Railroad News

Thanks to an increase in intermodal volume, U.S. freight rail traffic rose 1.9 percent to 520,452 carloads, containers and trailers for the week ending Oct. 10 compared with the same period in 2019, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week fell 5.2 percent to 230,964 units, while intermodal volume climbed 8.4 percent to 289,499 containers and trailers.

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

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) last week released its "Quality of Life Study," which focuses on the impact the agency has on the areas most affected by transit improvements. 

The study found that 89 percent of the population in the metro Denver region live within RTD’s service area, and 3,300 affordable housing units are within a half-mile of a rail or bus station. 

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P) earlier this week issued Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) in California an AA rating on the proposed refinancing of the agency’s construction debt.

S&P Global Ratings assigned the AA rating on SMART’s anticipated $123.4 million Measure Q sales tax revenue refunding bonds, which will be sold as green bonds.

Port Manatee on Tampa Bay, Florida, logged 88,466 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, representing a 54.6% increase over FY2019 and an all-time high, port officials announced yesterday.

In FY2019, Port Manatee posted 57,239 TEUs, a 49.2% increase compared with FY2018's level.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is seeking public input on the agency’s proposed 26-mile LYNX Silver Line light-rail project that would extend from Belmont through Charlotte and into Matthews, North Carolina. 

CATS is in the pre-project development phase of the project to refine the line’s proposed alignment, and is wrapping up its early scoping period in collaboration with the Federal Transit Administration. Today is the final day to provide comments for the project. 

The Federal Transit Administration awarded the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) $742,000 through the federal Safety Research and Demonstration Program to install an automated technology to protect rail workers in the right-of-way at some work zones. 

The automated system is designed to prevent trains from being inadvertently routed into work areas where track personnel and first responders are working. A key feature of the system allows track workers in the field to control the application and removal of work zone blocks, providing safety redundancy and further decreasing the risk of work zone incursions, agency officials said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded the Kansas City Port Authority (Port KC) a $9.88 million federal grant for the Missouri River Terminal project.

The grant will be used for advanced project planning and redevelopment activities for the terminal site, such as preventative flooding maintenance, environmental remediation efforts, site design, land acquisition and limited pavement and rail access development, state officials said in a press release issued by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's office.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, which partially deregulated the U.S. freight-rail industry so that railroads could operate in a competitive market place.

Signed by President Jimmy Carter on Oct. 14, 1980, the act and its implementation by the Interstate Commerce Commission —  now the Surface Transportation Board (STB) — lifted many restraints on railroads so that they could set their own rates and adjust their services to meet shippers' needs.

Cummins Inc. announced plans to invest more than $25 million into upgrading its engine manufacturing plant and high-horsepower headquarters in Seymour, Indiana, over the next several years. The investment will improve and refine the plant’s manufacturing capabilities to prepare for the addition of a new engine platform that will be launched in 2024, Cummins officials said in a press release. The Seymour engine plant produces diesel engines for the rail industry.

FreightCar America Inc. announced it has made significant progress in its manufacturing repositioning and business transformation strategy. The company has finalized early termination of the lease at its manufacturing facility in Cherokee, Alabama, effective Feb. 28, 2021, and completed Association of American Railroads certification audits for a new joint venture facility in Castanos, Mexico. FreightCar America also completed its first rail car at the Castanos facility, and obtained a new asset-backed credit facility to facilitate the business and repositioning process.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) last week declared an impasse in contract negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 (ATU), which  represents more than 2,700 TriMet employees.

Since October 2019, TriMet and ATU have completed 15 negotiation sessions and four mediation sessions with no headway on major issues, TriMet officials said in a press release.

U.S. ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 2.1 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in August, a 9.7% increase from July and an 8% increase year over year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates reported late last week.

August's TEU level was the highest number of containers imported in a single month since the NRF began tracking imports in 2002, beating 2.04 million logged in October 2018 ahead of a scheduled tariff increase, NRF and Hackett officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week announced that construction of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Expansion Project has hit the halfway point.

The $2.6 billion project will introduce 10 miles of new track between Floral Park and Hicksville, New York.

The Port of Virginia will receive $20 million in federal funds to complete the Central Rail Yard expansion project at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).

The funds will build on the investments the port has made across its two largest terminals, the NIT and Virginia International Gateway, to expand on-terminal rail capacity at NIT, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) announced late last week.

Union Pacific Corp. has named Rahul Jalali chief information officer, effective Nov. 2.

Jalali will lead the development, implementation and operation of UP's information and telecommunications technologies, UP officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has revised its regulations governing the minimum safety requirements for track.

The agency amended its regulations on inspection of rail and verification of indications of defective rail to allow for continuous rail testing, according to the FRA's announcement published in the Federal Register.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) last week awarded Virginia Railway Express (VRE) a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the commuter railroad’s annual financial report. 

A GFOA panel determined that VRE’s financial report for fiscal years 2019 and 2018 demonstrated a "spirit of transparency and full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report, GFOA officials said in a VRE press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is preparing a draft environmental impact report for proposed capacity and service improvements on the Antelope Valley commuter-rail line between Lancaster and downtown Los Angeles. 

LA Metro anticipates the 76.6-mile Antelope Valley Line (AVL) corridor will experience strong population and employment growth over the next 20 years, according to LA Metro’s AVL project website.