Railroad News

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) yesterday announced it will launch its bike share program in North Hollywood, its busiest transit hub. 

All Red Line rail stations and Orange Line bus stations will be served by the program, now that 16 new bike share stations have been installed in North Hollywood, Toluca Lake and Valley Village, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

The Commuter Rail Coalition (CRC) yesterday announced that North County Transit District (NCTD) Executive Director Matthew Tucker has succeeded Doug Kelsey as vice chair.

CRC is an association made up of transit agencies, operators, public owners, suppliers and consultants whose mission is to advocate for commuter railroads in the U.S.  

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) today will appoint Dale Austin Jenkins to interim chief operating officer to replace Inez Evans Benson, who will retire as COO on Aug. 17. 

Jenkins will oversee the operations division while VTA begins recruiting a permanent appointment, according to a VTA meeting agenda document. 

There's a week left to nominate someone for the League of Railway Women's (LRW) Railway Woman of the Year Award.

For two decades, the LRW has recognized women who have made significant contributions to the rail industry through their leadership, dedication and vision. Women working in the North American rail industry are eligible to receive the award.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) logged the busiest July in its history at container terminals and inland ports. 

Last month, SCPA handled 210,542 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals and 119,700 pier containers, both numbers up 5 percent from a year ago, SCPA officials said in a press release.

CSX and Alabama Power are contributing $5 million toward improvements to the South Alabama Mega Site for industrial development.

The contribution will help pay for a new CSX rail spur off the rail line that runs along the site's southern border, according to a report by the Alabama NewsCenter, a website operated by Alabama Power.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

Nicolas Mabboux, 39
Director of IT application management and delivery
CN

Nominator’s quote: “Nicolas is able to break the traditional barrier between teams that develop technology and teams that benefit from it, significantly improving the relevance of the technology developed for CN’s core rail and corporate stakeholders. His leadership and vision has ensured that his team is developing products more aligned to the needs of railroaders and bringing them to market much faster, thus delivering greater value to the organization.” — Leslie-Anne Lewis, CN

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) on Aug. 12 will begin phasing out ticket sales from its mobile application in favor of its electronic fare system, Hop Fastpass.

TriMet’s mobile ticketing app was launched in 2013 as a “stepping-stone” for eventually transitioning to Hop Fastpass, which went public in 2017, TriMet officials said in a press release. 

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) earlier this week marked the opening of an expanded platform at the Chase Center light-rail station in San Francisco. 

SFMTA built a larger center platform to serve inbound and outbound trains in anticipation of the September opening of Chase Center, the home venue of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. The station serves the Mission Bay neighborhood. which has been growing in jobs, housing, health care and retail services.

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau yesterday announced the federal government would spend CA$20 million to increase rail capacity near Abbotsford, British Columbia, to aid overseas trade to and from the Port of Vancouver.

The project calls for doubling 3 miles of CN track, effectively eliminating the last section of single track within 25 miles of CN’s rail corridor leading to the Port of Vancouver, Canadian government officials said in a Transport Canada press release. 

For the sixth consecutive month, U.S. rail traffic tumbled in July compared to year-ago levels, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads originated 1,264,100 carloads last month, down 4.8 percent, and 1,314,333 intermodal containers and trailers, down 6.1 percent year over year. Combined, the railroads originated 2,578,433 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5 percent decline compared to July 2018 levels.

[Editor's note: This article was updated Aug. 1 to correct the employer of Limburg's college internship.] 

Amanda Limburg, 31
Denver Freight Rail Team Leader
David Evans and Associates Inc.

James Schwichtenberg, 39
Vice president and chief safety officer
CSX

Nominator’s quote: “Jim has had a dramatic impact on CSX’s safety performance since joining the company as chief safety officer in May 2018. [He] oversaw a comprehensive safety review by an independent consultancy, refocused the CSX discipline policy on behavior modification, successfully advocated for inclusion of safety targets in annual incentive bonus programs, implemented new training for front-line managers, increased rules observations in the field, and intensified focus on critical rules with the greatest potential to reduce life-changing injuries. His innovative approaches and engagement have returned CSX to a position of safety leadership in the industry.”
— Diana Sorfleet, CSX