---

---

Railroad Newsline for Thursday, May 03, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

---

---

ED. NOTE: (I apologize for the shorter than normal Railroad Newsline today. Large thunderstorms in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metoplex last night left over 300,000 TXU customers without power -- including yours truly. We lost power about at 19:00 hours Central Time Wednesday night and it was not restored until about 02:45 this morning. That meant that Mr. Hewlett, Mr. Packard and I could not have our usual meeting to work on today’s effort, so I went with what I had. – LWG)

---

RAIL NEWS

TRAIN CARRYING SHUTTLE BOOSTER ROCKETS DERAILS IN ALABAMA

Photo here:

[deseretnews.com]

Caption reads: A freight train that derailed on Wednesday near Myrtlewood, Ala., was carrying segments of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters that were made in Promontory, Utah. (Michael E. Palmer, The Associated Press)

Photo here:

[www.meridianstar.com]


MYRTLEWOOD, AL -- A train carrying segments of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters from Utah derailed Wednesday after a bridge sank over boggy ground, authorities said. Six people aboard the train were reported injured, one critically.

NASA said it was not immediately known whether the equipment was damaged. But space agency spokesman Allard Beutel in Washington said the accident should not delay any shuttle launches.

The trestle collapse was under investigation.

The shuttle's twin boosters are 150 feet tall and consist of four propellant segments each. They are used during liftoff and the first two minutes or so of flight to help the spacecraft break free of Earth's orbit and are then jettisoned into the sea, after which they are recovered, refurbished and reused.

It was a leak of burning gas between two segments of a solid booster rocket that caused the Challenger explosion that killed seven astronauts in 1986.

"It appears when the train got onto the trestle, the trestle just gave way and sank to the ground," said Mike Rudolphi, an official with the boosters' manufacturer.

Eight booster segments were on the train, which carried only the shuttle shipment, Rudolphi said. One booster overturned, along with two locomotives and a car carrying six attendants, who were injured.

The segments will probably be sent back to the manufacturer's Utah plant to be examined, Rudolphi said.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said the four derailed train cars landed on their side on the ground in the woods next to the tracks, none of the cargo spilled, and there appeared to be no fire.

Twelve rail cars remained upright. It appears those cars didn't overturn because the trestle — about 300 to 400 feet long — sank evenly to the ground, Rudolphi said.

The derailment was in a remote stretch of track near Myrtlewood, about 110 miles southwest of Birmingham. Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Collier said he was unaware of any threat posed to the public.

"You can't get any further out in the woods than this," he said.

NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said the segments were not scheduled for use during the next shuttle flight, the liftoff of Atlantis on June 8, but for missions in October and December. NASA's solid rocket boosters and their parts are freely interchangeable.

It was the second time in less than a week that the train jumped the tracks while carrying the booster segments across the country from the manufacturer, ATK Launch Systems Group of Promontory, Utah, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA said.

Last Friday, two axles on one car came off the tracks for unknown reasons about 60 miles west of Salina, Kansas, while the train was traveling at less than 20 mph, Herring said. The train was back on the tracks after several hours, the spokesman said.

A spokesman for the manufacturer, Bryce Hallowell, said the rocket company had two employees and a contractor on the train Wednesday, and they suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The other three apparently worked for the rail company.

The train was with Union Pacific when it left Utah but was believed to have transferred to Meridian and Bigbee of Meridian, Mississippi, before the derailment. A call to Bigbee headquarters was not immediately returned.

"It's our understanding the motors are stable," Hallowell said. After an inspection, he said, the company will work with the railroad to safely remove them.

NASA officials said two locomotives, a train car behind them, and one car with a shuttle booster overturned. The fuel in the rocket, aluminum perchlorate, has the consistency of a rubber eraser and there was no danger of it igniting, according to NASA.

Hallowell said the train was taking the same route to the Kennedy Space Center that has been used for 30 years or more. The train trip can take more than a week.

The accident was the latest in a run of bad luck for the space agency.

In February, astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested on charges of trying to kidnap a romantic rival. Later that month, a freak hail storm caused thousands of dents in space shuttle Atlantis' external tank as it sat on the launch pad, delaying the flight for months.

Last month, a worker at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston shot a colleague to death and then killed himself. - The Associated Press, The Deseret News, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

---

UNION PACIFIC DECIDES NOT TO BID ON PORT PROJECT BETWEEN U.S., MEXICO

YUMA, AZ -- Union Pacific has abandoned plans to bid on a proposed railroad project between the U.S and a planned port in Mexico, an official with the railroad said.

Company officials say their decision means Yuma County will no longer be considered for the project because Union Pacific owns all existing rail lines in the area.

"This almost certainly closed the door on a route in Yuma County," said Chris Peterson, Union Pacific director of government affairs. "It would be very unlikely that another railroad would propose (and build) a new route to go through Yuma County. Plus, we don't make a practice of allowing another railroad to use our track."

The company official would not give a concrete reason for the change in plan from Union Pacific, but did say acquiring information from Mexico officials about project specifics was one of the company's most frustrating challenges.

"This decision was based on strategic reasons," he said, declining to say more on that issue.

Peterson added that Yuma County's ongoing development actually presents a growing challenge to any kind of railway expansion plans.

"Every day that goes by that someone isn't preserving land for a new rail line makes it a lot less likely that it will happen," he said.

Peterson made the company's official announcement Tuesday at The Sun's office, after alerting Yuma city officials.

He stressed, however, that Union Pacific leaders believe that the project is needed and a worthwhile investment - just not for them now.

"We think the project is viable," Peterson said, adding that proponents of the project aren't likely to lose momentum. "The Mexican government is very much interested in seeing the port and rail proposal go through. It's just a matter of who is going to bid on it."

The company confirmed in August 2006 that they were studying the feasibility of extending a new railroad from Punta Colonet, Baja Calif., to Yuma.

Mayor Larry Nelson said he couldn't be any happier about Union Pacific's decision to abandon its plan to bid on the proposed railroad project.

"I didn't see a single advantage for the city of Yuma for that railway to come through here," Nelson said.

Speaking from a cost factor, Nelson said several railroad crossings would have needed to be built and with each one costing between $10 to $20 million and the railroad company only being required to pay 5 percent of that amount, it was just not a good deal for the city.

"There was just no way to justify paying for it from a tax-base standpoint," Nelson stated. "If Union Pacific would have put in some sidings to serve new industries that would have come in as a result of the railroad being here, then it would have been a better deal."

Nelson added that he also had concerns over whether the railway would have served the new U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., since the company never responded to a letter he sent it. He went on to say that he never saw a route other than the initially proposed County 14th Street and Avenue 3-1/2E route.

The railroad plan inspired both opposition and support in Yuma County, where opinions ranged from fears of encroachment to predictions of a great economic boom.

Other railroads have expressed interest in this project, but Union Pacific was one of the major railroad companies examining the proposal.

Union Pacific had expressed interest in possibly bringing the line through the Yuma area and connecting it to the company's Sunset Route, which carries 45 to 50 trains every day through Yuma from Los Angeles to El Paso, Texas.

The site of the proposed port, Punta Colonet, is a small town south of Ensenada, Baja California. Proponents of the rail-port plan have always pointed to the fact that shipments from Asia to North America are expected to double and ports in California are already very busy.

Tuesday was the May Day holiday in Mexico, and Mexican government officials could not be reached for reaction to Union Pacific's decision to withdraw from bidding.

Union Pacific's Peterson said that although the company's decision Tuesday may have seemed sudden to the public, company leaders knew from the onset that the plan presented challenges.

"We always knew it was extremely uncertain," he said. "There were a great number of hurdles that had to be crossed for the project to become a reality. It's not a huge surprise that we would reach a point where we would decide not to proceed and pursue the bid."

Peterson said, for example, that Mexico had never published the rules and deadlines for the bidding process. According to previous articles in The Sun, the Mexican government was expected to announce bid specifications in May; according to Peterson, the government had not released it as of Tuesday afternoon.

"There were a lot of unknowns," the rail official said, adding how those factors delayed so much local planning. "The biggest cloud hanging over the project in Yuma County was the uncertainty of where the route would be. We couldn't have healthy conversations without it (more information from Mexico). I regret that we never got to that point."

He added that any local opposition to the plan did not discourage Union Pacific. Peterson stressed that having more concrete plans in place could have eventually persuaded critics.

The Yuma-based group Arizona for Common Sense proved to be one of the rail-port's loudest critics, saying they opposed the plan's possible local routes, not the overall vision itself. Founding member Paul Muthart said he didn't know if losing the chance for railroad development amounted to good or bad news for Yuma County. Muthart stressed that proponents were never able to convince him of the plan's economic promises.

"In my mind, they failed to adequately demonstrate to me how our community would benefit because of this railway," Muthart said. "They haven't really done anything more than speculation. The position we've always wanted was the truth."

He added, though, that he could point to a positive side to not having rail expansion.

"I know we won't have the traffic congestions, safety issues, train smoke on the crops, noise and vibrations," he said.

Jesus Lara, representative of landowners at Punta Colonet, said Union Pacific's announcement was "bad for the project," indicating that there could be "internal political matters" in the United States.

Lara said there were concerns that Union Pacific and Hutchinson Port Holdings, an international port company based out of Hong Kong, were going to partner and monopolize the project. The Sun has previously reported conflicting statements from the two companies on their alleged partnership.

"But (Union Pacific) withdrawing is worse, because it now may be that the project will face problems," Lara said.

Lara said he doesn't believe Union Pacific is withdrawing from the project because of uncertainty about how the Mexican government is handling the bidding process and bidding requirements. "Discussion is advancing here. The main obstacle involving the concession that a mining enterprise has over the land is still to be resolved and we believe that the bidding requirements can be published in two weeks," he said.

Hutchinson Port Holdings does not have an office located in the United States, according to its Web site. It does operate a port at Ensenada. Due to the holiday, Hutchinson Port Holdings officials in Ensenada could not be reached for comment.

Union Pacific is the largest railroad company in North America, followed by the BNSF Railway Company. That latter railroad, which operates more in northern Arizona, has also expressed interest in the rail-port plan, as have at least four other railroad and port companies. - Darin Fenger, The Yuma Sun

---

TRAIN STRIKES SUV, DERAILS ONTO ROAD AND SNARLS COMMUTER TRAFFIC

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A Union Pacific freight train derailed Tuesday after hitting a sports utility vehicle in south Sacramento, shutting two thoroughfares during rush hour.

One person in the SUV was hurt seriously while two others escaped with minor injuries, Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette said.

The 16:30 collision at Power Inn and Fruitridge roads stalled afternoon commuters.

Doucette said it was unclear who was at fault. In an interview with television station KCRA-TV3 in Sacramento, witness Kimm Mills said the SUV's driver was trying to reverse off the tracks when the train hit.

"She had cleared the track. She saw the arms come down and backed up," Mills said.
The train was carrying dry fertilizer pellets. - The Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee

---

RIVERSIDE ROUNDHOUSE DAY SATURDAY

SIOUX CITY, IA -- The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the construction of the roundhouse complex during its second annual Riverside Roundhouse Day from 10:00 to 16:00 hours Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.

Roundhouse Day activities will include motor car rides, steam locomotive cab tours, self-guided walking tours of the historic district and demonstrations of the seven-chime steam locomotive whistle recently restored by Siouxland Historical Railroad Association volunteers.

Riverside Roundhouse Day also will feature an informational center on the SHRA’s current fundraising campaign to raise matching funds for a federal grant. The Iowa Department of Transportation awarded the SHRA a $263,782 federal Transportation Enhancement grant in support of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic Preservation Project.

The challenge provided by the grant is for the SHRA to raise a total of $115,000 in local matching funds within a short time period. To date, the association has raised $60,000 of the required $115,000.

Built in 1917, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is one of the largest remaining steam locomotive-servicing facilities in the Midwest. The 31.5-acre historic site consists of a roundhouse with turntable, machine/blacksmith shop building, car/carpenter shop building, sand drying house with wood sand tower, engineer’s tool shed and a water closet building.

"We’re very grateful to have this opportunity to showcase the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District during Sioux City’s Historic Preservation Week activities," said Jon Wagoner, SHRA president. "This gives us the opportunity to say thank you to the people of Siouxland who are supporting our efforts and to provide information on how area residents can take part in the project." - The Sioux City Journal

---

UNION PACIFIC CREWS ENTER CRAIG FOR TIE REPLACEMENT

CRAIG, CO -- While news of men working on the railroad may bring images of crews swinging large hammers and driving spikes deep into ties with each blow, Union Pacific foreman Dean Barber said modern equipment has changed the life of railroad workers.

"There's a lot less back work now. The Union Pacific spends money for equipment so we can get in and get out and don't disrupt the traffic," he said. "I give credit to the old timers. They busted their backs working on the railroad."

Barber and his crew of nearly 60 workers have been on the rails between Milner and Craig for the past couple of weeks, he said. Their job is to replace the wooden ties that have worn out under the rails.

Making the work less backbreaking is a machine called a TKO that extracts and inserts ties.

"There are two machines on the front and two in the middle of the gang," Barber said. "The tie-gang is 53 men plus laborers. There are guys from Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan.
And from God's country, of course, Iowa."

Once a bid to replace ties is accepted, a gang is formed for each project.

The crews travel across America, working eight days on, and taking seven off.

A "sister" gang takes over when the first crew has their week off, keeping the equipment operating 30 days a month, Barber said.

A great deal of work goes into preparing for the tie-gangs' arrival.

"Ties are all pre-marked to tell us which ones need to come out," Barber said. "Gondola cars full of ties unload them along the tracks before we come."

A machine known as a "jimbo" unloads 15 ties at a time from the gondola car, making dozens of piles for every mile of track.

Along with the crew of 60 men are nearly 30 machines that assist in the tie replacement project.

A Caterpillar tamper costing $2.5 million follows behind the crews, packing loose material around the ties after they have been replaced.

Old ties are removed by private contractors, using tie-cranes to pick-up and stockpile ties near roads that can be accessed by trucks for removal.

A number of ties are sold out of the pile to ranchers that stop by with a truck or trailer to be used as corner posts for fencing.

Union Pacific crews started working near Milner on April 13, and completed nearly 30 miles of track before reaching Craig this week.

The project will use 44,000 ties by the time it is completed, with crews replacing 2,200 to 2,800 each day.

"This is a single-main track, so they stop traffic for 12 hours while we work," Barber said. "When we clear (the track), we run the trains again."

Train speeds near Craig that have been reduced to 25 miles per hour due to the condition of the tracks will increase to 50 mph once the work is completed.

Barber said the project helps the mines get their coal shipped faster and safer.

"We're catering to the mines for coal movement," he said. "This is making the track safer for coal, which is heavier tonnage. It gets the product out quicker."

He also warns farmers and ranchers to be aware trains may be moving through the valley faster than they were previously.

Tie replacement continues year-round, with crews moving south each winter to work on rails in Arizona and New Mexico, returning to Colorado in the spring. - Dan Olsen, The Craig Daily Press

---

RAILROAD NEARS COMPLETION ON $1 MILLION IMPROVEMENTS TO WINDSOR

Photo here:

[www.greeleytrib.com]

Caption reads: OmniTrax employees repair a section of railroad tracks near the intersection of Colo. 257, looking northeast toward Garden Drive. The railroad will spend about $1 million to improve the railway in Windsor after seven derailments in less than a year. (Photo courtesy OmniTrax)

WINDSOR, CO -- Seven derailments in less than a year is just a bit too much for Windsor Town Board members to stomach.

Monday, they found out it's also too much for Great Western Industrial Park officials and OmniTrax officials.

However, that didn't stop some on the board from criticizing the companies for the recent woes in Windsor.

Photo here:

[www.greeleytrib.com]

Caption reads: A picture of the intersection of Colo. 257 looking northeast toward Garden Drive shows the completion of rail work done by Denver-based OmniTrax. (Photo courtesy OmniTrax)

In addition to derailments, blocked emergency accesses and the Poudre River Trail have left many unhappy.

Then, several weeks ago the town's emergency responders were told they would be contacted through 911 every time anything went wrong with a train, but after talking to its insurance company, OmniTrax officials changed gears there, too.

"If you have an unhappy town with a railroad, it's going to be ugly," Mayor Pro Tem Mark Weeks told Eric Swanson, senior vice president of Great Western and Mike Ogborn, managing director of OmniTrax. "You keep apologizing for the derailments, but they keep happening."

In the past few weeks, the Denver-based OmniTrax, which owns the railroads that run through Windsor, have invested nearly $1 million to upgrade the rails that have become and integral part of the town. Two six-man maintenance crews have worked the past few weeks at getting everything completed by Monday.

With Vestas Wind Systems, the latest industrial giant to announce a manufacturing plant here, the number of businesses that rely on the rail system for their operation has increased to five, including Kodak Colorado, Front Range Energy, O-I bottling plant and Universal Forest Products.

That number is expected to grow in the next few years as Great Western continues to bring in more industry, especially now that the development has received a green light for a foreign trade zone designation, which shuffles how taxes are paid on imported goods companies use in the manufacturing process.

Swanson conceded the board had every right to be harsh with Great Western. He said he's not happy with the unusually high number of derailments, either, but he also doesn't want the fear getting out of control.

"They grilled us pretty hard on what are we doing now and how we are going to manage this in the future," Swanson said. "And we agree with them in wanting it to be safe.

"I recognize there have been some incidences, and we've had more than we think is acceptable. But let's not overreact. They didn't hurt anyone or destroy anyone's property. They were self contained, managed and handled. We should remember the safety record of the railroad, what it does and how it moves safely through town."

Weeks said an apology is just not enough anymore. He hopes the improvements to the railroad are enough.

"Just because no one's been hurt, yet, doesn't mean it's OK," Weeks said.

Ogborn said all the improvements to the Windsor railroad tracks should be completed by Monday.

"When completed, Great Western will be able to build outbound trains and no longer block residential areas," Ogborn said. "Great Western will be switching directions to free up cars parked in residential areas."

As for OmniTrax's insurance company saying it cannot notify the police and fire officials through 911, Swanson said something will be done to make sure the notification still happens, even if it comes down to cell phone notification.

"We're going to make that right," Swanson said. "There is some difference (of opinion) on the use of 911. But the bottom line is the police and fire will be contacted immediately -- period. We are not trying to avoid the communication. We just need to figure out who gets the call and at what level if it is truly not an emergency."

What's next

» OmniTrax will be replacing the railroad panels on Garden Drive east of Colo. 257 on May 7. The road will be closed from 07:00 - 17:00 hours. Commuters are asked to find an alternate route. For more information contact Terry Walker, Windsor director of public works at (970) 674-2424.

» After work in Windsor is completed on Monday, railroad maintenance crews will move next week to improve the tracks near Milliken and Johnstown and the tracks that run between Windsor and Fort Collins, said Mike Ogborn, managing director of OmniTrax. The upgrades into Fort Collins have already included 2,500 ties but will add another 400 new ties per mile, taking several weeks to complete. For more information on OmniTrax visit [www.omnitrax.com].

- Sherrie Peif, The Greeley Tribune

---

TRAFFIC RETURNS TO NORMAL AFTER TRAIN CRASH

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Power Inn Road in Sacramento reopened a shortly after 22:00 hours Tuesday after a train collision shut the street down for most of the evening.

Around 16:30 hours a Union Pacific train and sports utility vehicle with three people inside collided near Power Inn Road north of Fruitridge Road.

According to Sacramento City Fire Department Capt. Jim Doucette, one person inside the SUV sustained serious injuries and two had moderate injuries. All have been transported to a local hospital. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

There are no injuries among the train crew.

Union Pacific says one wheel of a hopper car carrying grain went off the tracks and the train partially derailed. It's not clear if the train derailed first or the collision with the SUV caused the derailment.

Kymm Mills said she saw a woman driving the SUV start backing up into the train. "I was on the phone talking to my friend and I said, 'Oh my gosh, she's going to get hit!' And I said, 'why is she backing up?' And then, boom! And then it just like flung the car around like it was nothing."

In all, the derailment affected three train cars. A second car carrying vinyl acetate liquid and another hauling plastic pellets are being removed from the track. There was no damage to those cars.

The train is stopped as it crosses Power Inn Road. Union Pacific says it hopes to have some minor track damage repaired tonight so service can be restored.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the 83-car train was headed from Los Angeles to Roseville. - KXTV-TV10, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

---

SPIKE READY TO DRIVE, BUT NOT THE ROAD

MANTECA, CA -- The golden spike is ready.

But the question is will the road be ready to open?

A memo circulating at Manteca City Hall Tuesday confirmed that Top Grade Construction is confident everything on the Industrial park Drive will be ready to go a week from today on May 9.

But there is one slight detail. The coordination between the crossing arms for the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and the traffic signals at Moffat and Industrial park Drive hasn’t quite been worked out.

That’s prompted Manteca Mayor Willie Weatherford to schedule a Friday, May 11, spike driving ceremony.

City Manager Bob Adams isn’t looking forward to that date being pushed off.

“Believe me, everyone is on top of this,” Adams said.

City personnel said the contractor has documented the need for every work delay that has taken place. But still. Council members are not happy that the project’s completion date continues to roll backwards.

An e-mail from Joseph Stallings -- one of many residents in the Woodward Park neighborhoods who have been cut off from direct routes to the rest of Manteca for almost four years since the project first started with the removal of the Spreckels Road grade crossing -- is typical of the frustrations the delays have caused:

“I walk daily up Spreckels and back down the Tidewater Bike Path. It's such a pleasure being able to walk all the way to Moffat and back to Woodward. What is not pleasant, however, (is) the over two-mile detour that still adds four miles to every drive to church, the bank, and shopping. The daily frustration is mounting with every increase in the price of gas. And it is clear that the grand opening of (the Industrial Park Drive extension) will not be (May 1). Workers are digging four new big holes in the (street) at the railroad.”

“... My frustration level is to the point that I'm visualizing the mayor driving his golden spike into the heart of the person responsible for all of these delays.”

Weatherford said he was opting for the golden spike -- a long nail spray painted gold -- instead of a ribbon cutting because of his frustrations with the fact it’s taken almost as long to build a segment of roadway than it did the Transcontinental Railroad.

The gap between the terminus of Industrial Park Drive and Moffat Boulevard is roughly a quarter of a mile.

By comparison, the first transcontinental railroad took six years to build the 1,756 miles from Sacramento to Omaha. - Dennis Wyatt, The Manteca Bulletin

---

TRAIN SPEED TO INCREASE ALONG UP LINE THROUGH SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

OMAHA, NE -- Union Pacific Railroad will begin operating its trains at 49 miles per hour through multiple grade crossings in Marion, Illinois and across Route 13 beginning in mid-May.

Recent improvements on this section of track permit operating at higher speeds. Union Pacific has raised train speeds through numerous communities across its rail network over the last several years following track improvements and has found that, not only do the trains operate more efficiently, but motorists are not delayed at the crossings as long.

Not only will traffic flow improve, but grade-crossing safety will not be compromised. Government statistics show that train speed does not significantly affect the likelihood of grade crossing collisions. - James Barnes, UP News Release

---

HENNEPIN COUNTY MOVES AHEAD WITH STADIUM SITE PLAN

MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL, MN -- Hennepin County is moving forward with a so-called "quick take" of the eight-acre Rapid Park site needed for the Minnesota Twins ballpark project.

The County Board voted Tuesday to deposit nearly $13.8 million into a court escrow account in order to gain access to the site from Land Partners II before the condemnation process is completed.

The move effectively completes the county's major land acquisitions for the ballpark project. The Twins have agreed to pay any costs beyond the $13.8 million as determined through the condemnation process."

"The process of purchasing this land has been too difficult and taken too long," Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat said in a statement. "But now we can finally begin preparing the site to construct one of the best urban ballparks in America."

Hennepin County proceded with the "quick take" action after the Twins and the BNSF Railway Company reached an agreement on insurance and liability costs. The county already had reached a deal with BNSF to acquire its property needed for the ballpark. - The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

---

MAGLEV TRAINS NOT A NATIONAL OPTION IN CHINA

The national authorities will rely on high-tech rail lines rather than maglev technology to improve the country's rail transport capacity, a senior railway official said over the weekend.

The comments came at a time when some operators have been using or are planning to use maglev (magnetic levitation) technology on relatively short local routes. "At present, most countries use tracks. Maglev technology is a new means of transport that still needs to be researched and improved," said Wang Yongping, spokesman of the Ministry of Railways.

The National Development and Reform Commission approved a project last year that would use maglev technology on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, though there have been no developments since the approval. In contrast, Wang said, the Railways Ministry, which is responsible for building national rail lines, had "never chosen to use maglev technology" and thus had not done any research on it. He added that the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway and the maglev train serving Shanghai's Pudong Airport -- the world's first commercial maglev train -- are both local railways.

The Railways Ministry has been focusing on state-of-the-art track technology to upgrade the country's railway transport capacity. And since 2004, it has incorporated engine and car technology from France's Alstom, Canada's Bombardier, Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Germany's Siemens AG and the US's GE and EMD. The bullet trains that have been running at 200 kph since the sixth railway speedup on April 18 rely on French and Japanese technology. However, domestic manufacturers have built at least 70 percent of the country's high-speed trains. In addition, the country has built on the available technologies to develop even faster trains. "A Chinese-designed 300-kph bullet train will roll off the line at the end of this year. It will be used on the Beijing-Tianjin passenger rail line next year," said Jiang Jing, chairman of the board of CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd in Qingdao, Shandong Province. He said at a press conference in Beijing on Sunday that his company would provide 10 of the new bullet trains for the Beijing-Tianjin line, which will open to traffic next year. The route is expected to cut the one-hour travel time in half.

Zhang Shuguang, director of the Railways Ministry's transport bureau, said the Chinese-designed train would lead the development of the country's high-speed passenger transport. "(The train) will be used not only on the Beijing-Tianjin route, but also on the Wuhan-Guangzhou and Beijing-Shanghai routes," Zhang said. Trains made by Tangshan Locomotive Factory under CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Co Ltd will also ply the new high-speed routes. The company's trains use technology from Siemens. - Xin Dingding, The China Daily, courtesy Marc Pearsall

---

TRANSIT NEWS

PHOENIX OK'S STUDY THAT COULD ACCELERATE LIGHT-RAIL LINES

PHOENIX, AZ -- Phoenix agreed Wednesday to fund transit studies that could speed the addition of rail lines to Interstate 10 and carve a new path for a light rail extension to Glendale.

The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously to advance Metro $6 million to study the 11-mile freeway transit corridor on the freeway between roughly 83rd and Central avenues.

The acceleration could lead to freeway trains as early as 2015. Expanded transit options will likely come as a relief to beleaguered commuters on I-10, where traffic has increased 86 percent in the past 10 years.

"Ultimately light rail or any other public transit system doesn't work unless it's truly regional," said Greg Stanton, a Phoenix councilman.

Consultants will consider putting light rail and other forms of mass transportation within a 50-foot median that Arizona transportation officials reserved for transit when they built I-10. If rail were chosen for the median, trains would travel up to 55 mph between stations spaced two miles apart.

The study team will work with the Arizona Department of Transportation, which will begin its own study this summer of new lanes on I-10 in the West Valley.

"We've been working with them to see if maybe there's a way to do some joint work," said Maria Hyatt, light rail coordinator for Phoenix. "We really thought it was worthwhile not to miss the opportunity."

Officials said it was too early to estimate how much time or money could be saved by combining the lane expansion and transit projects. In Denver, building light rail along an expanded freeway allowed both projects to open two years ahead of schedule, at a savings of $300 million.

"They saved big dollars by doing this a single project as opposed to doing two separate project, so we see that there might be some opportunities in this," said Wulf Grote, director of project development for Metro.

It is possible but unlikely that the study would find that another form of transit, such as express buses, would be a better choice for freeway transit. An ADOT study last year found that light rail was the most expensive transit option based on the number of miles traveled per rider.

But forcing transit users to transfer to other technologies can discourage use of the system, officials said.

The Phoenix council also approved making a $100,000 contribution to a study of three potential transit routes in Glendale.

Maricopa County's current regional transportation plan would connect Glendale to the 20-mile starter line now under construction with an extension running through the city's downtown.

But that route fell into disfavor after the opening of University of Phoenix Stadium and the Westgate Center. Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs and business leaders have since endorsed a route that would connect visitors to Westgate and the sports complex.

The original route, stadium route and a route serving Arizona State University West will all be considered in the eight-month study. The study will help Glendale and the Maricopa Association of Governments decide which route to pursue, said Marty McNeil, a Metro spokeswoman.

Phoenix chose to support the study because of the effect the chosen path will have on its own transit users, officials said.

"It impacts our community, too, so we want to be involved in how they get where they want to go," Hyatt said.

Glendale will pay the remaining $150,000 to fund the study. Scruggs was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

The extension is scheduled to open in 2017. - Casey Newton, The Arizona Republic

---

INNER SOUTHEAST LIGHT RAIL: LOOKING MORE LIKELY, THIS TIME AROUND

Map here:

[www.thebeenews.com]

Caption reads: This Metro route map for MAX light rail service through Inner Southeast, at the OMSI open house on April 9th, was the first route map THE BEE has seen on public display in recent years to suggest the restoration of an originally-promised north-Westmoreland light rail station--in this case, at Harold Street and McLoughlin.

PORTLAND, OR -- On March 5th, a Metro open house in Milwaukie demonstrated that public opinion in that city had changed greatly since MAX light rail to the city had first been proposed. Today, it appears, the community is generally favorable to it, and the main question is determining the exact alignment of the service into Milwaukie.

It was the turn for residents of the Sellwood, Westmoreland, Eastmoreland, Brooklyn, and Hosford-Abernethy neighborhoods to have their say, at a Metro open house at the OMSI auditorium on Monday, April 9th. According to the Metro personnel on the scene, the feedback was mostly positive--as would be expected of an area which has always supported funding light rail in every election in which it was on the ballot, even for other areas now served by MAX.

The last time there was an Inner Southeast Light Rail open house in the auditorium of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, this area of Portland had successfully gotten the service “back on the table” after Tri-Met had officially declared the opportunity for it dead and gone. Seven years ago, THE BEE headlined that light rail was once again being considered, after Tri-Met found in a series of open houses that no other option was acceptable for the area (including floating taxis on the Willamette, dedicated bus lanes, and the like).

However, that time around, the surprise late addition of the I-205 alignment as an alternative proved the winner, mainly because it would be cheaper to build--the right-of-way was right down the middle of a publicly-owned freeway! Inner Southeast was pushed back to “the next project”--if funding became available.

In late March, the State Ways and Means Committee voted to favor directing funds available after the retirement of the Westside light rail bonds to Inner Southeast light rail, and funding looked brighter. Local state legislators, including Kate Brown and Carolyn Tomei, were assisting in that plan.

With the caution that this funding was still not definite and final at this point, and that this project has been offered and snatched away from Inner Southeast repeatedly in the past, the latest round of open houses are making MAX for our area look more and more likely.

One of the key decisions now to be made is how the proposed new light rail line would cross the Willamette River; the previously-preferred alignment projected a new bridge just south of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Now, it appears funding and construction become much more likely if the new bridge were constructed so the MAX line were to serve the new “South Waterfront” district and OHSU facility south of the west end of the Ross Island Bridge. Two alternate routes for such a bridge, both also accommodating the Eastside Trolley from OMSI back to downtown, are now under active study.

Of special interest to residents of Westmoreland, the removal of the planned north-end light rail station from the official plans a few years ago has apparently finally been recognized.

After SMILE’s Neighborhood Plan a decade ago had sought (and received) rezoning at the north end for residential density, to reflect planned use of that particular station, the deletion of any station in the two mile stretch between Holgate and Bybee had become a cause celebre.

At least one of the route maps posted in the OMSI open house showed, pasted-in, a potential MAX station on McLoughlin Boulevard at Harold Street--where there is already a signalized pedestrian crossing for bus riders, making foot access to a MAX station at the entrance to the Union Pacific trainyard a practical option. This, too, is not definite and final, but it is the first formal recognition noted by THE BEE in a public forum that the deletion of the previous Westmoreland station has been noted and might be reversed. - Eric Norberg, The Bee

---

THE END