Railroad News

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) yesterday accepted a safety review panel report that cites 34 recommendations and 61 corrective actions aimed at improving safety.

Commissioned by the FMCB in June after a series of derailments and other safety incidents at the MBTA, the panel includes former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; former Federal Transit Administration acting administrator Carolyn Flowers; and former New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco.

Last year around this time, freight-rail execs were pretty bullish about the 2019 they thought they saw coming. They told us they felt good — some felt really good — about what they saw. Some suggested a banner year could be in the offing. As 2019 unfolded, it became clear “banner” wouldn’t be a word used to describe this rail year.

Not surprisingly, rail leaders are a bit more circumspect about 2020’s prospects. Lagging economic indicators, trade tumult, murkiness surrounding the prospects of reauthorizing the surface transportation bill and the U.S. presidential election whirligig-ing to come are all contributing to their wariness, freight- and transit-rail leaders told us during the information gathering for our annual Outlook coverage. The cloudiness definitely is preventing many of them from making definitive predictions. And when uncertainty holds sway, railroads and their customers can put clamps on things. Capital spending. Long-term projects. Their best-laid innovation plans. Things that keep the dot-connecting rail world, in all its increasingly global glory, spinning ‘round.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., senior associate editor

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority recently re-elected Tim Sandoval as chair and Robin Carder as vice chair.

The authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 to oversee the planning, design and construction of the Metro Gold light-rail line from Los Angeles Union Station to Montclair along the foothills of California's San Gabriel Valley.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) district plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Larkspur Station on Dec. 13, then launch service to the Larkspur and Novato stations in northern California on Dec. 14.

The new service targets commuters in the north San Francisco Bay area. Larkspur Station will offer a connection to the larger bay area via the Golden Gate Ferry and serve as a gateway for tourists visiting Marin and Sonoma counties, SMART officials said in a press release.

Leaders of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) last week called on Congress to mind the freight-rail industry's contribution to the U.S. economy when drafting major surface transportation legislation next year.

AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies and ASLRRA President Chuck Baker were among freight industry leaders testifying last week at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing called to explore the impact of freight transportation on the nation’s economy, environment and society.

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 7000 has issued a 72-hour strike notice to the BC Rapid Transit Co. following four days of mediation and more than 40 days of direct bargaining that produced no new agreement covering about 900 SkyTrain workers. The strike would start at at 5 a.m. (PST) tomorrow if an agreement isn't reached.

The union represents SkyTrain attendants, control operators, and administrative, maintenance and technical staff. The last contract between TransLink-BC Rapid Transit expired Aug. 31, and nearly 97 percent of CUPE 7000 members at SkyTrain — which serves metro Vancouver, British Columbia — cast a strike vote on Nov. 21.



The Amtrak-Alstom partnership to produce the next generation of Acela trains that will operate between Boston and Washington, D.C., is contributing to the nation’s economy, Amtrak officials announced last week.

At a ceremony held at LB Steel LLC in Harvey, Illinois, Amtrak and Alstom representatives thanked the workers for building the wheel assemblies and other components that will become part of the new trains.

Early last week, a Watco Australia train traveled from Mt. McLaren, Queensland, to the Port of Mackay in northeastern Australia, marking the first train operated for GrainCorp.

Featuring two locomotives and 42 rail cars loaded with chickpeas, the inaugural train followed nearly two years of planning with GrainCorp, Watco Australia officials said in an online post.

TKDA added Justin Hicks to its rail division. He has 10 years of experience as a designer and manager on an array of rail projects. Hicks has designed freight yard, mainline and industrial rail trackage; been involved in intermodal and port master planning projects; and has generated designs for a variety of other transportation infrastructure projects, TKDA officials said in a press release.

Wabtec Corp. recently delivered 10 ES30ACi Light Evolution Series locomotives to the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) and Ministry of Transportation, the first stage in fulfilling order and services agreements reached in 2017. The new locomotives will enable ENR to meet growing demand for an efficient transport system capable of supporting the country’s development plans, Wabtec officials said in a press release. Equipped with 12-cylinder, 3,200-horsepower engines, the locomotives feature air-conditioned dual cabs, AC propulsion systems, single-axle control and dynamic brakes to transport either freight or passengers.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) last week stopped selling tickets, tokens and day passes at its train stations as part of a transition to the Presto reloadable fare card.

The Presto cards offer automatic renewal and reloading and the ability to pay fares across 10 other transit agencies that use the system, including GO Transit and the TTC streetcar.

SunRail will test positive train control (PTC) overnight until Dec. 12 in preparation for full implementation of the safety system on the central Florida rail corridor, agency officials announced yesterday.

SunRail’s test trains will operate on the entire 61.5-mile corridor from the DeLand Amtrak Station to the Poinciana SunRail Station in Kissimmee.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday unveiled several preliminary concepts to improve reliability, meet future ridership demands and better serve riders on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines.

Starting next week, WMATA will host a series of open houses in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia to provide information about the draft concepts, answer questions and gather public input, authority officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit has issued a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) to identify qualified and experienced firms capable of introducing innovative solutions for transportation services between the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands complex.



The Meadowlands area poses unique challenges to mass transit, including sporting events and concerts held at MetLife Stadium; the new American Dream retail and entertainment complex that will have 20,000 employees and attract 40 million visitors annually; highly sensitive environmental features such as the Hackensack River; busy roads; and an existing rail line to the stadium from Secaucus Junction, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.



CSX has designated the Henderson bypass rail site in Henderson, Kentucky, as a CSX Select Site.

Select Sites are development-ready properties along the CSX network where standard land use considerations and comprehensive due diligence issues have been addressed. The properties are able to meet the needs of a variety of manufacturers, reducing the time required to build facilities and ultimately bring products to market, CSX officials said in a press release.