WEST GLACIER, Mont. — A coalition of wildlife groups are threatening to sue BNSF Railway over the death of eight federally protected grizzly bears in the mountains of northwest Montana in 2019, the most killed in a single year. The groups allege that the railroad is not doing enough to protect the animals from being […]
Zone & Region: Pacific Northwest
Sound Transit begins work on light rail extension to Redmond NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — Sound Transit has launched construction of the $1.53-billion, 3.4-mile extension of its light rail Blue Line, also under construction, to southeast and downtown Redmond, Wash., on the eastside of Lake Washington in the Puget Sound region. The extension, using both ground-level and elevated tracks, will start from Redmond Technology Station, located near Microsoft’s […]
Sound Transit light rail lines to change names NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s two light-rail systems are getting new names. Presently, the Seattle regional transit agency operates a 22-mile north-south line from the University of Washington through downtown to Angle Lake, south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It also operates a 1.6-mile light-rail line in Tacoma, from Freighthouse Square to downtown. But Sound Transit is […]
Washington state accepting rail grant applications NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The Washington State Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for grants and loans for freight-rail projects. For the 2019-2021 biennium, $7.6 million is available through the Freight Rail Assistance Program Grant, and another $7 million will be available through Freight Rail Investment Bank loans. The application deadline is Oct. 18, 2019. Funds […]
Microsoft helps fund Pacific Northwest high speed rail study NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — Microsoft has donated more than $223,000 to help complete a study of high speed rail between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Ore. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced the funding support at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference, which concluded Thursday. GeekWire reports this is the company’s second donation to the project, raising its total […]
Washington state reports on grade crossing grants totaling nearly $1.5 million NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission said it has approved close to $1.5 million in grants over a two-year period for improvements to grade crossings in the state, with an emphasis on those where crude oil trains pass. The Olympia, Wash.-based commission has the authority to approve new crossings and the inspect, close, […]
UPDATE: Wabtec closing Idaho-based Motive Power; shifting jobs and work to Pennsylvania NEWSWIRE
ERIE, Pa. — It seems the struggles of the former GE locomotive plant in Erie have come to an end and now it may have a brighter future with an announcement that Wabtec intends to move its Motive Power Industries operation to the Erie Plat plant. The announcement was made Wednesday that it will be […]
Additional lane opens on Portland bridge damaged by derailment NEWSWIRE
PORTLAND, Ore. — A second westbound lane has been opened on Portland’s North Going Street Bridge, damaged by a Union Pacific derailment on Sept. 7. The lane was reopened Sunday, the Oregonian reports. Two locomotives and three tank cars derailed, hitting and damaging two support beams, which led to damage to the bridge deck. [See […]
Jury awards millions of dollars in damages to passengers injured in 2017 Cascades wreck NEWSWIRE
This overall view shows cars off both sides of the tracks at the Interstate 5 bridge near DuPont, Wash., in December 2017. Steve Carter SEATTLE — A federal-court jury in Tacoma, Wash., has awarded $16.75 million in damages to two of the victims and the spouse of one of them for injuries sustained in the […]
Local government insists on full safety recommendation implementation before Point Defiance Bypass re-opened to passengers NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The Pierce County Council has passed a resolution calling on Amtrak, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, and other agencies not to reopen the ill-fated Point Defiance Bypass line to passenger service until the full menu of recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board is put in place. WSDOT and Amtrak […]
Seattle cancels streetcar contract NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The Seattle Department of Transportation said Monday it is cancelling a contract to buy new streetcars for the proposed Center City Connector line, but it still plans to go ahead with construction of the line through downtown. In an announcement on its website, SDOT said it had informed manufacturer CAF USA that it […]
UP says broken rail caused Portland derailment NEWSWIRE
PORTLAND — Union Pacific has identified a broken rail as the cause of a Saturday derailment that damaged a heavily-used bridge that is the only public route into an industrial area, KPTV-12 reports. Two locomotives and three cars derailed in the Saturday incident, hitting supports for the North Going Street bridge. [See “Union Pacific derailment […]
