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Railroad Newsline for Friday, March 16, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

FIRE DESTORYS CRITICAL RAIL LINE: SERVICE ON CAPITOL CORRIDOR TRAINS DISRUPTED

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A dramatic evening fire Thursday along the American River Parkway near Cal Expo destroyed a Union Pacific mainline track, sending billowing black smoke thousands of feet into the blue skies, and disrupting train traffic through the Central Valley.

The hot-burning fire, first reported at 17:41, quickly consumed about 600 feet of heavy-duty trestle timber and tracks in a secluded section of the American River Parkway, just north of the American River.

Slowed by the lack of traditional access to water in the area, firefighters from the Sacramento City Fire Department and Sacramento Metro Fire District relied on relay-pumping from hydrants in developed areas on the north side of the parkway levee near Cal Expo.

As night fell and firefighting continued, the blaze was toppling burned sections of the 25-foot-high rail trestle and showed little sign of dying down.

Union Pacific officials confirmed Thursday night that the destroyed track was one of the company's main freight lines between Sacramento and points east, as well as a major passenger corridor for local commuter and long-distance trains.

The blaze forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission, told the Associated Press. It threatened to cause further disruptions, he said.

About 130 passengers aboard the California Zephyr had to stop in Roseville Thursday night because of the fire. All those passengers were transferred to buses and taken to their destination, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.

"Passengers on the California Zephyr are going to get where they are going," Cole said.
The next train is scheduled to come through Auburn at 06:35. A bus will be waiting to take passengers from there to Sacramento, where they will catch a new train to their final destination, Cole said. He said he believed bus service would also be available for other stations between Auburn and Sacramento.

A statement on the website of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority said bus service will be available between Auburn and Sacramento, and that it would run until the tracks are repaired.
Though he said it was impossible to be certain, Cole said Amtrack is "not anticipating any lengthy backups."

Union Pacific, not Amtrak, will be repairing the tracks, Cole said.

"This is a long-term situation. It's not one or two days. It's at least a couple weeks," he said.

Capitol Corridor officials alerted passengers that train service between Sacramento and Auburn will be out of operation, but buses will be called in beginning this morning to transport passengers.

Rail officials canceled weekday trains 529 and 536, and weekend trains 729 and 736.

Thursday night at the scene, Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Jim Doucette said officials did not yet know the cause of the fire, although there were some early reports that a portion of the trestle had been pushed upward, as if there had been an explosion.

"Way too early to figure that out," Doucette said. "We're shuttling water back and forth, and we're making some headway."

However, he said, "The whole bridge will be a loss. I fully expect it to collapse."

UP spokesman James Barnes said there were no initial reports of injuries and there was no train on the tracks at the fire site.

"It certainly is one of our main lines," Barnes said. "We are anticipating that the trestle will not survive. The important thing now is to get that fire under control and out, and then we can better assess the situation. We won't know for several hours what that means in terms of rerouting (frieght trains)."

The fire on the trestle, several hundred yards west of the Capitol City Freeway, caused backups for several miles during the late evening rush hour. The smoke plume was reportedly seen from 50 miles away. - Tony Bizjak, The Sacramento Bee, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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MASSIVE FIRE BURNS SACRAMENTO RAIL TRESTLE: TRAIN TRAFFIC SHUT DOWN ALONG KEY ROUTE

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A 300-foot stretch of an elevated railroad trestle caught fire and partially collapsed Thursday evening, sending a dramatic wall of thick, black smoke thousands of feet into the air and disrupting rail traffic through the state capital.

The blaze, which started at about 17:30, forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, said George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission.

He said the fire also was likely to disrupt freight traffic throughout Northern California.

"This is a main line for the Union Pacific. It's a major line right over the American River," he said.

Amtrak recordings said passengers should expect delays on the same route Friday morning.

Fire officials said they had not determined how the blaze started. But the creosote-soaked trestle -- which keeps trains elevated above local roads and a wetlands area -- fueled an intense fire that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.

The spectacle drew a crowd of hundreds of pedestrians from nearby hotels and stores and crippled rush-hour traffic on the Capital City Freeway around Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds. The fire also was burning near power lines and had cut power to some local stores.

The trestle supports a key rail artery leading into Sacramento. Officials reported that several Amtrak trains were scheduled to travel through that section of track and were being stopped.

The trestle could be seen buckling under the intense heat and partially collapsed after sunset. No train was involved in the fire and there were no reports of injuries.

Emergency workers used loudspeakers to tell pedestrians to stay out of the path of the smoke, fearing it may be hazardous. Before nightfall, the wall of smoke extended an estimated 2,000 feet into the air and bent in a giant S-curve, blanketing the capital skyline.

Christian Pebbles, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman, said that the relatively remote location of the fire was making it difficult for firefighters. There were no water hydrants nearby.

Firefighters, however, were using what water they could get to the site to make a defensive stand near a levee on the American River, Pebbles said. They also used firefighting boats to spray water on the burning trestle and keep the blaze from spreading to a railroad bridge over the river.

Ash was falling in east Sacramento and elsewhere southeast of the city. - KCRA-TV3, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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FIRE RAGES ALONG SACRAMENTO RAILROAD LINE

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Sacramento Fire crews are battling a raging fire that has engulfed a Union Pacific Railroad trestle near Cal Expo.

Video here: [www.news10.net]

The blaze began burning just after 17:30 Thursday just west of Interstate 80 near Cal Expo. The line is a major rail thoroughfare for Amtrak and other railroad transportation. The fire has caused significant damage to the bridge which has partially collapsed. No trains will be able to use the bridge until further notice, according to fire officials.

Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Cristian Pebbles said when the fire started, it was about a football field in length. He also said crews were taking a defensive posture to halt the flames and cool areas being approached by the fire.

Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.

The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames.

While spectators were gathering in the area, Pebbles warned everyone to avoid the area and let firefighters work. People who live in the nearby were encouraged to stay inside and shut all windows as the chemical burning is a carcinogen and can cause upper respiratory problems if inhaled.

The portion of the tracks burning heads over the American River through a scenic drive to Donner and to Lake Tahoe, beyond the North side of Tahoe and to Reno. - Jason Kobely, KXTV-TV10, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, CA

DRAMATIC FIRE BURNS RAILROAD TRESTLE NEAR SACRAMENTO

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A 300-foot stretch of an elevated railroad trestle caught fire and partially collapsed Thursday evening, sending a dramatic wall of thick, black smoke thousands of feet into the air and disrupting rail traffic through the state capital.

The blaze forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, said George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission.
He said the fire also was likely to disrupt freight traffic throughout Northern California.

"This is a main line for the Union Pacific. It's a major line right over the American River," he said.

An Amtrak spokesman told KFPK radio in Sacramento that about 130 passengers were stranded on a train in Roseville, a suburb northeast of the capital, for about five hours. The spokesman said the rail line was dispatching buses to bring the passengers to Sacramento.

Amtrak recordings said passengers should expect delays on the same route Friday morning.

Fire officials said they had not determined how the blaze started. But the creosote-soaked trestle - which keeps trains elevated above local roads and a wetlands area - fueled an intense fire that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.

The spectacle drew a crowd of hundreds of pedestrians from nearby hotels and stores and crippled rush-hour traffic on the Capital City Freeway around Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds. The fire also was burning near power lines and had cut power to some local stores.

The trestle supports a key rail artery leading into Sacramento. Officials reported that several Amtrak trains were scheduled to travel through that section of track and were being stopped.
Freight lines also are expected to be stalled by the fire, Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes told The Sacramento Bee.

"It certainly is one of our main lines," Barnes said. "We are anticipating that the trestle will not survive. The important thing now is get that fire under control and out, and then we can better assess the situation."

The trestle could be seen buckling under the intense heat and partially collapsed after sunset.
No train was involved in the fire, Barnes said, and there were no reports of injuries.

Emergency workers used loudspeakers to tell pedestrians to stay out of the path of the smoke, fearing it may be hazardous. Before nightfall, the wall of smoke extended an estimated 2,000 feet into the air and bent in a giant S-curve, blanketing the capital skyline.

Christian Pebbles, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman, told KCRA-TV that the relatively remote location of the fire was making it difficult for firefighters. There were no water hydrants nearby.

Firefighters, however, were using what water they could get to the site to make a defensive stand near a levee on the American River, Pebbles said. They also used firefighting boats to spray water on the burning trestle and keep the blaze from spreading to a railroad bridge over the river. - Aaron C. Davis, The Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee

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APPEALS COURT RULES UP DOESN'T HAVE TO COVER CONTRACEPTIVES

OMAHA, NE -- Union Pacific Railroad's policy of not covering contraceptives in its health plan isn't discriminatory, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The railroad prevailed on appeal because its policy does not cover any contraceptives for men or women, so the court agreed Union Pacific did not violate the federal Civil Rights Act.

"Union Pacific's health plans do not cover any contraception used by women such as birth control, sponges, diaphragms, intrauterine devices or tubal ligations or any contraception used by men such as condoms and vasectomies," the court panel said in its 2-1 ruling. "Therefore, the coverage provided to women is not less favorable than that provided to men."

A federal judge in Omaha ruled last June that Union Pacific discriminated against women by denying them coverage of contraceptives. The lawsuit, backed by Planned Parenthood, alleges the policy violates the federal Civil Rights Act.

One of the three appeals court judges filed a dissenting opinion because he believes Union Pacific's plan does discriminate.

U.S. Judge Kermit Bye said Union Pacific's policy affects only women because men cannot become pregnant, and that makes the railroad's policy discriminatory even though it is officially gender neutral.

Bye pointed out that Union Pacific's health plan covers some preventive medications used only by men. But he said the plan fails to cover contraception, which can be considered preventive care for women.

"Women are uniquely and specifically disadvantaged by Union Pacific's failure to cover prescription contraception," Bye wrote.

Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said the railroad was pleased with the court ruling because it validated UP's policy.

"However, independently we decided to provide the coverage and have no plans to take it away," Barnes said. He said the railroad added contraceptive coverage in 2005 as part of its contract agreement with its unions.

Calls to attorney Roberta Riley, who represented the plaintiffs, were not immediately returned on Thursday.

The lead plaintiffs in the class-action were two Union Pacific employees: Brandi Standridge, a trainman and engineer from Pocatello, Idaho, and Kenya Phillips, an engineer who lives near Kansas City, Missouri.

In November, Riley told the appeals court that access to contraceptives was crucial for the health of all women. She said that without contraception the average woman would become pregnant between 12 and 15 times in her lifetime.

Riley also told the court that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said contraception is one of the top 10 public health accomplishments of the 20th century because it saves women's lives.

Omaha-based Union Pacific Corp. operates Union Pacific Railroad. It is the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states. - John Funk, The Associated Press, The Belleville News Democrat

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STUCK TRAIN WHISTLE BLARES FOR 90+ MINUTES

PORTLAND, OR -- If you live in northeast Portland, Oregon you may have heard a collective sigh of relief around 20:30 Wednesday.

A train whistle blew nonstop for more than 90 minutes.

After getting several calls about the train in the KOIN News 6 newsroom, we tracked it down to Northeast Cully and Columbia streets. Curious neighbors, unable to watch TV with all the noise, were there, too.

Dave Prow said he shut all the windows and doors and could still hear the whistle.

A railroad worker finally shut off the sound. It wasn't clear what triggered the whistle. - KOIN-TV6, Portland, OR

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RAIL BRIDGE REMAINS INTACT

Photo here: [www.freenewmexican.com]

ELDORADO, NM -- A railroad bridge in Eldorado, New Mexico still is safe for trains despite vandalism that occurred earlier this week, said Santa Fe Southern Railway officials.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department reported Tuesday that the vandals burned a stolen car beneath the bridge Monday night, but erred in saying it had structurally damaged the bridge, said train special projects manager Bob Sarr.

Sarr said he will probably replace several timbers that support the bridge, which is near Avenida Grande Vista. The fire did not affect the bridge's strength or safety, he said.

Santa Fe Southern carries freight and operates excursion trains for tourists, schools and other groups. The trains travel between the downtown depot and a station in Lamy. The state now owns the 18 miles of track and expects new commuter trains from Albuquerque to travel on a portion of the track beginning late next year.

Sheriff's Sgt. Belarmino Lopez said he's still looking into nine other auto burglaries and five cases of vandalism, including smashed mailboxes, that also occurred in Eldorado on Monday night. - The Santa Fe New Mexican

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COMMUNITY GROUP URGES 'SENSIBLE' RAILROAD ROUTE

YUMA, AZ -- Concerned citizens, farmers and business leaders have banded together to try to make the best of a proposed new Union Pacific railroad line through the community.

"We need to be proactive to protect the community for our children," said Dave Mansheim, chairman of the newly formed Arizona Common Sense. "We aren't opposed to the railroad, we just want to come up with the route with the least impact on the future of the community."

Arizona Common Sense members include the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, Western Growers, Gowan Co., BetterYuma.org and the Yuma Commerce Center. In addition to Mansheim, the executive committee includes Ken Rosevear, vice chairman; Dick Mangus, secretary/treasurer; and Paul Muthart.

Union Pacific is exploring potential routes for a new rail line to carry goods from a proposed deep-water port in Punta Colonet, 150 miles south of Tijuana, to markets across the United States. In recent months, several organizations have met to mount opposition to the railroad's plans.

A UP railroad stakeholder meeting at 13:30 Thursday at Yuma City Hall, One City Plaza, will be broadcast live over local cable on Channel 73. Jon Hockenyos, a consultant hired by UP, will report on possible economic benefits to Yuma as a result of increased rail capacity

The main concern of Arizona Common Sense, Mansheim said, is the potential impact of suggested routes that would cut across southwestern Yuma Valley.

"There are too many risks and downsides" to such a route, "effectively splitting up the county into many sections," Muthart said. "We are exploring sensible alternative routes that won't negatively impact the community and our quality of life. We are committed to working with Union Pacific to help secure what is needed.

"Safety is our primary concern," Muthart continued. "The proposed rail line would force a reconfiguration of the roads, generating significantly more traffic and, as a result, significantly more risk. Passenger vehicles, agricultural employees and school buses already account for more than 50,000 passenger movements a day."

With the addition of many new railroad crossings and rerouted traffic, south county commerce would be severely impacted, he said, and farm tractors and large implements would be forced onto main roads.

Other concerns are potential impact of the railroad on air quality, crop production and thousands of new homes under development, Muthart said.

Alternate routes being studied by Arizona Common Sense would run along the northern section of the valley, posing significantly lower impact on commerce, traffic, neighborhoods and the environment, Muthart said.

Mansheim said the group also is trying to gather information about the railroad and its potential benefits as well as impact.

"Union Pacific said it wanted a community partner. We're proposing to be that partner."

Mansheim said the group hopes to have the entire community involved in the discussion and invites other interested citizens and organizations to join Arizona Common Sense. A Web site is being developed. - Joyce Lobeck, The Yuma Sun

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A CLEANER LOCOMOTIVE RIDES THE RAILS: RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA RUNS LOW-EMISSION TRAIN

RICHMOND, CA -- The Richmond Pacific Railroad on Wednesday rolled out a rebuilt "cleaner and greener" locomotive that has been outfitted with low-emission devices.

About 100 people, including elected officials, representatives from air-quality agencies and industrial executives, turned out at the Florida Avenue Rail Yard to celebrate the locomotive.
After a few short speeches, attendees boarded two first-class California Zephyr passenger cars, hired specially for the event, to take a tour of the Richmond Pacific's 11-mile line.

"We like to think of ourselves as Richmond's hometown railroad, and we are very aware of community concerns about emission," said Richmond Pacific Superintendent John Cockle. "This was something positive we could do that will have a social benefit."

The $200,000 retrofit equipped 43-year-old locomotive No. 2285 with devices that will prevent an estimated 10 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions in the next 20 years. Nitrogen oxides have a variety of negative effects on human health and are particularly harmful to the respiratory system.

The rebuilt engine also will help reduce emissions of particulate matter, which is a combination of extremely small particles of dust, chemicals and acids that mix with liquid droplets. Once inhaled, they are embedded in the lungs, where they can cause respiratory problems, particularly in the elderly and very young, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On Wednesday, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin congratulated the railroad company for its social responsibility.

"I want to thank our own railroad for being innovative and for doing the right thing," she said. "We know that particulate matter causes health problems, and Richmond has some of the highest asthma rates in the Bay Area, and the Richmond Pacific Railroad has set a good example."

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District helped the railroad fund the retrofit with a $148,000 grant. Richmond Pacific already has begun the process to retrofit its three other locomotives.

"We've retrofitted 25 percent of our line, and we have an application in for one more, which will be done by the end of the year," Cockle said. The fleet of four locomotives should be retrofitted within the next three years, he said.

Richmond Pacific Railroad, with 17 customers, is a short-line railroad that operates only in Richmond. In 2006, the railroad moved 7,600 rail cars loaded with a cargo including bulk ores, petroleum products, ethanol, scrap metal, lumber, vegetable oil and frozen food, between its industrial clients and the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Company. - John Geluardi, The Contra Costa Times

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DM&E SUFFERS DERAILMENT AT PIERRE

PIERRE, SD -- Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad crews are on scene in Pierre, South Dakota Thursday cleaning up remnants of a five-car derailment.

The incident occurred sometime late Wednesday night behind the Hollister football field in central Pierre.

The derailment blocked the intersection of Ree Street and Highland Avenue. However, crews were able to move the cars and reopen the intersection.

DM&E officials confirmed Thursday that three cars tipped over and two more left the tracks but did not roll. - The Pierre Capital Journal

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BANNING, CALIFORNIA CROSSING TO GET QUIET ZONE

BANNING, CA -- The San Gorgonio Avenue railroad crossing will become Banning, California's first attempt at a Quiet Zone.

The zones are an option that cities can employ to minimize disruption caused by freight train locomotives' loud horns.

Railroad Controls Limited, a Texas manufacturing and consulting firm, recommended a wayside horn system for the crossing. Other options for Quiet Zone crossings include temporary crossing closings during off-peak hours (not a viable option for San Gorgonio Avenue, according to RCL), four-gate crossings, and median strips on either side of the crossing - also not an option for San Gorgonio Avenue because of the proximity of John Street to the railroad tracks, according to Duane Burk, Banning's director of public works.

Burk said that substituting a wayside horn for the railroad locomotive's horn makes sense for two reasons.

"The wayside horns point their sound right at oncoming traffic, where you want it," he said. "They also have a much smaller sound footprint than the railroad horns."

A graph prepared by RCL showed a dramatic difference in the noise patterns between the locomotive horn and the wayside horns.

In the event that a wayside horn doesn't sound due to a malfunction, a strobe signal notifies the engineer, who then uses his locomotive horn as a backup.

The wayside horn system will cost about $90,000 - $75,000 for horn equipment and $15,000 for the equipment to link it to Union Pacific communications.

The cost of a wayside horn system is much less than building a four-gate crossing, the other viable option at San Gorgonio (four gates prevent vehicles from driving around lowered gates).

The Banning City Council indicated that it would like to see other crossings included in the Quiet Zone if the pilot project is a success. - Larry Rand, The Banning/Beaumont Record Gazette

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STUDY: COAL COULD FACE BLEAK FUTURE

WASHINGTON, DC -- The coal industry in Wyoming and elsewhere faces a bleak future unless ways are developed on a commercial scale to capture and store carbon dioxide in the campaign against global warming, according to a study released Wednesday.

A Wyoming mining official, however, said it would be a mistake to shun additional coal-fired electrical generation until technology is developed to sequester carbon dioxide.

The report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says coal, which accounts for half of the country's electricity production, will remain the fuel of choice to produce electricity in the United States because it is relatively cheap and abundant. But if carbon limits are imposed to address climate change, that could change unless the government and industry develop a program to capture and store the tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide that now spew from coal-burning smokestacks into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is the principal so-called "greenhouse" gas because as it concentrates in the atmosphere it creates a blanket-like effect that many scientists believe is warming the earth. While carbon dioxide is released in the burning of all fossil fuels, coal produces greater amounts of it because of the fuel's high carbon content.
Wyoming is the nation's largest coal-producing state, and the industry is a major piece of the state's economy.

"I recognize that the industry needs to support efforts to burn our coal more efficiently and to burn it cleaner, and we do support that effort," said Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. However, "carbon sequestration is an unproven technology at the present time, and the nation is in need of more electricity now. It is going to take time to develop the technology to sequester the carbon and to identify the storage sites for disposal...

"The nation and the states should recognize that every coal plant is going to be cleaner than the last plant, but we can't sit on our hands until all of the carbon sequestration issues are resolved," Loomis added. "This nation needs additional power now, and that should be with the latest technology available now."

A central message of the MIT report is that carbon capture from coal burning is technically and economically possible, but that it has yet to be proven on the broad commercial scale that would be needed if limits on carbon emissions are imposed.

The Democratic-controlled Congress is considering a number of proposals that would impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, along with various provisions aimed at reducing the economic cost.

"Coal will continue to be used to meet the world's energy needs in significant quantities," said the MIT report. With carbon capture programs more coal would likely be used in 2050 than is used today, but global carbon emissions would likely be only slightly more than today, the study said.

The MIT report said its doubtful that either China or India will impose carbon controls anytime soon, although both countries are rapidly expanding coal use in power and industrial plants.

Neither China nor India is likely to take such actions without the United States moving to curtail carbon emissions first, the study said. Eventually, carbon capture from coal burning will be crucial for both China and India if climate change is to be addressed.

And the United States will have to take the lead, the study concluded.

"If the coal industry wants to protect itself from a very bleak future ... they have a great interest in seeing carbon dioxide sequestration practically demonstrated now," John Deutch, co-chairman of the MIT panel that wrote the coal report, said in an interview.

Deutch, a former CIA director under President Clinton and senior official in both the Defense and Energy departments, said the government is not moving fast enough to develop demonstration projects capable of capturing and depositing in deep geological formations as much as a million tons of carbon a year.

The report said three or four such demonstrations projects should be developed as soon as possible.

Loomis said carbon sequestration at that magnitude poses huge challenges.

"When we talk about storing carbon in underground formations, we are not talking about a million tons or 100 million tons -- we are talking about billions of tons," he said. "To store anything that constitutes billions of tons is a daunting task even if we had the technology."

President Bush has said carbon capture and sequestration is a top energy priority. The government hopes to have an experimental coal burning power plant called FutureGen built by 2012 capable of capturing and storing underground a million tons of carbon a year.

But the MIT report said more is needed and that the Energy Department's budget for clean coal programs "falls far short of what is required" to ensure coal remains a primary fuel in a carbon-constrained world. The administration last month asked Congress for nearly $600 million for coal technology research for the next fiscal year, including $79 million for carbon sequestration and $108 million for the next installment in FutureGen.

The report also urged that government tax breaks, loan guarantees and other assistance be directed only at new coal plants that include carbon capture and sequestration and to programs aimed at retrofitting other plants.

Loomis said the industry supports development of such technology, but additional coal-fired plants that don't capture carbon are needed to meet the nation's growing power demand.

"It is critical that everyone understands that the demand for affordable, reliable power continues to grow," he said. "It would be tragic if we stop building plants that provide affordable and reliable power now and find ourselves with brownouts or worse." - H. Josef Hebert, The Associated Press, The Casper Star-Tribune

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MIDLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT, UNION PACIFIC JOIN FORCES TO PROMOTE SAFETY

MIDLAND, TX -- In efforts to reduce the number of accidents at railroad crossings, Midland, Texas police and Union Pacific officials joined forces this week and citations were issued to those allegedly violating railroad crossing laws.

While debris and fatalities are common results of train-related accidents, memories of the tragedies remain with the conductors, train officials said.

"Sadly, I've known conductors who tell me, 'I see these people looking me straight in the eyes and there's nothing else I can do.' I've also had some say they ask themselves, 'Am I going to be viewed as a killer tomorrow?' When they tell me these stories, it just breaks my heart," said Joe Arbona, spokesman for Union Pacific Railways.

Because of this, Arbona said, Union Pacific has a program in place that provides peer support specifically for the conductors who have been involved in accidents.

Law enforcement joined Union Pacific officials on a train ride from the east part of town to the west part of town and have officers near the tracks, prepared to issue citations in efforts to save lives, said Traffic Sgt. Rick Lewis of the Midland Police Department.

These railroad crossing focuses, which are done every six months, have had an average about 15 - 20 tickets every time. "We saw more violations than we usually see, which means we'll come back and do it a little earlier this next time," he said.

This year's efforts to raise awareness of railroad safety and reduce train-related accidents resulted in the issue of 22 citations and six warnings.

Union Pacific works with law enforcement to remind people how important it is to practice safety in railroad crossings, Arbona said. "It's a way of making sure to emphasize the three 'E's' of Safety." Those include enforcement, education and engineering.

"What we did this week was the enforcement aspect," he added.

This year, Midland has seen two fatal train accidents; the first fatality was last month.

Witnesses told the Reporter-Telegram a pedestrian "timed" his collision with a train.

The second fatality occurred just last week when a man was trying to move his car from being over the tracks, but didn't move far enough. An oncoming train hit the front end of the car and the man died upon arrival at the hospital.

Law requires vehicles to stay 15 feet from the tracks once the emergency equipment warns of an oncoming train, Lewis said.

Arbona believes accidents are usually caused by "impatient" people who are trying to beat the oncoming train through the intersection.

"Many of us tend to forget that the railroad crossing is equivalent to the yield sign, meaning we must yield to the oncoming train," he explained. "Over 50 percent of accidents are where there are gates."

A single locomotive weighs about 142,000 pounds, but with the addition of cars, the total weight could be between 10,000 and 19,000 tons, Arbona explained.

"A train takes about a half a mile to a mile to stop. Even with an emergency break at a slow speed, it's difficult because they have all that weight behind them," he said. "It's troubling to our crews when they see these situations about to happen and they've done all they can do, but they know the train won't stop in time."

Aside from train-vehicle wrecks, Arbona said there is a problem with pedestrians walking near or playing around train tracks. "People don't realize it's dangerous; it's also illegal," he said.
Arbona pointed out people should understand that train tracks are no place to linger.

"We're encouraging communities to let us know if there are people walking on them or near train tracks to call us at the UP Safety Line: 888-877-7267. It's a toll-free number," he said.

"In 2005, Union Pacific and law enforcement agencies around the country escorted 90,000 people away railroad tracks and 64,000 in 2006."

But the numbers don't necessarily mean an improvement, Arbona explained. "We think (the reduction) may be due to law enforcement not being able to monitor the crossings as often as they did in 2005; but we know they have a lot of things to do and they can't always focus on train tracks," he said.

To keep from being a victim of a train-related accident, Lewis and Arbona both said people should be aware of their surroundings when they are near railroad crossings and wait "patiently" when a train is coming.

"Trains aren't as loud as they used to be, and with music playing, some people may not hear it coming," Arbona said.

Lewis agreed with Arbona by saying, "There is no way (trains) can stop in time. Be aware of your surroundings and turn the radio down to where you can hear (the train)." - Lynsey Bradley, The Midland Reporter-Telegram

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TEEN STRUCK, KILLED BY TRAIN

STOCKTON, CA -- Eruptions of moans announced wave after wave of shocked friends who gathered at the east Stockton, California railroad tracks where a 16-year-old Stockton boy was hit and killed about 18:30 Wednesday.

The teen, identified as Shane Alexander Baily, was riding a dirt bike with friends when he was hit on BNSF Railway Company tracks just north of Farmington Road, San Joaquin County sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said.

Friends, neighbors and relatives arrived in scores just before sunset to the spot about a quarter-mile north of Farmington Road, just a few blocks from Baily's home.

Some said Baily was racing the train while crossing the tracks there. Others said he was taking a shortcut. They agreed that it was their worst fear for Baily, who they said had been warned about riding at the tracks.

Sixteen-year-old Jose Rodriguez was one of the first of the teen's friends to arrive. He rushed on his bike from his home blocks away after getting the news by phone, minutes after the crash.

"I can't believe this," he said. "This shouldn't be happening to Shane."

While others made their way closer to the spot on the tracks where Baily's body had been thrown by the train, Rodriguez hung back, not wanting to look at the boy's covered body.

Family members gathered on one side of a Stockton firetruck and a crowd of friends assembled on the other.

Rodriguez recalled the warnings later repeated by others. "I warned him a million times not to ride here," he said.

The teenager was always on wheels, friends recalled.

"He was always on a homemade mini-bike, dirt bikes or a bicycle. He was so happy about getting to ride his new dirt bike," said neighbor Jeremy Sanchez, 16.

Friends choking back tears recalled how well-liked the handsome Franklin High School student was. With a distinct lisp and an easy manner, he was well-known and universally liked, they said.

Several stayed at the tracks after sunset, when the clouds turned from pink to purple and then disappeared from sight. Those who remained after sunset regretted that there are few alternatives for teens like Baily besides riding on the tracks.

"I've told the boys not to come down here. But in this town, there's nothing for boys to do, so they come out here," said Rod Pearce, 42, the father of one of Baily's friends.

"All there is to do is get caught by cops who say you're a gang-banger because you're dressed like this" 16-year-old Jesse Stewart said, gesturing to his baggy jeans and oversized T-shirt.

As the sky darkened further, Stockton police officers, San Joaquin sheriff's deputies, Stockton Unified School District police and California Highway Patrol officers all left. The agencies had each responded because of initial confusion over the jurisdiction of the tracks.

A van from the Coroner's Office arrived under a cloud of dust raised by the exiting vehicles.

BNSF Railway Company police will complete the investigation, a California Highway Patrol officer said. No one with the railroad could be reached Wednesday evening.

A railroad company investigator had not yet arrived at the spot in the tracks that had been mostly abandoned Wednesday night. - Ellen Thompson, The Stockton Record

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ENERGY COMPANIES BUYING UP COLORADO DESERT

What's happening in the deserts of western Colorado?

It looks like energy giant Shell is buying up thousands of acres. Energy companies Marathon Oil and Cam-Colorado LLC seem to be in the game, too.

What gives? The energy companies are keeping mum, but these pieces of land aren't far from where Shell has been quietly carrying on experimental oil shale activity. But these lands west of Grand Junction aren't considered rich in oil shale, writes Denver Post reporter Nancy Lofholm.

So, what's the deal?

"I'm not allowed to talk about it until we get all the land bought that we need," Shell spokeswoman Jill Davis tells the Post. "I don't know when we'll be able to discuss all our land and water plans. We're trying to prevent a speculation environment. We're trying to say, 'Don't worry about that right now.' "

What, us worry?

But if the land isn't rich in oil shale, it's not without assets. There's a working coal mine ready to expand nearby, Lofholm writes, and Cam-Colorado is buying up railroad rights-of-way.

Could that mean a coal-fired power plant on the way to fuel the energy-intensive oil shale extraction process? Could be. The area also comes with water rights, another important asset for the oil shale process.

"They have promised at some point that they will come and let us know what they are doing," Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis says. "It's all speculation at this point."

In New Mexico, a group of Pueblos have dropped their claims in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the expansion of Ski Santa Fe and the construction of its newest chairlift.

Tesuque and Nambé pueblos claimed the new chairlift would intrude on sacred sites. But despite the lawsuits, the Albuquerque Journal reports, chairlift construction went ahead. The Tesuque have dropped their claims and the Nambé have dropped most of theirs while the work out an agreement with the Forest Service to resolve the rest. That agreement would use fences and trail markers -- or a lack of trail markers -- to try to protect important sites.

It's Old West versus New West in southern Utah, where some locals worry a new coal mine could harm the quaint businesses along the Heritage Highway.

"They want antiquing traffic," writes the Salt Lake Tribune. "They want tourist traffic. They want foot traffic. They want the retiring baby boomers who yearn to travel the back highways of America in their leisure years. They don't want truck traffic. Big-truck traffic. But that's what they would have to endure -- every four minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year -- if a coal mine opens near Alton in Kane County."

So business owners are joining forces tot ry to stop the approval of the new mine -- 2,600 acres between Alton and Bryce Canyon National Park -- that Alton Coal Development wants to open. The resulting traffic doesn't play well in quanit Panguitch, a town recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to rows of cute shops, the town is increasingly home to retirees and second-home owners.

"It would take away from what is here and why we are here," bed-and-breakfast owner Peggy Egan tells the Tribune. – David Frey, New West

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STRANGE MACHINE LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT

BEVERLY, MA -- It's 600 feet long, weighs 200 tons, holds 20,000 gallons of water and spews enough sparks to light the occasional backyard on fire.

And it's been traveling through the North Shore under the cover of darkness for the last four nights.

The beast in question is called a rail-grinding machine. Since Sunday, it's been riding the railroad tracks from Beverly, MA to Gloucester and Newburyport, scraping the steel rails with its 88 grinding stones as part of a maintenance program to keep the tracks in good shape.

For all of its size and fury, the 11-car train-like machine might have gone unnoticed by most people because it runs mainly at night. But the machine has also been blowing its horn as it travels the tracks, catching the attention of at least some slumbering residents.

"It was loud enough to wake my wife and me up out of a sound sleep," Robert Torkildsen of Beverly said.

Susan Otis of Hamilton said the horn woke her about 03:30 on Monday or Tuesday.

"We thought, 'Oh my God, somebody must be on the tracks with a car,'" she said. "We thought we'd hear a crash."

Despite the fact Beverly has 18 railroad crossings, among the most in the state, the sound of train horns is actually rare. Beverly and Hamilton are both "quiet zones," meaning trains can sound their horns only in case of emergency.

Lannie Deserly, the field clerk on the grinding machine, said he wasn't aware of the local rules regarding horns. His company is based in Minnesota and is hired by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to grind the tracks.

"I suppose we could get away without sounding the horn," Deserly said. "We have a representative from the MBTA with us, and he hasn't said anything to us."

The MBTA did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The grinding machine has been sitting on the tracks near Beverly Depot during the day for the last four days. It was scheduled to finish its work on the North Shore line by this morning and be headed for Boston, Deserly said.

The machine is used to reshape rails flattened out by use, said Johnny O'Brien, who heads the night maintenance crew on the machine.

"It improves traction and fuel efficiency," he said. "Basically, it smooths out the ride."

The grinding machine travels throughout the country and into Canada. The crew is on the road for six weeks at a time, then home for two weeks.

O'Brien, 53, lives in Missouri with his wife and 7-year-old son. As he stood beside the machine yesterday, his face was covered with dust.

"It's a dirty job," he said. "We've had people who have quit the day they started. All of a sudden they'll disappear."

Eighty-eight computer-controlled grinding stones create huge sparks as the machine travels along the rails at night. The sparks can start fires, so the machine is equipped with a 20,000-gallon water tank and hoses.

O'Brien said it's not unusual for passers-by to wonder if the machine is on fire.

"It's quite the light show," he said. "It's very pretty." - Paul Leighton, The Gloucester Daily Times

MANKATO OFFICIALS RETURN FROM DC TRIP

MANKATO, MN -- A delegation of Mankato, Minnesota officials are back from a trip to Washington, DC, to lobby for almost $30 million in federal funding for area transportation projects.

City Manager Pat Hentges and four city councilmen met with Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Tim Walz as well as staff from Rep. Jim Oberstar's office during the National League of Cities trip.

Highway 14 was front and center.

"The biggest need of the region right now is just a better maintained and operating transportation system," Council President Mike Laven said.

While there are no pieces of work left to be done in Mankato, every city along the corridor advocates for a four-lane expansion from New Ulm to Rochester, Hentges said. And he said lawmakers appreciate that solidarity.

An expansion between Mankato and Waseca was finished last year, but work to reconstruct the road farther east to Owatonna will cost an estimated $150 million.

Also at issue is a Highway 14 interchange at County Road 14 in North Mankato. About $3 million in federal planning money is being requested.

Blue Earth County planners are hoping to build another Highway 14 interchange at County Road 12, which will be extended south.

Other Highway 14 projects include work at the intersection of Highway 169 and design work for the segment between North Mankato and New Ulm.

Hentges said representatives have until Friday to turn in local projects for consideration in larger budget bills. He said earmarks, also known as pork spending, have become more transparent, but there's still a place for individual projects.

Also at issue are needed upgrades to the city's rail line, Hentges said. Namely, those are the rail crossings that interrupt traffic flow and the lack of crossing improvements. Those improvements would allow trains to go through town without blowing their whistles.

"Even if the project doesn't go ahead," Hentges said, referring to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's expansion plans, "we still have a railroad problem."

Walz is a political newcomer, but he sits on the transportation committee, which Oberstar chairs.
And while no one expects that the federal government will give the region everything it's asking for, Laven said it's important to try.

"You need to get in their face and be out there in person," he said. - Dan Linehan, The Mankato Free Press

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TRANSIT NEWS

COMMUTE AND A MOVIE ON BART

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- East Bay-bound Bay Area Rapid Transit passengers got a special treat on Wednesday's commute -- a 15-second film clip-like Target advertisement plastered onto a transit system tunnel wall.

BART spokesman Linton Johnson said the flipbook-like ad was a test of a technology the transit system hopes will generate at least $120,000 per year -- monies that will be used to offset the need to increase revenues by raising ticket prices.

"This is a month-long technology test," Johnson told KTVU. "We are working out the kinks in it.We want to make sure it works in the first technology test before we expand it."

As trains traveling at 35 mph pass by a series of posters installed on the wall of the tunnel between the Montgomery and Embarcadero stations in San Francisco, passengers will see what appears to be an animated advertisement.

"Trains have to go over 25 mph so the train operators can't see the ads," Johnson said. "We want the train operators to be focused on their jobs. At those speeds, the operators can't see the ads but the passengers can."

CBS Outdoor and SideTrack Technologies Inc. installed the posters. Heathrow Express, which shuttles travelers between London's Heathrow Airport and central London, became the first transit system in Europe to introduce the mini-movie ads last month.

"It's like a children's flipbook," SideTrack Technologies Chairman Rob Walker told KTVU. "When you flip through the pages the images turn into something like a film clip. We put a whole bunch of posters on the wall. We light them in synchronization with the speed of the train and it animates it. You think you are looking at a television screen."

BART riders gave the ads a favorable review on Wednesday.

"I thought it was nice -- very different," said San Mateo's Robin Steele as she exited a train at the Embarcadero Station. "I got up -- I was getting up to get off at the Embarcadero Station and saw it and said: 'What's that?'" - KTVU-TV2, San Francisco/Oakland, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall Jr.

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PHOENIX LIGHT-RAIL EXTENSION REVISED; WILL NOW HAVE A 3.2-MILE FIRST PHASE

PHOENIX, AZ -- A light-rail expansion northwest of Phoenix will have a 3.2-mile first phase and not the full 4.6 miles that was originally planned, officials said.

The first phase would open on time in 2012 using $273 million in local funds, adjusted for inflation.

Completing the extension would have to wait until after 2014, when federal money could be secured, and those plans could be altered.

"We are trying to get as far as we can by 2012," said Wulf Grote, director of project development for Metro, which is running the 20-mile light-rail project that is expected to start service next year.

City and Metro officials said they faced the choice of building all of the line late or using money exclusively from a 2000 local sales tax to finish as much of it on schedule as possible.

They said the 2012 date was no longer realistic because federal requirements had grown too onerous and time-consuming.

Current estimates show 6,000 to 7,000 people will board the 3.2-mile extension on a one-way trip by 2030. The extra 1.4 mile doesn't add enough projected ridership, according to federal models, although transit agencies question assumptions in those models.

Ed Zuercher, deputy chief of staff to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, said the action does not break faith with voters, who were promised a MetroCenter line by 2012. - The Associated Press, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ)

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LIGHT-RAIL RIDERSHIP EXCEEDS PROJECTIONS

DENVER, CO -- RTD's new Southeast Corridor light-rail trains ramped up to near their one-year ridership projections in February after a snowy start to the service in December.

Ridership estimates from the transit agency - which extrapolates the number of riders from automated counters installed in about 30 percent of the train cars - are that the four lines serving the 19-mile Southeast Corridor along Interstates 25 and 225 handled an average of 33,323 riders per work day.

Total weekday ridership on the entire light-rail system averaged 62,523, higher than the RTD projection of 54,000 with the completion of T-REX.

"It shows the public embraces light rail as an important part of their daily commute," RTD spokesman Scott Reed said.

The Southeast Corridor was built as part of the $1.75 billion T-REX highway and transit project. The trains began running Nov. 17.

In the studies leading up to construction of the addition to RTD's 13-year-old light-rail system, Southeast Corridor daily ridership was projected to be 33,800 on an average weekday at the end of the first year of service.

Daily ridership is the total number of people boarding the trains over the course of a day, so a commuter who goes to and from work by light rail would be counted as two riders.

It took a few months for the Southeast Corridor trains to gain riders. The average workday ridership in December, when states of emergency were declared as fierce snowstorms hit twice on workdays, was 26,296. In January, it was 31,072.

The higher ridership is a plus for farebox revenue, although fares cover only about 20 percent of the transit system cost. Taxpayers subsidize the system with a 1-percent metro sales tax.

The poorest-performing line is the G Line between Nine Mile and Lincoln Stations. That segment averaged fewer than 700 riders a day. Meanwhile, the H Line from Aurora's Nine Mile to downtown has attracted almost as many riders per day as the longer segment from Lincoln Avenue to downtown.

The surprising part of the report is that ridership on the system's older segment, the Southwest Corridor to Littleton, didn't drop as much as expected. RTD projected that many riders would switch their trips over to the new line if they lived closer to Southeast Corridor stations.

While some of that happened, it was less than RTD anticipated. In fact, the retention of more ridership on the Littleton line caused a problem when longtime riders complained that their service had suffered because of the opening of the T-REX line.

RTD was forced to add more cars back to the Littleton line after it initially reduced D Line service to two-car trains rather than three.

The Southwest Corridor's average weekday ridership before the completion of T-REX had been 35,721. In February, it averaged 29,200, while RTD had expected it might drop to as low as 20,000.

"People have became very loyal riders," Reed said.

RTD has installed automated counters on only 24 of its 83 light-rail train cars. It disperses them throughout the system each day to gather raw numbers, sorting the results by each line to determine how many passengers are riding each leg.

"It's a matter of shifting those cars around to get reliable boarding totals at various stations so we could determine what the ridership in a given corridor was," Reed said.

"We do our best to ensure that every trip in the system is covered at least once a month," said Bill Beuthel, who calculates ridership for RTD. - Kevin Flynn, The Rocky Mountain News

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RTD MAY TEST COMPUTERIZED, SELF-CLEANING TOILETS AT STATION

DENVER, CO -- RTD may soon be testing a system that will let you "go" before your train leaves the station.

The system is APT - Automated Public Toilets.

Public restrooms are scarce, sometimes painfully so, at public transit stations.

However, two vendors of computerized, self-cleaning rest-rooms made their pitches to the RTD staff Tuesday at the FasTracks office.

RTD may try a system at its busy I-25/Broadway station, where light rail lines from downtown, Littleton and the Southeast Corridor converge.

RTD has portable toilets there now, which are difficult and expensive to maintain. - Kevin Flynn, The Rocky Mountain News

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LIRR TO RETOOL TRAIN HORNS

NASSAU, NY -- Conceding that metal baffles won't do enough to muffle its loudest trains, the Long Island Rail Road plans to solve the problem of excessive horn noise by modifying the horns themselves.

The LIRR's acting president, Ray Kenny, revealed plans last week to retrofit the louder horns on the railroad's new M-7 cars with a "choke" device that restricts the amount of compressed air producing the sound.

"Baffling isn't the entire answer," Kenny said.

His comments came in the wake of a horn test at a Cedarhurst railroad crossing that produced an average of 106 decibels on the left side of a baffled train car.

That's the side on which horn noise dispersion is most pronounced on the four M-7s refitted with baffles. The same test produced average levels of 103 decibels 100 feet in front of the train, and to its right.

The railroad's objective is to keep the horn noise between 96 and 100 decibels. Federal regulations require train horns to have a minimum volume of 96 decibels.

Photo here: [images.zwire.com]

Caption reads: Sound engineer Jerome Goodman checks decibel readings at Cedarhurst's Linwood Avenue railroad crossing.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has been working with the grass-roots Train Noise Abatement Association to push for a change in Federal Railroad Administration regulations that would limit train horns to 98 decibels where there are houses within 250 feet of a railroad crossing.

Mark Sullivan, the LIRR's chief mechanical officer, said that in addition to controlling noise levels by restricting air flow to the horns, the railroad will experiment with redirecting or repositioning the horns.

Sullivan suggested that that might eliminate the need for the metal baffles altogether.

Kenny said that if the railroad goes ahead with retrofitting more than 800 M-7 cars with metal baffles and air horn chokes, it would take a year to finish the work. Based on tests of the metal baffles since November, Kenny said the LIRR was "confident" about going forward with the project.

Jerome Goodman, a sound engineer working with a civic group lobbying for train noise abatement, suggested that the compressed air horns might be dropped in favor of an electronically produced horn sound. Goodman also contended that the metal baffle solution is a bust. "It cuts the energy level by 50 percent, but it's still too loud," he said. At a meeting with railroad officials after the test, Goodman suggested that the three-sided metal baffles would be more effective with a denser material, or with two sheets of metal sheathing and a layer of rubber.

The horn blast from a modified M-7 car produced a 124-decibel peak during the Cedarhurst test, according to Goodman, who said that continuous exposure to even a 75-decibel noise can cause permanently hearing damage. The peak is the highest decibel reading from a sampling of each train horn blast.

"Whatever happened today is fine," said Jack Mevorach, founder of the Train Noise Abatement Association. "It's a step toward providing some relief."

Along with the high decibel levels, Five Towns residents are concerned about the duration of the horn blasts. Kenny said that LIRR engineers are required to keep sounding their horns as they cross an intersection, typically two long blasts followed by one short and one long one.

Goodman contends that sounding the baffled horns over macadam surfaces produces a "reflection" of the horn noise, with the baffling serving as a resonating chamber, effectively amplifying the sound waves as they bounce off the pavement.

Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) echoed Mevorach's sentiment in a statement he issued after last week's test. "Today's test was an important step that will help improve the quality of life in communities along the Far Rockaway branch," said Skelos, who is the Senate representative on the MTA's four-person Capital Program Review Board.

The next step will be a more controlled test with a modified train horn, most likely to be conducted at the LIRR's facility in Hillside, Queens, according to Sullivan, who declined to say when that test might be conducted.

Five Towns residents who live along the railroad line will have to wait until next year for relief from the train horn noise, whatever the solution proves to be. - Richard Tedesco, The Nassau Herald

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THE END