Railroad News

Cimarron Valley Railroad (CVR) has received a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to help cover the cost of replacing the railroad's 13 aging locomotives with a "more modern and efficient fleet" of seven engines.

The upgrade will benefit CVR's rural customer base through lower fuel costs, enhanced service and better reliability, CVR officials said in a press release. In addition, the newer locomotives will offer a significant increase in hauling capacity, they said.

Union Pacific Railroad is now operating positive train control (PTC) on 80 percent of its route miles, the Class I announced late last week.

UP recently implemented PTC on 582 route miles, bringing required PTC-operated route miles to 13,597. PTC was implemented on all required passenger routes on track owned by UP in 2018, UP officials said in a press release.

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

The latest trends in detecting and preventing security threats to rail were discussed at the fifth annual Secure Rail Conference held May 1-2 in Orlando, Florida.

Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. (BR&L), a division of A. Stucki Co., has acquired Austintown Rail Supply, a supplier of switching materials and other railroad track products. Austintown Rail Supply will now operate as BR&L’s Austintown, Ohio, location. BR&L retained the company’s 10 employees, and expects to add three or four more employees to support a new crane rail operation, which will supply rail and accessories for overhead cranes, according to a BR&L press release.

Wabtec Corp. has invested in GE Additive’s H2 binder jet printer capabilities to design and produce reliable, low-cost components for current and developmental engines, locomotive, transit and mining programs, according to a Wabtec press release. Additive technologies could be used in the production of up to 250 components for Wabtec product lines by 2025, company officials said.

Central Florida commuter railroad SunRail yesterday unveiled a mobile application that provides riders with trip planning features, service information and account management. 

The app's key features include train arrival status, a detailed trip planner with times, distance and fare information, and a login for ordering and maintaining SunCards, SunRail’s reloadable fare cards for frequent users. 

The Southern California Chapter of the Construction Management Association has recognized two recently completed Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) grade separation projects for achievement, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments announced yesterday.

The awards acknowledged the projects for "outstanding achievement in the practice of construction management," council officials said in a press release.

A ceremony was held last month to mark the start of construction on the RCR Hempstead Logistics Park in Hempstead, Texas, RCR Rail Co. announced this week.

Union Pacific Railroad will serve the park, a 137-acre site under development on the northwest corner of State Highway 290 and 6 in Waller County.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers this week introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent federal transit funds from being issued by transit agencies to procure Chinese rail cars and other rail assets.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), the Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act also would ensure transit agencies develop and implement a cybersecurity plan, Rouda said this week in a press release.

The Trump administration yesterday formally canceled nearly $929 million in previously awarded federal funds to California's high-speed rail program.

In a May 16 letter to California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelly, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said it was terminating its agreement to obligate $928,620,000 in funding to California because the state had not made "reasonable progress on the project."

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

Happiest of birthdays to CN, which will turn 100 next month, as managing editor Jeff Stagl reports in this month’s cover story. While the Class I’s leaders are reflecting on a century’s worth of progress, they’re also focused on the road ahead, as my colleague reports. They say they’re committed to delivering on the better-service promise and driving top-line growth.

The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority's (CCJPA) Fairfield-Vacaville Station in Fairfield, California, will be renamed the Fairfield-Vacaville Hannigan Station in honor of the late Tom Hannigan, a former state assemblyman who helped establish the intercity rail service. 

In the mid-1980s, Hannigan recognized that with all of the growth along the Interstate 80 corridor, an intercity rail system could transport riders throughout the region, CCJPA officials said in a press release. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO), yesterday restored full service on its light-rail system following emergency repairs on three lines earlier this week. 

Following the break of two overhead electrical wires, METRO crews last week initiated a partial shutdown along the Red Line extension and Green and Purple lines to reinforce wires at 79 locations.

Due to Gloucester Drawbridge construction, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will replace train service from Rockport to West Gloucester Station with bus service during the first two weeks in June.

The century-old Gloucester Drawbridge, which carries Rockport Line trains over the Annisquam River in Gloucester, is being replaced. During the June construction, the south side of the existing timber trestle will be demolished, and the remaining north side of the bridge will be monitored and tested, according to an MBTA press release. 

Starting June 1, Chicago commuter railroad Metra will increase weekend service on the Rock Island and Union Pacific Northwest lines as part of a three-month summer pilot program. 

In a recent Metra-conducted survey, a majority of riders indicated they wanted more frequent and faster train service. Metra’s pilot program will track if increased service will boost ridership and revenue on weekends, Metra officials said in a press release.