Thursday morning rail news in brief:
Durango & Silverton mitigation, repair projects still stalled after judge declines to intervene
A federal judge has denied the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s request to resume fire-mitigation efforts along its right of way, as well as its repairs on a bridge washed out during heavy rains earlier this summer. The Associated Press reports the railroad’s request came after the U.S. Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist order to stop tree clearing along the railroad’s right-of-way on May 27, then ordered work to stop at a washout roughly 5 miles from Silverton, Colo., that has cut off the railroad’s ability to reach that mining town. [see “Forest Service orders Durango & Silverton to stop fire mitigation efforts,” News Wire Digest, July 5, 2020, and “Washout cuts Durango & Silverton access to Silverton for eight to 16 weeks,” News Wire Digest, June 22, 2020]. Judge Robert E. Blackburn, hearing a lawsuit filed by the Forest Service to recover costs from the 416 fire, which burned more than 54,000 acres in 2018, rejected the railroad’s plea to resume the work because it is unrelated to that case. John Harper, general manager of D&SNG owner American Heritage Railways, said it is unclear when work might resume: “We have never in the history of the railroad needed to ask the Forest Service for permission to repair our own tracks. So this is unfamiliar territory.”
Metra board approves deal to build Peterson Ridge station; work to start this fall
Metra’s board of directors has approved a $15.2 million contract to build its long-planned new station in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. Work on the Peterson Ridge station will begin this fall and expected to take 18 months; the project includes platforms, a pedestrian bridge, warming house, two shelters, and a 44-space parking lot, along with five ADA parking spaces.
MBTA to resume front-door boarding
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will return to its normal front-door boarding process on Mattapan Line trolleys, street-level Green Line rail stations, and buses as of Monday, July 20. Protective barriers are now in place to support physical distancing between operators and passengers, allowing the regular boarding procedure to resume. The agency had instituted rear-door boarding in March.
