From the Detroit Free Press

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing strongly hinted Thursday that the federal government is on board with a proposed $400-million light-rail project on Woodward from downtown to 8 Mile, which aims to stimulate a transit system that has long eluded the city.

“We’ll have the secretary of transportation coming in,” Bing said Thursday morning while taking questions from members of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s young professional group Fusion. “We’ll have a lot of dignitaries coming in. A lot of the political capital that was put into this project will be here. It is going to happen.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s office said it had nothing to confirm about a Detroit visit or the status of the plans. Mayoral spokesman Dan Lijana declined to elaborate but acknowledged the implication from Bing’s comments that the feds may be moving to support the project.

M-1 Rail, a private group working to bring rail to Woodward, has arranged private funding for Woodward rail between Jefferson and the New Center area from business leaders including Roger Penske, Mike and Marian Ilitch, Dan Gilbert and Peter Karmanos, and organizations including the Kresge Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority.

Detroit would be responsible for the portion from the New Center north. The city’s share would be funded mainly through federal dollars.

Officials including M-1 Rail CEO Matt Cullen have said the feds want guarantees that both his group and the City of Detroit could cooperate on the first leg of light rail that ultimately could spur a $10-billion system of light rail, commuter trains and high-speed buses spanning metro Detroit.

Source:
http://www.freep.com/article/20100723/NEWS01/7230383/1320/Bing-hints-U.S.-backing-light-rail-project

Amtrak has agreed to buy 130 new single-level rail cars to support national long-distance service as the first step in a long-term, comprehensive fleet renewal plan. The five-year, $298.1 million contract was awarded to CAF USA, which will manufacture the cars in Elmira, N.Y., where it will add 575 jobs to support the work. The first car is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in October 2012.

“This major equipment purchase demonstrates our strong belief in the future of intercity passenger rail in America and Amtrak’s leading role in meeting this critical national transportation need,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman.

Included in the purchase are 25 sleepers, 25 diners, 55 baggage cars and 25 baggage/dormitory cars. They will replace and supplement the existing fleet. The new equipment will also allow Amtrak to retire some of its oldest cars, which have been in service for over 60 years.

“Passengers will have a better experience traveling with us but these new cars will also make it easier for our crews to provide great service,” said Boardman.

The new equipment will have modern interiors with better layouts along with better lighting, more efficient HVAC systems and improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities. Passengers will also benefit from additional power outlets and bicycle racks in the baggage cars.

The first year of the five-year contract will be paid for with $29.8 million from Amtrak’s current revenues which are running above budget estimates due, in part, to ridership that is on a record-breaking pace. Amtrak will seek to fund subsequent years of the contract with other sources such as loans or direct Congressional appropriations.

This equipment purchase is just the first step in Amtrak’s multiyear Fleet Strategy Plan to replace its entire fleet of passenger rail cars and locomotives over the next 30 years and help support the growth of a domestic rail manufacturing industry. Amtrak is currently reviewing bids to replace many of the electric locomotives used along the Northeast Corridor and may make a contract award later this summer.

CAF USA, along with its parent company, Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, is an experienced rail car manufacturer for the global market. CAF USA currently produces rail equipment for several U.S. transit systems at its Elmira, N.Y., facility.
Source: Amtrak Employee Advisory

From The South Bend Tribune

 Is Dowagiac in danger of losing its Amtrak service?

It depends on whom you ask.

Dowagiac resident Ron Leatz, who serves as a member of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, is concerned if the city doesn’t act fast, trains making stops here could be a thing of the past.

“If we lose it, it’s never coming back,” Leatz said. “If they take it off the stop, we’re off.”

Leatz, who spoke of his concerns this week at a City Council meeting and was quoted in another local media outlet about the possibility of losing service, says the city’s decision to close the depot in the evening and on weekends could be a detriment when Amtrak decides to continue using Dowagiac as one its 17 stops.

According to an Amtrak spokesman, though, there is no basis to Leatz’s concerns.

“There are no plans to go,” spokesman Marc Magliari said.

Read more:
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100716/News01/7160365/1052/News01

From the Toledo Blade

While passenger trains are still at least two years away from running on a “Three-C” corridor for which Ohio has obtained federal stimulus money, state officials have begun looking at what they hope will be a second phase, which would include two Toledo routes.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission has signed a $7.8 million contract with AECOM, a Los Angeles engineering firm, to assess what would need to be done to institute 110-mph passenger trains on four routes, including Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland and Toledo-Columbus.

The study also would address a Cleveland-Pittsburgh route and upgrading the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati route, over which trains are planned to run at a top speed of 79 mph to 110 mph.

 Read more:
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100716/NEWS16/7160375