Rail Cars

Maryland commuter train riders will have more seats when the state adds 16 rail cars to its busy MARC lines. But the cars won't arrive until 2013. The purchase was approved Wednesday in a 3-0 vote by Maryland's Board of Public Works. The board agreed to buy 54 new rail cars for $153 million from Bombardier Transit Corporation, a Quebec based firm. Thirty-eight of the cars will replace old ones in the fleet. The new rail cars will allow 3,000 additional commuters to sit per trip, Maryland Transit Administration head Ralign Wells pointed out. The new cars will hold 127 to 142 passengers, up to 30 more than those in the fleet being replaced.

A light-rail train and a vehicle collided at the intersection of Howard and Lexington streets in Baltimore on Tuesday, a Maryland Transit Administration spokesman said. A car turned into the path of a train around 3:56 p.m., said MTA spokesman Terry Owens. He said one light rail rider claimed injury but refused treatment when medics arrived. The driver of the vehicle was not injured, he said. Service was delayed for about a half-hour until the medic arrived, Owens said. The driver of the vehicle is believed to be at fault, he said, but added that the crash was still under investigation.

The Maryland Transit Administration has reached a contract agreement with Bombardier Transit Corp. of Montreal to provide 54 multilevel rail cars for the MARC commuter train service at a cost of $153 million. MTA spokesman Terry Owens said Thursday that MARC intended to retire 38 older rail cars, which are at the end of their useful life cycle, and to expand the fleet by 16 cars. Such a move could help relieve the overcrowding that has affected riders' comfort. Delivery will not necessarily come soon.

Amtrak will pay $466 million this year for 70 new locomotives to enhance the speed and reliability of rail service in the Northeast Corridor and invest $298 million on 130 new rail cars to serve the East Coast and Midwest. The new equipment will be a major upgrade for a system that now operates with locomotives that are 20 to 30 years old and some sleeper cars that are 60 years old, Amtrak President Joe Boardman said in announcing the federally subsidized passenger rail line's plans for 2012.

Amtrak will pay $466 million this year for 70 new locomotives to enhance the speed and reliability of rail service in the Northeast Corridor and invest $298 million on 130 new rail cars to serve the East Coast and Midwest. The new equipment will be a major upgrade for a system that now operates with locomotives that are 20 to 30 years old and some sleeper cars that are 60 years old, Amtrak President Joe Boardman said in announcing the federally subsidized passenger rail line's plans for 2012.

Officials for Washington's Metro system are preparing to install video cameras on an unspecified number of rail cars, the first step in what could become a systemwide surveillance network that officials say will help them better manage crowds and investigate criminal activity. The agency's board voted Thursday to accept $27.8 million in grants from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for cameras. Most of the money will put more cameras on buses, in ventilation shafts, at station entrances and near the ends of platforms over the next few years.

The end of the line has finally arrived for MARC's fleet of Budd commuter rail passenger cars, a fixture at morning and evening rush hours at Camden Station for the past 40 years. The aged rail equipment is to be retired and replaced in a matter of days.The silvery, diesel-motored rail cars were made by the E.G. Budd Co. in Pennsylvania and purchased by many U.S. and Canadian railroads in the 1950s. Strong on reliability, performance and speed, the cars have long outlived their corporate parent.

In a factory off York Road where workers once made trailers used to load nuclear bombs into the bellies of B-52 bombers, employees of AAI Corp. are now welding metal into the shape of rail cars that will eventually carry passengers from Glen Burnie to Hunt Valley.The defense contractor's new effort at turning swords into plowshares will result in the production of the first light rail car made in the United States in more than a decade.This week the company completed the initial rail car shell as part of a $53.7 million order from the Maryland Department of Transportation for 36 rail cars.

Rail transport experts say heat is the chief cause of cracked wheels on rail cars. Regular inspections can often detect such cracks before they lead to a catastrophic failure, but not always. "When a wheel fails, a portion of the truck the wheel is riding on can drop down ... getting under the train and causing a derailment," said Colon R. Fulk, a railroad operations consultant with Railex Corp. "Where this happens on a curve, an overpass or trestle, you can imagine the outcome." The Maryland Transit Administration found a crack in a wheel of a light rail car after the April 23 derailment of an out-of-service car. No one was hurt, and no other cracks have been found, but riders have experienced long delays and crowded trains as the agency has pulled cars out of service for inspection.

AAI Corp. of Hunt Valley began work this week on a $71 million contract to overhaul commuter rail cars for the state of New Jersey, a major award for the company that will bring in 145 new jobs.AAI beat Amtrak and Bombardier Inc. of Canada in the competition, serving notice that AAI intends to be a player in rail car overhaul."This is a very, very large win for us," said Jack Bell, the company's senior vice president for transportation systems. "There's no question this is a major steppingstone to our stated objective of being the leader in the U.S. for the overhaul of rail passenger cars."

Maryland commuter train riders will have more seats when the state adds 16 rail cars to its busy MARC lines. But the cars won't arrive until 2013. The purchase was approved Wednesday in a 3-0 vote by Maryland's Board of Public Works. The board agreed to buy 54 new rail cars for $153 million from Bombardier Transit Corporation, a Quebec based firm. Thirty-eight of the cars will replace old ones in the fleet. The new rail cars will allow 3,000 additional commuters to sit per trip, Maryland Transit Administration head Ralign Wells pointed out. The new cars will hold 127 to 142 passengers, up to 30 more than those in the fleet being replaced.

The Maryland Transit Administration has reached a contract agreement with Bombardier Transit Corp. of Montreal to provide 54 multilevel rail cars for the MARC commuter train service at a cost of $153 million. MTA spokesman Terry Owens said Thursday that MARC intended to retire 38 older rail cars, which are at the end of their useful life cycle, and to expand the fleet by 16 cars. Such a move could help relieve the overcrowding that has affected riders' comfort. Delivery will not necessarily come soon.

As Elkridge residents try to block a large CSX rail cargo transfer facility from their neighborhood, Howard County Council members are moving to get their own environmental analyses of two possible county sites for the $150 million project. The idea is to give county government and local residents "another layer of oversight," said County Councilwoman Courtney Watson, a Democrat who represents Elkridge and is the resolution's main sponsor. Watson has support from two other council members, giving the measure majority support on the five-member council.

State transportation officials have narrowed their list of potential sites for a $150 million truck-to-rail CSX container transfer facility along the main Camden rail line from 12 to four finalists, including two in Howard, one in Anne Arundel and one in Prince George's counties. One of the four sites is stirring controversy because its location — at Hanover and Race roads in Elkridge — is near a potential site for a much-needed new elementary school. The school, if built, would sit next to Coca Cola Drive in a planned 1,000-apartment, mixed-use development called Oxford Square, on the north side of Route 100 near the Dorsey commuter train station.

An MTA light rail train that had nearly reached the Camden Yards station partially derailed Monday night, causing a "ripple effect" of inconvenience about an hour before fans filed out of Oriole Park after a game between the O's and the Chicago White Sox. No one was injured in the incident, Maryland Transit Administration spokesman Terry Owens said. The train was empty at the time. The derailment occurred about 9:45 p.m., when the two rear wheels of the two-car configuration left the track.

An underground explosion that killed at least 25 coal miners was so powerful that it tossed rail cars and twisted steel tracks, officials said Tuesday, as workers continued efforts to find four missing miners who might have survived the blast. Crews worked feverishly Tuesday to carve an access road and drill three 1,000-foot ventilation shafts into the mountain to release the lethal buildup of methane gas and carbon monoxide that officials believe might have caused the disaster, as well as a fourth tunnel for rescue operations.

The board of Washington's Metro system is expected to vote Thursday on a staff recommendation for the purchase of a new generation of rail cars that is expected to push its oldest cars into retirement. Under the $2 billion program, Metro plans to eventually buy 648 new rail cars and rebuild 100 others. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority does not have the money to finance the entire purchase now but does have the funding to buy 64 cars to launch service on its planned Silver Line to Dulles International Airport, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.

Ships have resumed loading coal at the port of Baltimore's main export coal pier after the repair of broken machinery used to unload rail cars.The problems at the Consolidation Coal Sales Co. prevented the terminal from emptying rail cars that bring coal to Baltimore. Consolidated Rail Corp. reported last week that about 2,500 of its rail cars were waiting to unload coal in Baltimore. The inability of the railroad to deliver coal to the terminal also created a backlog of ships waiting to take on coal for delivery overseas.

The board of Washington's Metro system is expected to vote Thursday on a staff recommendation for the purchase of a new generation of rail cars that is expected to push its oldest cars into retirement. Under the $2 billion program, Metro plans to eventually buy 648 new rail cars and rebuild 100 others. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority does not have the money to finance the entire purchase now but does have the funding to buy 64 cars to launch service on its planned Silver Line to Dulles International Airport, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.

Officials for Washington's Metro system are preparing to install video cameras on an unspecified number of rail cars, the first step in what could become a systemwide surveillance network that officials say will help them better manage crowds and investigate criminal activity. The agency's board voted Thursday to accept $27.8 million in grants from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for cameras. Most of the money will put more cameras on buses, in ventilation shafts, at station entrances and near the ends of platforms over the next few years.