008 approved selling bonds for the high-speed rail project. The electrification project would allow the railroad to reduce travel times and increase capacity, according to Caltrain.
CASSELTON, N.D. Progressive
Railroading reported that on February 7th, The National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) determined that a broken axle set off a series of
actions that resulted in a BNSF Railway Co. train accident in which
476,000 gallons of crude oil spilled and ignited near Casselton, N.D.,
on Dec. 30, 2013. The incident involved a crude-oil train and a grain
train. The board found that the chain of events for the accident began
when the grain train derailed because of a broken axle on one of its
cars. The second train, which was carrying crude oil on an adjacent
track, was unable to stop in time before colliding with the derailed
grain-train's cars, NTSB officials said in a press release.
The oil spilled from 18 of the 20
derailed DOT-111 tank cars, formed pools and caught fire. Other derailed
tank cars eventually ruptured as the heat from the fire weakened the
tank steel and increased the internal pressure until oil vapor erupted
into fire balls.
The above NTSB photo taken on December 31, 2013 shows part of the tank car pileup and residual
fire resulting from the train collision the previous day near Casselton, North Dakota.
The DOT-111 tank car in the center of the photo sustained a thermal tear and is still burning at the time.
On the same day, the board released a YouTube video of the accident.
(It is a rather long video but it clearly shows the accident.)
There were no fatalities or serious injuries as a result of the
accident. But nearly 1,500 people were evacuated from nearby homes, NTSB
officials said.
NTSB investigators found a void
in the middle of the grain-train car's axle, which was used previously
on another train car. In response to the board's urgent safety
recommendation on the matter, the Association of American Railroads has
moved to require testing of secondhand-use axles.
The accident also raised
additional concerns about the widely used DOT-111 cars. The NTSB has
long had concerns about the cars, which have a "relatively thin"
7/16-inch shell thickness, are not puncture-resistant and lack thermal
protection as well as top and bottom fittings protection. The board
yesterday reiterated its call for quickly phasing out DOT-111 tank cars.
Since the accident, Congress and
the U.S. Department of Transportation have established requirements for
the new, stronger DOT-117 tank car to replace the DOT-111 and its
variants. The deadline for replacing the tank cars and its variants
extends to 2029, however.
Although relatively few DOT-111s
remain in crude-oil service, a vast fleet of them continues in service
for ethanol and other flammable liquids, the board said. "The fact
remains that trains carrying flammable liquids in DOT-111 tank cars
continue to roll through America's towns and cities," said NTSB Chairman
Christopher Hart. "Progress toward removing or retrofitting DOT-111s
has been too slow."
As part of its investigation into
the accident, the NTSB also studied advanced brake systems. While their
use in this instance would not have prevented the accident, "it may have
mitigated the damage," NTSB board members said.
"In other scenarios, advanced brake systems have the potential to prevent train accidents altogether," they added.
Among its recommendations
following the accident, the board suggested studying the use of
additional "buffer" cars between locomotives and cars carrying hazardous
materials to protect crews. The oil train in the Casselton accident had
one buffer car between the locomotives and the cars carrying crude oil.
The NTSB's final report on the accident will be available later on ntsb.gov.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA: The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors in early February approved a series of upgrades for the El Cerrito Del Norte Station, their busiest station in that county. Progressive Railroading reported that this modernization program calls for improving the area inside the fare gates, building new public restrooms and upgrading station lighting. The project is aiming to make it easier for riders to get into and out of the station.
To that end, BART will install more fare gates, expand the paid area and add two sets of stairs and escalators. The $33.9 million project will be funded from Prop 1B, Contra Costa Transportation Authority Measure J Funds, BART's capital allocation and parking fees, according to BART officials.
This station experiences more than 18,000 entries and exits on a typical weekday.
HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA: Metrolinx
and Infrastructure Ontario have issued a request for qualifications
(RFQ) for firms to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the
Hamilton B-Line light-rail transit project, according to Progressive
Railroading on February 3rd.
Artists Conception of Hamilton Light Rail/Modern Streetcar!
The 6.8-mile route
will include 14 stops between McMaster University and Queenstown Circle
in Hamilton, Ontario. The project also includes an operations,
maintenance and storage facility for light-rail vehicles.
The RFQ marks the first step in the procurement process to select a team
to deliver the project, Infrastructure Ontario officials said in a
press release. The state-owned company and Metrolinx will evaluate
submissions to pre qualify project teams with relevant experience and
financial capacity for a project of this size and complexity.
Qualified teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposals
this summer. "This important investment in Hamilton will provide a new
way to travel on a fast, efficient and reliable integrated transit
system," said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario's minister of infrastructure.
LOS ANGELES, CA: The
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) has
advanced four unsolicited proposals that could accelerate two major
projects. Progressive Railroading reported that two proposals were
submitted by Skanska USA Civil West and Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.
for the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor, where the agency is
considering building a light rail line. Parsons Transportation Group
Inc. and Cintra US Services LLC submitted proposals for the Sepulveda
Pass Transit Corridor, which may involve building a rail line. More
about these projects in later issues.
NEW YORK CITY, NY: According to a January 23, 2017 report on their website, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is expanding sleep apnea screening and treatment that began in 2015 with Metro-North Railroad train engineers to Metro-North's conductors, Long Island Rail Road train engineers and conductors, New York City Transit subway train operators and conductors, and bus operators for New York City Transit and the MTA Bus Company, becoming the first public transportation agency to systematically screen employees for obstructive sleep apnea and offer priority, specialized treatment to employees. The program will expand to nearly 20,000 employees.
New York City Subway Train.
“Safety is our top priority and MTA is going further than any other transportation agency in the country to prevent the risks of apnea. With this proposal, we are not just working to implement industry best practices, the MTA is defining best practices,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “Sleep apnea is a serious illness and treatment will improve the quality of life for those who have it, and help them live longer.”
Sleep apnea is a medical disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts while a person is sleeping, sometimes hundreds of times, when the patient’s throat muscles intermittently relax and block his or her windpipe. This results in insufficient sleep. Left untreated, someone with the disorder functions with reduced alertness and may involuntarily fall asleep.
Using a similar methodology to that already underway at Metro-North Railroad, sleep apnea screenings will include an evaluation of an employee’s Body Mass Index, neck circumference, a medical questionnaire related to sleep and sleep patterns, and relevant medical history. Employees who are deemed at risk based upon the screening will be referred for further testing and potential diagnosis and treatment.
Those referred for more detailed testing will be given a take-home overnight sleep test administered by a medical firm that specializes in sleep disorders. Based on the results, some employees may be required to undergo medical treatment for sleep apnea, which is generally treated through the use of masks that deliver continuous positive airway pressure, or oral devices that keep the airway open, either of which is worn at home during sleep.
The MTA has evaluated proposals from 13 healthcare companies who responded to a request for proposals issued last April.
To expedite the implementation of this critically important program, the MTA is maximizing capacity and geographic coverage by proposing the use of four separate firms to administer screenings, conduct sleep studies and make physician referrals. They are CHSLI of Rockville Centre, N.Y., ENT & Allergy / Night & Day Sleep Services of Tarrytown, N.Y., Northwell Health, Inc., of New Hyde Park, N.Y., and Respira, Inc., of Linthicum, Md., and based regionally in Paramus, N.J.
OKLAHOMA CITY: The
City held their official groundbreaking for their MAPS3 modern
streetcar line on February 7. A local restaurant, the Melting Pot,
provided coffee, tea and chocolate fondue immediately after the
ceremony.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett attended the groundbreaking ceremony. A joint venture of Herzog and Stacy & Witbeck is building the line, with ADG, Jacobs Engineering, Aecom and SOJ providing consultancy services. Opening is currently scheduled for December 2018.
The main route would consist of a figure-of-eight linking Bricktown with Midtown (see above map). Mainline Route services are envisaged to run in one direction around this 7·5 route-km loop, supplemented by a 3.2 km Bricktown Loop that overlaps with part of the Mainline Route at the southern end. There would be 22 stops in total, including nine shared between the two routes. Brookville Equipment Corp is supplying five low-floor trams, the first of which is due to arrive in October. These will run in mixed traffic, and will be equipped with batteries for off-wire operation, which will be required on parts of the route. A maintenance depot is being built at SW 7th Street and Hudson Avenue. Regional transport authority Embark is negotiating an operations contract with Herzog Transit Services. The project budget is $131m, funded through the proceeds of a 1% sales tax under the MAPS 3 capital improvement programme. ‘The MAPS 3 OKC Streetcar is one of the most ambitious projects in Oklahoma City’s history, and it will forever transform the way we live, shop, work, play, eat and get around downtown and the surrounding districts’, said Cornett.
