Railroad News

U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that calls for improving grade crossing safety by allowing more flexibility in the use of funds allocated by the Federal Highway Administration's Section 130 program.

"Indiana is the crossroads of America. Blocked railroad-highway crossings pose a serious safety risk to Hoosiers and must be updated," said Pence in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) yesterday announced it will reduce its transit police force and redirect $1.8 million in available funding to community-based public safety approaches. 

For the next fiscal year starting July 1, TriMet has committed to:

New Jersey Transit earlier this week released guidelines detailing its steps aimed at protecting riders and employees as the region reopens during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The guidelines provide “clear and simple” actions that riders and employees should take to contribute to a safe return to service, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

Calgary’s City Council in Alberta earlier this week approved an updated alignment for the first stage of the planned construction of the Green light-rail line, as well as changes to construction staging.  

The approved alignment will connect 16 Avenue North to Shepard Southeast.

U.S. freight railroads hauled 449,291 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending June 13, a 14.9 percent decrease in traffic moved during the same week in 2019, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week fell 22.8 percent to 198,437, while intermodal volume fell 7.3 percent to 250,854 units. Only one of the 10 carload commodity groups — miscellaneous carloads — posted an increase during the week, up 1,030 carloads to 10,259.

ENSCO Rail Inc. has acquired an enhanced user license to the VAMPIRE® Pro vehicle and track interaction software. The software will integrate with the ENSCO Rail Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System to provide automated vehicle dynamics simulations in near real time to conduct digital twin analytics. As track geometry data is streamed to ENSCO Rail's servers, vehicle dynamics simulations of the client's fleet will automatically be performed. Results are provided in an automated fashion, highlighting locations of concern for ride quality and derailment risk and producing data for track degradation and maintenance planning, company officials said in a press release.

APTIM Corp. named David Hecht director of sales in the Northeast. Hecht has more than 45 years of experience in the construction industry, working for construction management, general contractor and professional engineering firms. He has led program and construction management teams to win some of the Northeast's largest projects, including Amtrak’s $25 billion Gateway program, APTIM officials said in a press release. Hecht also has developed specialized business lines in estimating and scheduling, as well as storm recovery, winning assignments with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and MTA New York City Transit. 

Amtrak on Monday announced an update to its essential services plan drafted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The national intercity passenger railroad noted that various states are undertaking safety precautions at stations for customers arriving from other states. Riders should check with each state for specific guidance, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on July 1 will begin a commuter-rail fare pilot to test new ways to accommodate riders as their travel patterns change during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Under the pilot, MBTA will offer a fare option good for any five days of travel within a 30-day period. The fare option was designed to coordinate with new staggered work schedules and telework policies that have become more common. 

Port Tampa Bay in Florida has received a $19.8 million federal grant to construct a 1,300-foot berth and a 30-acre container yard as part of a larger project to improve intermodal transportation.

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the grant as part of its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program. The INFRA grant will help the port complete its Berth 214 project, an effort to expand the port's container complex.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) yesterday unveiled a train capacity tracker on its TrainTime mobile application to show riders where seats are available on its trains.

The seat tracking function enables riders to determine the number of seats available in each rail car so that they can decide where to sit according to social distancing guidelines.

Virgin Trains USA awarded Wabtec Corp. multiple contracts worth $120 million to implement positive train control (PTC) signaling and train control systems on the intercity passenger-rail service in Florida.  

Under the contracts, Wabtec will install its Interoperable-Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS®) PTC safety overlay in two phases.

Norfolk Southern Railway has notified workers that it will close its Bellevue hump yard operation in northern Ohio, The Toledo Blade reported yesterday.

"Due to declining car volumes, NS will idle the yard's hump and begin flat switching rail cars," NS spokesman Jeff DeGraff told the newspaper. "This alteration will allow for greater efficiencies and customer service that achieves the goals set forth in the company's strategic plan."

Norfolk Southern Railway has notified workers that it will close its Bellevue hump yard operation in northern Ohio, The Toledo Blade reported yesterday.

"Due to declining car volumes, NS will idle the yard's hump and begin flat switching rail cars," NS spokesman Jeff DeGraff told the newspaper. "This alteration will allow for greater efficiencies and customer service that achieves the goals set forth in the company's strategic plan."

Longshore workers at Total Terminals International (TTI) in Long Beach, California, set a North American record last week for the highest volume of container movements during a single call, while working the MSC Sveva container ship.

Workers transferred 17,080 containers, the equivalent of 30,744 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs). International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) crane operators worked seven ship-to-shore cranes, handling more than 250 containers per hour to reach the record, Port of Long Beach officials said in a press release.

TransLink yesterday launched a campaign to promote rider use of face coverings while using the system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the “Wearing is Caring” campaign, TransLink employees will distribute 15,000 TransLink-branded masks to riders. 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) earlier this week completed decking for the planned Wilshire/Rodeo subway station on the Purple Line extension seven months ahead of schedule.

The project completion was expedited due to a two-and-a-half-month street closure made possible by reduced traffic as a result of the countywide COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced yesterday its board has elected officers for the coming year, selecting Will McKnight to serve a second year as chairman.

Also elected was GPA Secretary-Treasurer Joel Wooten Jr. as vice chairman and member Kent Fountain as secretary-treasurer.