Railroad News

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) last week staged and videotaped a train hitting a remote-controlled car at a grade crossing as part of a campaign to educate the public about railroad safety.

The car, fitted with crash dummies, did not get over the crossing before the train smashed into it, NCDOT officials said in a press release.

In the first quarter, VIA Rail Canada Inc. served 1,089,500 passengers, marking a 12.4 percent increase over the same period in 2017.

The railroad posted an 11 percent increase in passenger revenue, which grew to $73.5 million for the quarter.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration are preparing environmental documents and engineering concepts for the Assembly Street railroad separation project in south-central Columbia.

The project area consists of 1.2 square miles and is bound by Blossom Street to the north, Pickens Street and Norfolk Southern Railway's line to the east; the NS line 3 miles southeast of Rosewood Drive toward Andrews Yard and South Beltline Boulevard; and Catawba Circle/Heyward Street/Dreyfuss Road/Assembly Street to the west, SCDOT officials said in a press release.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County in fall will begin a two-year project to rehabilitate 55 Siemens-built light-rail vehicles.

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners late last week approved an additional $204 million to cover the increasing costs of Metro Transit's Southwest light-rail project.

Last month, Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff told project leaders that the line's cost had grown $145 million to just over $2 billion due to freight-rail negotiations, additional environmental analysis and higher steel and labor costs.

Amtrak has issued a request for proposals seeking to rebuild its current diesel fleet or purchase a minimum of 50 to 75 next-generation locomotives.

The effort is aimed at replacing Amtrak's aging national network diesel locomotive fleet used on long distance and some state-supported routes, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) this week joined representatives from Kiewit Infrastructure Co. and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) for a tour of the Milwaukee Streetcar's operations and maintenance facility.

The tour group viewed the rail and station construction that Kiewit completed for Milwaukee's 2.5-mile streetcar system known as The Hop. NRC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Matt Bell organized the tour, which was led by Kiewit Project Manager Mike Ethier and NRC board member and Kiewit employee Dave Landreth.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) this week released a report detailing the agency's strategies behind passage of its November 2016 ballot initiative.

The report documents Metro's three-year process of developing and building support for the Measure M sales tax increase in Los Angeles County. The measure, which was approved by more than 70 percent of LA County voters, provides a no-sunset transportation sales tax that's slated to generate $120 billion in revenue over the next four decades.

The National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) last week announced that an arbitration board has ruled that the pattern health-care terms adopted by the freight railroads and nine unions in national bargaining should apply to the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-Mechanical Division).

The two unions previously agreed to the other terms of the pattern agreement, which now covers 137,000 of the 145,000 employees in the current bargaining round.

IRIS USA Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of injection-molded plastic products, has purchased a 34-acre site along the Reading & Northern Railroad in an industrial park in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

The company will soon begin construction on a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution plant. Reading & Northern assisted in locating the future plant along its network in the Humboldt Industrial Park, railroad officials said in a press release.

More than 2,000 construction jobs have been created since California began its high-speed rail project in January 2015, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) announced yesterday.

The authority is building a high-speed rail line to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. Currently, more than 119 miles are under construction as part of three separate construction packages.

Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) subsidiary Katahdin Railcar Services LLC has opened a new tank car facility in Derby, Maine.

The 24,000-square-foot building will be used for the cleaning, repair and fleet management of railroad tank cars. The building is part of the railroad's 110-acre facility in Derby, CMQ officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has allocated $277.5 million in emergency relief funding for transit systems damaged last year by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

The bulk of the funding will go to Puerto Rico, which will receive $223.5 million. The 10.7-mile Tren Urbano subway system operates on the island, which was heavily damaged during hurricanes Irma and Maria. 

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) yesterday broke ground on a $7.2 million upgrade to its East 116th-St. Luke's station on the Blue and Green light-rail lines.

The new design will include enhanced security features, emergency call buttons and better lighting, said GCRTA Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Joe Calabrese in a press release.

Amtrak has begun offering assigned seating for riders traveling first class on Acela trains.

On select departures, passengers may now choose a single or double seat, a window or an aisle, or a two- or four-person conference table. After evaluating the offering, the railroad aims to introduce seat assignments on more departures this year, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

U.S. railroads moved 565,502 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 26, marking a 4.4 percent increase over the same week last year.

Total carloads ticked up 3 percent to 273,226 units during Week 21, while intermodal traffic grew 5.8 percent to 292,276 containers and trailers, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

CSX Corp. has named James Schwichtenberg as the Class I's new vice president and chief safety officer.

A "recognized leader in rail safety," Schwichtenberg will lead the company's renewed focus on safety, CSX officials said in a press release. He will report to Ed Harris, executive vice president of operations.