Railroad News

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board in California last week unanimously approved the final recommendations outlined in the 2019 New Transit Service plan. 

The plan includes 70 changes across light-rail and bus services, and an expansion of VTA’s core network of frequent routes to serve an additional 266,000 county residents.

Boston Surface Railroad Co. Inc. (BSRC), a private intercity passenger railroad that has proposed a new route in the U.S. Northeast, is developing a pilot to prove new enhancements to positive train control (PTC) capabilities.

BSRC is working with Siemens Mobility to test prototype technology on Siemens' Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System-II (ACSES) and 9-Aspect Cab Signal Systems, according to a BSRC press release.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) yesterday hosted its second annual RailxTech event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate new technologies for improving rail industry safety.

At the event, Class I representatives met with lawmakers, congressional staff and other transportation stakeholders to learn more about the implementation and testing of new rail innovations, including positive train control (PTC) safety technology, drones, advanced digital imaging and ultrasonic inspection tools.

Canadian Pacific's board yesterday elected Isabelle Courville as its new chair to succeed Andrew Reardon, who announced last year he is retiring.

At the company's annual shareholders meeting in Calgary, Alberta, the board also reelected Courville as a director. She is the first woman to hold the position at CP, as well as among other North American Class Is, said CP President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel in a press release.

Canadian Pacific's board yesterday elected Isabelle Courville as its new chair to succeed Andrew Reardon, who announced last year he is retiring.

At the company's annual shareholders meeting in Calgary, Alberta, the board also reelected Courville as a director. She is the first woman to hold the position at CP, as well as among other North American Class Is, said CP President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel in a press release.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) has created a community outreach program as part of an analysis of public transit options on Staten Island’s West Shore and to explore potential improvements.

The NYCT study will examine West Shore residents' transportation needs and patterns, as well as identify transit improvements to bring better mass transit options and connections between key locations on Staten Island and Manhattan. 

OneRail Coalition has hired Devon Barnhart to serve as deputy director effective May 13.

A lawyer and civil engineer focused on transportation policy, Barnhart understands both freight and passenger rail. Most recently, she served as the subcommittee staff director for the Transportation and Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, according to a OneRail press release.

Denton County Transportation Authority’s (DCTA) board last month approved a new suite of on-call contracts that will enable the agency to allocate up to $2.4 million of its annual operating budget to mobility services in Denton County, Texas.

DCTA’s "Mobility as a Service" (MaaS) contract model utilizes on-demand, real-time, platform-based services that can include a combination of mobility options such as car and bike sharing, taxis and driverless vehicles.

Watco Cos. LLC has entered into a joint venture with SCH Services LLC to create an inland bulk terminal network in the four rivers area of Illinois and Kentucky.

The SCH terminal network will consist of Watco's Cora Terminal, located on the Mississippi River in Rockwood, Illinois; the SCH's Calvert City Terminal on the Tennessee River in Calvert City, Kentucky; and Four Rivers Terminal on the Ohio River in West Paducah, Kentucky.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) agency in California last week released a report examining the feasibility of implementing passenger-rail service in the corridor between Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties. The agency found that the link would be possible.

Requested and funded by the California State Transportation Agency, the study found that an east-west connection would expand transit connectivity in northern California and could be completed “relatively quickly,” SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian wrote in the report. 

Allegheny Valley Railroad Co. (AVR) has filed a notice of exemption with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to acquire from CSX 47.5 miles of rail lines that AVR has leased and operated since 2003 in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

AVR stated in its application that it expects to execute a purchase and sale agreement with CSX shortly, according to the notice. AVR's leasehold interest in the lines will then be converted to an ownership interest.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) proposed a $7.2 billion budget for the coming fiscal year from July 1 to June 30, 2020, a $600 million increase over the current budget of $6.6 billion. 

The increase is due mostly to LA Metro expecting more revenue from its sales taxes, grants and bonds. Increased expenses are due in part to costs involving labor and benefits, debt and the planning and construction of road, transit and active transportation projects, according to LA Metro’s official blog “The Source.” 

BNSF Railway Co. reported its first-quarter 2019 operating income rose 2 percent to $1.8 billion, total revenue climbed 2 percent to $5.76 billion and net income jumped 9 percent to $1.25 billion compared with the same period a year ago.

The Class I attributed its growth in total revenue to higher rates per car, a favorable outcome of an arbitration hearing and higher fuel surcharges, according to a quarterly financial summary posted on bnsf.com.

BNSF Railway Co. reported its first-quarter 2019 operating income rose 2 percent to $1.8 billion, total revenue climbed 2 percent to $5.76 billion and net income jumped 9 percent to $1.25 billion compared with the same period a year ago.

The Class I attributed its growth in total revenue to higher rates per car, a favorable outcome of an arbitration hearing and higher fuel surcharges, according to a quarterly financial summary posted on bnsf.com.

The MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) announced that this month it will begin construction on the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway subway terminal to increase the station’s accessibility for people with disabilities.

The Rockaway Parkway station in Brooklyn is one of the few street-level stations in the subway system with integrated bus stops. Due to its intermodal nature, improving the station’s existing accessibility features was prioritized, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) press release.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver last week reached the 20 million passenger mark on the University of Colorado A Line.

The line, which operates between downtown Denver and the Denver International Airport, has consistently exceeded ridership projections since opening in 2016, according to an RTD press release. 

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) last week began construction on a new $60 million station that will service the Green Line at Damen Avenue and Lake Street.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alderman Walter Burnett and Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and CTA officials held a groundbreaking ceremony May 3 to mark the start of construction on the station's foundation. 

Milwaukee officials plan to extend the city's streetcar route to the Wisconsin Center District convention hall in time for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Mayor Tom Barrett announced last week.

Barrett also announced engineering plans for two streetcar additional extensions to Milwaukee neighborhoods known as Bronzeville and Walker's Point, according to a press release.

Charah Solutions Inc. recently opened a new rail-served distribution terminal for fly ash in Hopedale, Massachusetts.

The terminal will serve customers in New England, where demand for quality fly ash is growing, Charah Solutions officials said in a press release. The fly ash sales and marketing company provides environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry.