Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 - (Page 3)

ON TRACK Vol. 104, No. 6 USPS # 860-560 ISSN # 00339016 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 2450 Chicago, Ill. 60603 Telephone (312) 683-0130 Fax (312) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com Breaking ground George S. Sokulski/Associate Publisher Tom Judge/Editor, tjudge@sbpubchicago.com Wanda Welty/Managing Editor Mischa Wanek-Libman/Assistant Editor, mischa@sbpub-chicago.com Susan Taylor/Editorial Assistant G CORPORATE OFFICES 345 Hudson Street New York, N.Y. 10014 Telephone (212) 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr./ President and Chairman Robert P. DeMarco/Publisher Mary Conyers-Brown/Production Director Barbara DiGirolamo/Production Manager Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Jane Poterala/Conference Director Robert G. Lewis/Director of Special Projects For reprint information, contact: PARS International Corp. 212-221-9595; Fax 212-221-9195 RT&S, Railway Track and Structures is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp., 345 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014. ISSN: 0033-8916. Canada Post Cust.#7204564; Agreement #41094515. Bleuchip Int'l, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodical Class postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Subscription price to railroad employees only in U.S. possessions, Canada and Mexico, Print or Digital version: $16 one year; $30 two years (all others $39.50 one year; $73 two years). All other countries, $68 one year ($168 for air mail); $120 two years ($320 for air mail). Both Print and Digital versions: $24 one year; $45 two years (all others $60 one year; $110 two years). All other countries, $102 one year ($202 for air mail); $180 two years ($380 for air mail). Single copies $8.50. Track Buyer’s Guide $21. All rates are payable in advance. The publisher reserves the right to increase subscription rates without notice. Call toll-free 1-800-895-4389 (or 402-346-4740) Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Central Time to place an order. Copyright 2008. Customer Service: Address all correspondence to: Subscription Department, RT&S, P.O. Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010. Changes of address should reach us three weeks in advance of the next issue date. Send old address with new, enclosing, if possible, your address label. The Post Office will not forward copies unless you provide extra postage. Duplicate copies cannot be sent. POSTMASTER: Send change of address forms to RT&S, Railway Track and Structures, P.O. Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010. roundbreaking can be fun. Sure, it’s a routine occurrence for news photographers and reporters, but even jaded railroad journalists such as yours truly can feel the positive emotions on such occasions. A groundbreaking means something is getting started. The talking and the planning and the designing phases—all of which are very important— have been accomplished and the people who get their hands dirty on the job are going to work. Politicians love to attend such events. Most of that group don’t get to physically build things, but they do play an important role in so many projects that it’s worthwhile to let them taste a bit of the credit. We’ve all seen the cliché photo of a group of people lined up and tossing shovelsful of dirt. As a photographer, I know there’s virtually no chance of capturing an award-winning photo on such occasions, but I like to snap the smiling faces marking the start of something important. In late April, I had the honor of attending the groundbreaking for a piece of the CREATE project. On a gloomy Monday morning with the temperature in the 40s and rain dripping down, a group of railroaders and politicians and one or two journalists gathered in Summit, Ill., to make or listen to some short speeches and to grab a ceremonial shovel and toss some ceremonial dirt. The groundbreaking marked the start of Project B-8, a $4.2-million effort involving installation of a computerized signal system to provide congestion relief, enhance passenger rail performance and improve freight train efficiency in Summit, Bedford Park and Bridgeview, Ill. This five-month project will be followed by an $11.2-million modernization project in McCook, Ill., on the Indiana Harbor Belt. These two projects are a drop in the bucket of a multi-billion-dollar effort such as CREATE. But they do show that, despite less funding than people thought would be available, CREATE is going forward, and that’s important. Chicago is still the rail hub of the country, but the area is forced to make-do with an antiquated rail infrastructure. That can’t continue. Rail freight will increase drastically in the next decade or two, and Chicago will not be able to handle it without massive infusions of cash to upgrade the infrastructure. Railroads can’t do it by themselves, so the federal government, the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are all joining with the railroads to supply the necessary funding to implement these vital improvements. That’s why I was glad to be in Summit for the groundbreaking. And I hope to be invited to many more such events in the next few years as CREATE moves into high gear and major projects get under way. With such a high percentage of rail freight moving through, the Chicago area is a vital choke point for the entire nation. Be sure your federal representatives know how important CREATE is and why it should be fully funded. Tom Judge, Editor A SIMMONS-BOARDMAN RAIL GROUP PUBLICATION www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures June 2008 3 http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Grade Crossings Provide Interface Between Railroads, Public Grade-Crossing Equipment & Materials Guide Fastener Suppliers Getting a Grip Grinding Plays Part in Rail Maintenance Big Picture Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

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