Railroad News

Infrastructure improvements along a stretch of the North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) in High Point, North Carolina, have been completed, the railroad announced this week.

In January, NCRR and High Point officials agreed to a $5.1 million plan to improve the railroad corridor and drainage in the city's downtown. NCRR funded $3.6 million of the project's cost, NCRR officials said in a press release.

Michigan has become the latest state to achieve federal certification of its transit-rail safety oversight program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced yesterday.

States with transit-rail systems need to get their safety programs certified by April 15, 2019. Twenty-eight states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are required to obtain the certification. States that fail to meet the deadline risk losing federal transit funding.

Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) is joining a local two-year project aimed at increasing train capacity between Gary and Michigan City, Indiana.

The railroad will work with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) and the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) on the project, which is designed to improve passenger-rail service between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana, and support economic growth in northwest Indiana, CSS officials said in a press release.

The Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission has adopted an updated 12-year transportation plan, which calls for $63.9 billion worth of improvements to railroads, transit systems, roads, bridges and airports.

The new program, which goes into effect Oct. 1, calls for $9.62 billion for public transit, $319 million for multimodal and $228 million for freight-rail projects during 2019 through 2022, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Cecily Way, 35

Job description: Responsible for delivery of high-speed rail to Southern California. Currently focused on completing preliminary engineering and environmental approvals for over 150 miles of high-speed rail in the southern region. Works alongside a team of project managers and technical experts to oversee this effort. Also focused on the delivery of early investments in Southern California, projects that the California High-Speed Rail Authority is working on with local partners to see immediate benefits for existing systems while accommodating high-speed rail in the future.

Education: Undergraduate degree in civil engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; master's degrees in transportation engineering and city planning, University of California, Berkeley

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has begun upgrading old cameras to high-definition ones at four stations along the Blue Line.

The agency also is installing new cameras at the Clinton, LaSalle, Grand and Chicago stations along the line. Slated to be completed shortly after Labor Day, the work is being performed at night to minimize service disruptions, CTA officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has not yet distributed $1.38 billion in federal funding that's been designated for transit-rail and bus projects, causing delays in transit agencies' construction plans, according to a report from Transportation for America.

The organization reported this week that the FTA has distributed about $25 million of $1.4 billion in transit-related grants that were included in the 2018 appropriations bill signed in March by President Trump.

The Canadian government will spend more than CA$335,000 to upgrade the signal system at a grade crossing in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada's Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced this week.

The warning system for the Route 116 crossing at Benoit Road will be upgraded so it can continue managing incoming traffic from multiple directions, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.

U.S. railroads posted a 2.8 percent increase in traffic during the week ending Aug. 11 compared with the same week in 2017, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week rose 1.8 percent to 271,718 units, while intermodal volume increased 3.8 percent to 285,169 containers and trailers compared a year ago, AAR announced in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) 10-year "Fast Forward" plan to repair MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) subway and bus systems is expected to cost about $40 billion, NYCT President Andy Byford said in a YouTube video released yesterday.

Unveiled in May, the plan calls for updating the subway system's signals and track infrastructure to improve performance. Within five years, the agency aims to install communications-based train control on five additional rail lines. And within the 10 years, that control system would be implemented on 11 more lines.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has balanced its operating budget for the first time in 10 years, agency officials announced earlier this week.

The MBTA's $2 billion operating budget for fiscal-year 2018 was expected to carry a $30 million structural deficit. However, the agency was able to balance the budget through revenue growth and cost controls, according to a report to the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB).

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced executive management changes, including the retirement of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Cameron Scott.

UP officials announced the following executive appointments: Beth Whited to EVP and chief human resources officer; Tom Lischer to EVP, operations; Kenny Rocker to EVP, marketing and sales; David Giandinoto to VP, Harriman Dispatching Center and network operations; and Kari Kirchhoefer to VP, industrial.

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced executive management changes, including the retirement of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Cameron Scott.

UP officials announced the following executive appointments: Beth Whited to EVP and chief human resources officer; Tom Lischer to EVP, operations; Kenny Rocker to EVP, marketing and sales; David Giandinoto to VP, Harriman Dispatching Center and network operations; and Kari Kirchhoefer to VP, industrial.

Ann Waters, 33

Job description: Tasked with managing daily operating expenses and annual capital planning for track maintenance-of-way equipment, as well as reducing costs and improving reliability. Oversees project planning, logistics and financial analysis.

Career path: After obtaining her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2007, Waters took a job with Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she did government contracting work for the Nuclear Navy. In 2014, she accepted a position as mechanical director with Atlas Railroad Construction in Jacksonville, Florida. She has since transitioned into railroad engineering services as part of Genesee & Wyoming (G&W).

New Jersey Transit has awarded a task order contract for bridge and railway engineering to Modjeski and Masters. The firm will lead a project team of specialty subconsultants to provide multidisciplined expertise on heavy- and light-rail systems, facilities and equipment on an as-needed basis throughout New Jersey. Modjeski and Masters may provide engineering services for fixed and movable rail bridges, tunnels, culverts, dams bridges over railways, and hydrogeology and groundwater surveys, along with railroad infrastructure, facilities and systems services. The five-year contract has an estimated value of up to $3.75 million, according to a company press release.

Road & Rail Services Inc. has received two awards from American Honda Motor Corp. of North America. The first award is the Processor of the Year Performance Excellence Award for 2018. The second is the American Honda Award for Superior Quality 2018 award, which recognizes the automotive processor that scores the highest on the company's quality audits and has the lowest damage to Honda vehicles. This marks the fourth year that Road & Rail's team in Marysville, Ohio, has been recognized by Honda for "outstanding safety, quality and performance excellence," company officials said in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) on Aug. 18 will implement a new fare structure that officials say will help save money for riders.

Under DART's new fare capping policy, riders will not have to spend more than the total cost of a day pass in a single day, or the total cost of a monthly pass in a calendar month. Day passes are $6, while monthly passes are $96.

Thermoplastic resin distributor M. Holland Co. has moved its warehouse operations to a new 400,000-square-foot facility in Coal City, Illinois, that will offer access for nearly 800 rail cars and a fleet of bulk trucks.

Owned and operated by G&D Trucking/Hoffman Transportation, the facility's services include warehousing, bulk transfer and packaging. The "Gold Standard Distribution Center" also provides M. Holland with access to all major U.S. ports, company officials said in a press release.