REBUILT TUNNEL WITHSTANDS HEAVY RAIN AND SNOWMELT, BUT WEST PORTAL EXTERNAL RETAINING WALL LETS GO. SERVICE RESTORED NEXT DAY.
26.December, North Adams MA – At 08:45 hours during a daily track inspection, the track outside of the west portal of the Hoosac Tunnel was discovered to be blocked by mud and fallen trees. The deposited material dammed-up natural water drainage from the tunnel, submersing the tracks some tens of yards into the tunnel’s west […]
09.December, Montpelier VT – Vermont Agency of Transportation Rail & Aviation Director Dan Delabruere updated the Vermont Rail Council on the extension of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen route to Burlington. The project remains on schedule and the train is expected to begin early in 2022. “We had some CoVid delays, contractor issues, but not that bad. […]
MADOT UNVEILS "PATRIOT CORRIDOR DOUBLE-STACK CLEARANCE PROJECT" TO TACKLE 23 HEIGHT OBSTRUCTIONS ON PAS, TO QUALIFY ROUTE AS A LAND BRIDGE.
Patriot Corridor Survey In 2012, USDOT allocated $16.9 million for 12 projects nationwide designed to relocate, replace or improve segments of track. The funds were distributed through the FRA Rail Line Relocation and Improvement grant program. Of those funds, MADOT received $2 million for the Patriot Corridor double-stack clearance initiative, to conduct a 360º laser clearance […]
MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRIAL RAIL ACCESS PROGRAM GENERATES RECORD $7 MILLION FREIGHT RAIL DEVELOPMENT, DESPITE PANDEMIC-REDUCED STATE CONTRIBUTION.
As with every state in the Year of the Coronavirus, Massachusetts’ coffers are drastically lower than anticipated at the beginning of 2020. In line with all Massachusetts government agencies confronted by the state’s pandemic budget deficit, the 2020 IRAP VIII program reduced its grant budget by 11% compared to 2019. But thanks in part to […]
Funds for major Norwalk River and Connecticut River projects on Metro-North and Amtrak
27, October-Washington DC–Two major bridge replacements in Connecticut will get USDOT ‘State of Good Repair’ grants, announced Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, replacing the Norwalk (“walk”) bridge on Metro-North and the Connecticut River bridge on Amtrak between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme. Both movable bridges are long-time priorities, prone to malfunction and their replacement will mean […]
A quick-moving thunderstorm packing winds up to 75mph blew through Western Massachusetts the afternoon of October 7th, blowing off the roof of the East Deerfield roundhouse and at least 100 trees over the right of way of Pan-Am Southern.
Beginning in July 2020, the South Carolina-based company, Rotor Blade LLC, began a 190-mile project along the New England Central Railroad (NECR) mainline at East Northfield, MA, that will reduce the number of overhanging trees on the railroad right-of-way. Amtrak has spent $1.2 million for the work that includes the aerial cutting by Rotor Blade […]
On Friday, 18.September, four years of planning and site preparation came to fruition as a 10-week construction blitz allowed the reopening of VTR’s new 360-foot Middlebury Rail Tunnel. The new prefab tunnel not only improves rail service by increasing clearances on the main route from Rutland to Burlington. The project was also designed to improve […]
PAR'S C.R.I.S.I. Grant Proposal Requests $21 Million (PAR will also Pony Up the Same Amount) to Bring Tattered 'KEAG Route Up to Class 2/286K by Mid-2023. Until then, New Operator will have Only Marginal Access to Saint John.
19.June, Billerica MA – Pan Am Railways submitted a proposal to the Federal Railroad Administration for a $20,996,786 grant from the FY2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) funding opportunity to rebuild the 111.16-mile Pine Tree Corridor (a/k/a, Mattawamkeag line) in central Maine, running from Mattawamkeag (KEAG MP 0.41) to Waterville (CPF 111/MP 111.57). The […]
MBTA Awards Second Major Contract for SCR Phase One Build. $562.5 Million will Connect Fall River and New Bedford Commuters via Middleboro to Boston South Station by Late 2023.
24 August, Boston MA – Phase One of the SCR project will reconstruct existing freight rail lines connecting to the operating MBTA Middleboro Line. The Middleboro Secondary, New Bedford Main, and Fall River Secondary lines will be upgraded for passenger service with new track, as well as new stations and platforms, commuter parking, train layover, signal […]
