Railroad News

The Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO) earlier this month completed installation of a new elevator at Haddonfield Station in New Jersey, as part of a larger $31 million project to install elevators at all PATCO rail stations. 

Over the next two years, PATCO will install one elevator each at the Ashland, Westmont and Collingswood stations, and two elevators each at the City Hall and 12/13th & Locust stations.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) contracted crews on Jan. 10 will begin an eight-month street restoration project near the Little Tokyo/Arts District light-rail station as the agency advances its Regional Connector transit project, LA Metro officials announced last week. 

As part of the 1.9-mile underground light-rail extension project that will connect the Blue, Expo and Gold lines in downtown Los Angeles by 2022, crews built a temporary roadway near the Little Tokyo Station to facilitate excavation and construction of a tunnel under 1st and Alameda streets, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

A Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) review of a Dec. 10 Red Line disruption identified two safety violations that resulted from human error and insufficient training.

The incident and review prompted immediate corrective action, as well as identified where additional training and supervisory oversight is required.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Dec. 19 issued a request for information to receive feedback from the public and industry stakeholders to help shape the department's Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative.

"We want to hear from rural communities how the Department of Transportation can better support their critical transportation infrastructure," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week issued a request for proposals to build and operate broadband wireless connectivity infrastructure in MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) subway tunnel under the East River. 

The infrastructure would allow NYCT riders to use phones and other devices between 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue on the L Line, making it the first under-river tunnel in the subway system to receive full connectivity, MTA officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight-rail traffic fell 10.5 percent to 507,589 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Dec. 21 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week tumbled 11.5 percent to 245,048 units, while intermodal volume declined 9.5 percent to 262,541 containers and trailers.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week announced a proposed rule that would require unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to include remote identification technology so that law enforcement and federal security agencies can identify them while they are flying in their jurisdiction. 

The proposed rule calls for drones to have the ability to transmit identification and location information to other airspace users and people on the ground.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) late last week restored streetcar service to the Union Passenger Terminal Amtrak station in New Orleans.

Since October, NORTA’s streetcar has suffered service disruptions and suspension on four of five lines following the collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction near Canal Street. The collapse killed three and injured more than 19 people, local media reported.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has appointed Charles Zelle chair of the Metropolitan Council, which governs Metro Transit's rail and bus services in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Effective Jan. 6, Zelle will succeed Molly Cummings, who became interim chair in November after Nora Slawik's resignation.

The Port of Quincy has begun the first phase of a project to expand its intermodal terminal located on BNSF Railway Co.'s mainline in Quincy, Washington, port officials announced earlier this week.

Phase I entails adding gravel surfacing of 90,000 square feet for container storage on the terminal's east and north sides to accommodate an increase in ocean container freight that moves by truck from the Port of Quincy to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

Canadian Pacific earlier this week released its 2018 corporate sustainability report, which highlights the Class I's achievements in safety, operational excellence and social impact.

Titled "Sustainably Driven," the report was developed using a new framework for reporting the company's efforts to align business practices with sustainability goals and objectives, CP officials said in a press release.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday proposed a new plan for developing high-speed rail service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor in New York.

Cuomo will task a panel of engineers to reexamine past high-speed rail plans and recommend a new plan for how to build high-speed rail for the corridor, which connects the state through New York City, Albany and Buffalo.

As of mid-November, Class Is employed 133,225 people, down 1 percent from mid-October's level and down 10.58 percent from November 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

All six workforce categories posted month-to-month employment decreases.
They were: executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.31 percent to 7,629 employees; professional and administrative, down 0.83 percent to 10,910; maintenance of way and structures, down 0.28 percent to 31,242; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 1.72 percent to 23,370; transportation (other than train and engine), down 0.35 percent to 5,438; and transportation (train and engine), down 1.31 percent to 54,636.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week elected Lateefah Simon president and Mark Foley vice president for 2020.

Simon has represented the San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties as BART District 7 director since 2017; Foley has represented Contra Costa county as District 2 director since 2018.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will make 20 additional New York City Transit (NYCT) subway stations fully accessible under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards in its proposed $51.5 billion 2020-2024 capital plan.

With the addition of the new stations, a total of 70 subway stations will receive $5.2 billion in capital funds toward projects to make the stations ADA accessible, MTA officials said in a press release.

The Sound Transit board last week appointed Kent Keel chair and Dow Constantine, vice chair. 

The appointments take effect Jan. 1, following the retirement of outgoing Chair John Marchione from his position as mayor of Redmond, Washington. Marchione also served on Sound Transit’s board for 12 years, agency officials said in a press release.