Railroad News

A Cloud Peak Energy subsidiary has entered into a term coal export sales agreement with Singapore-based JERA Trading Ltd.

Coal produced at Cloud Peak Energy's Spring Creek mine near Decker, Montana, will be carried by BNSF Railway Co. to Westshore Terminals at Roberts Bank, Vancouver, where it will be loaded and shipped to two new integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has named Brian Kelly chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1.

Kelly succeeds Jeff Morales, who left the job in early summer. Kelly has served as secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) since it was created in 2013.

CSX Corp. yesterday reported fourth-quarter 2017 revenue declined 6 percent to $2.86 billion compared with a year ago, as the Class I hauled less freight during the period.

The company posted net earnings of $4.1 billion, or $4.62 earnings per share, compared with $458 million, or 49 cents per share in Q4 2016. The 2017 earnings include a $3.6 billion net tax reform benefit under the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as well as a $10 million net restructuring charge.

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

Despite a decrease in the number of grade crossing accidents in the United States over the past three years, the number of fatalities resulting from those incidents has been on the rise. The number of train and motor vehicle accidents at U.S. grade crossings dropped from 2,295 in 2014, to 2,075 in 2015 and to 2,025 in 2016, according to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data. However, the number of fatalities resulting from those accidents jumped in 2016 to 265 — up from 233 in 2015 and 262 in 2014.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Rail Division has selected Dewberry to provide general rail engineering support. Contract services could include rail project management and technical support, as well as track, roadway and structure design and associated planning. Other services may include engineering feasibility studies for rail corridor projects and program management support for federal grant programs.

Iowa-based Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing Inc. (ELM) has chosen Chugoku Kogyo Co. Ltd. Hiroshima to serve as its exclusive nationwide distributor in Japan. Before the venture, the two companies studied the market potential for biobased grease and lubricants in Japan and determined the country is ready for biobased products, ELM officials said in a press release. It's expected that biobased grease and lubricants will become a growing commodity in Japan, ELM officials said.

Amtrak is adding rail cars to 10 of its daily Pacific Surfliner trains serving Santa Barbara County, California, to keep up with increased demand following last week's mudslides.

The cars will provide more than 2,000 additional seats, Amtrak officials said in a press release. Railroad officials observed an increase in demand after U.S. Route 101 was closed during the deadly mudslides that occurred near Montecito, California.

The Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) has named Chad Mowery vice president of operations and J. Wesley Logan, general manager operations.

Mowery's promotion from general manager to his new role was effective Jan. 1. He joined CMQ in March 2015 after 16 years in transportation, engineering and mechanical management positions with railroads owned by short-line holding company RailAmerica and its successor, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Cap Metro) board in Austin, Texas, late last week named Randy Clarke president and chief executive officer.

The board is expected to approve Clarke's contract on Jan. 29, according to an agency press release.

A Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Red Line train yesterday derailed outside the Farragut North Station in Washington, D.C.

The train of 7000-series rail cars was carrying 60 passengers when it derailed at about 6:30 a.m. No injuries were reported. Investigators believe a break in the rail caused the derailment, WMATA officials said on Twitter.

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

After spending 10 years as a human resources executive with H.J. Heinz & Co., Les Dakens joined CN in 2001 as senior vice president of people. During his interviews with the railroad’s leadership team, Dakens met Hunter Harrison, then CN’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The Denver Regional Transportation District's (RTD) board has elected Doug Tisdale chair for 2018.

Tisdale, who is the former mayor of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, currently serves as president of law firm Tisdale & Associates LLC.

U.S. Reps. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) are calling on U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Trump administration to commit to funding the Gateway project to build a new passenger-rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey.

In a letter sent to Chao last week, the lawmakers disputed Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Jane Williams' claim last month that the U.S. Department of Transportation did not have an agreement with New York and New Jersey state officials to share in the project's multi-billion-dollar cost.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has laid the final 5 miles of rail for its double-track project, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced late last week.

The $387.2 million project calls for adding a second track on LIRR's line between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, New York. With just one track along that 18-mile stretch at present, the LIRR can only operate a limited number of trains and lacks operational flexibility during disruptions.

Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson last week presented a status report to Oregon and Washington state officials on the railroad's plan for responding to last month's deadly derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train near DuPont, Washington.

Among its actions and plans, Amtrak is taking the lead in organizing a meeting of key decision-makers involved in implementing positive train control (PTC) in the area where the derailment occurred, Anderson said in a letter to the states officials. Those decision-makers include Amtrak, Sound Transit, host railroads and the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation.

Metra's new train station in Romeoville, Illinois, will open Feb. 5.

The station will be the first new stop on the Heritage Corridor Line since the railroad's formation in 1984, Metra officials said in a press release. Additionally, the station will be the first new stop on any Chicago-area Metra line since 2011.

Following a deadly Amtrak Cascades derailment in Washington state last month, a bill has been introduced in Congress to accelerate positive train control (PTC) implementation.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the proposed Positive Train Control Implementation and Financing Act (H.R. 4766) would give railroads until Dec. 31, 2018, to implement PTC and would prevent the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) from granting extensions to railroads that want more time to implement the crash-prevention technology.