Joint SunRail-Brightline Sunshine Corridor gets more support

Locomotive with two bilevel passenger cars rounding curve

ORLANDO, Fla. — A rail corridor that would enable Brightline to extend service to Tampa while allowing commuter operator SunRail to link Orlando International Airport and area theme parks has received a funding boost. Commissioners in Seminole County, just north of Orlando, this week voted to contribute $500,000 to a $6 million feasibility study for […]

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MBTA to raise speeds on Red Line’s Braintree Branch

Map detail showing southern portion of MBTA Red LIne

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will increase top operating speeds on the rapid transit Red Line’s Braintree Branch from 40 mph to 50 mph as a result of last year’s Track Improvement Program, the agency has announced. “Reaching this milestone is a testament to the hard work of our team,” MBTA CEO Phillip […]

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Metra considers financing to address bridge repairs

Train on bridge

CHICAGO — Commuter operator Metra says it is considering the rarely used option of outside financing to address its increasingly urgent need to replace aging bridges. Metra owns 446 of the 926 bridges on its system, and of those 446, 50% are more than 100 years old and another 30% are more than 75 years […]

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House bill would update tax credit for short lines

Blue and yellow locomotives switching

WASHINGTON — In a notably bipartisan move, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax have introduced a bill to update a tax credit that has been crucial to short line infrastructure investment. U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), chairman of the subcommittee, and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the ranking member, […]

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Hitachi Rail to acquire digital track monitoring firm Omnicom

Logo of Hitachi Rail

LONDON — Hitachi Rail will acquire digital rail monitoring business Omnicom from infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty, the companies announced on Friday, Jan. 17. The newly acquired business will become a key part of Hitachi Rail’s digital asset management business, HMAX. Omnicom produces hardware and software for surveying, inspecting, and monitoring rail infrastructure, including gauge clearance […]

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Builder selected for second portion of Potomac Long Bridge project

Rendering of twin two-track railroad bridges and pedestrian bridge

RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority on Thursday announced it has selected a construction consortium for the second part of the Long Bridge Project, the new two-track bridge across the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va. Long Bridge Rail Partners — a joint venture of Trumbull Corp., Fay, S&B USA Construction, […]

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