Tag Archives: railroad

Construction Begins on BART Extension

California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) began construction on the second phase of its Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) extension, a $4.7 billion dollar project.

According to reports, this phase of the project will include building five miles of subway tunnel, a ground level station, three underground stations, a maintenance facility and storage yard and two ventilation facilities. The overall project calls for the building of 16 miles of track and will connect north San Jose to downtown Santa Clara. Phase II will run through 2020, with the entirety of the project estimated to be complete by 2026.

The project will be paid for through a combination of grants and local taxes. Once completed, the system will be maintained and operated by BART.

Federal Railroad Administration Re-launches Safety Advisory Committee

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced it will be re-launching its Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) after more than a year of inactivity.

According to reports, the committee will start again two years from the date its creation is filed with congress. Originally created in 1996, the RSAC is made up of representatives from member organizations representing the railroad industry. Past members have included the Association of American Railroads, the American Public Transportation Association and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.

The committee last met in mid 2017. The re-formed version of the committee will operate under a different charter than its predecessor.

Union Pacific sees Metrics Slip in Wake of Crew Shortages

Freight hauler Union Pacific has reported a slip in its key service metrics, believed to be driven by crew shortages and a tunnel collapse.

According to sources, the company is recruiting heavily to alleviate lack of manpower, but lack of worker supply is making it difficult. The large amount of vacations taken during the summer months are also exacerbating the problem. Union Pacific held up 65 trains due to a lack of crews for the week ending on June 22.

A May 29 tunnel collapse in Oregon has also created issues. Re-routing trains led to increases of up to five days of delivery time.