Railroad News

Canadian Pacific announced Tuesday that more than CA$2.49 million was raised and 238,393 pounds of food were collected for local food banks and shelves during the 21st Annual CP Holiday Train's North American tour, which wrapped up earlier this month.

Although the 2019 numbers are preliminary, CP estimates the Holiday Train has raised more than CA$16.7 million and collected 4.7 million pounds of food since its inaugural journey in 1999.

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board last week announced it agreed to consider making a financial contribution to a second rail crossing over the Potomac River. 

Preliminary discussions between VRE and Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) have identified the possibility of debt issuance and pay-as-you-go contributions to help fund the $1.9 billion bridge, VRE officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has extended its deadline for applications to the Restoration and Enhancement Grant Program for intercity passenger-rail service.

The deadline for applications has been extended by about a month to Feb. 5, 2020. Additionally, the program has received $1.9 million in additional funds as a result of the fiscal-year 2020 Appropriations Act, which was signed into law late last week.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week reopened the 168 Street subway station in New York City, after a nearly year-long effort to replace and upgrade elevators at the 100-year-old station. 

The project, completed on budget and ahead of schedule, also included improvements to lighting, communications equipment and an emergency staircase, NYCT officials said in a press release.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) board last week approved a four-year contract with its largest labor union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents about 8,000 WMATA employees. 

The agreement includes a 2.4 percent annual average wage increase and, for the first time in WMATA history, incentivizes ridership growth with an additional 1 percent wage increase in years when the agency’s ridership improves 2 percent or more over the previous year, WMATA officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) last week announced it selected Jacobs Project Management Co. and H.J. Russell & Company to manage construction spending in the first five years of the authority’s $3 billion More MARTA expansion project. 

The Jacobs/Russell joint venture team will oversee the project management process, quality assurance and project resources including planning, monitoring and performance measurements, MARTA officials said in a press release. 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week launched a new web page on which the public and law enforcement agencies can report incidents of blocked grade crossings.

Communities have long dealt with the issue of blocked crossings, and the FRA is now seeking broad public input to better understand the problem's scope and engage with affected parties to identify solutions, FRA officials said in a press release.

West Virginia and Maryland state officials have agreed to continue the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) commuter-rail service to West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle in 2020, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced last week. 

The Maryland Department of Transportation's Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA), which operates MARC, requested $3.4 million to continue the service in West Virginia. Municipal leaders from the Eastern Panhandle communities of Shepherdstown, Ranson, Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Bolivar and Martinsburg, along with the Jefferson County Commission and the Berkeley County Council, contributed the funds, according to a press release issued by Justice’s office. 

LTK Engineering Services announced several promotions: Pam Alexander to vice president of the Atlanta region; Lisa Cobb to VP of the Northern California region; Guy Chertock to VP of rail systems engineering; and Natalie Cornell to VP of business development. Previously, Alexander was the Atlanta office lead and a project consultant focusing on rail vehicle program support. Cobb has nearly 30 years of experience in the rail industry and previously served as the San Francisco Bay Area regional manager. Chertock has more than 20 years of experience in the radio and communications fields. Cornell has project management experience in rail vehicle engineering and procurement, and fare collections sales and delivery, LTK officials said in a press release.

Food Logistics magazine named Railinc a leading software and technology provider to the food and beverage industry. Railinc technology initiatives support railroad efforts to provide detailed rail car visibility to shippers. This makes supply chains more efficient with multimodal optimization, early detection of equipment issues and remediation for shipment exceptions, Railinc officials said in a press release.

The Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners earlier this month approved five new contracts with St. Louis regional law enforcement agencies and a security provider to support the Metro Transit-St. Louis light-rail system.

The approved contracts will contribute to Metro Transit-St. Louis’s multilayered approach to safety and security, Bi-State Development officials said in a press release. 

Metra is seeking suggestions from riders on which amenities the Chicago commuter-rail service should include in its new rail cars. 

Earlier this year, Metra issued a request for proposals for at least 200 new cars with options for 300 more. As the agency negotiates with manufacturers, it will look for rail-car designs that increase capacity and optimize passenger amenities such as lighting, seat features, information screens and USB chargers, Metra officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. announced yesterday it has appointed retired Maj. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot to its board.

Vautrinot is president of Kilovolt Consulting Inc., a cybersecurity strategy and technology consulting firm. She retired form the U.S. Air Force in October 2013 as major general, CSX officials said in a press release.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver's (RTD) board yesterday agreed to advance a staff plan to temporarily reduce rail service in response to an ongoing shortage of light-rail operators. 

The proposal that RTD staff presented yesterday would allow the transit agency to build up its workforce, provide a more reliable service for riders and give some relief to operators that have been working overtime, RTD officials said in a press release.

CN announced yesterday that less than a month after an eight-day labor strike ended, the Class I's train movements have recovered to pre-strike ranges.

The strike caused CN's network to run at about 10 percent capacity. Every strike day can cause several days of backlog, requiring time for the network to return to normal operational ranges, CN officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday announced it has proposed new rules to update current track safety standards (TSS) and "improve the effectiveness" of existing brake system safety requirements.

Both proposed rulemakings are aimed at increasing safety and saving time, FRA officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. and Virginia officials have reached a 10-year, $3.7 billion agreement that calls for expansion of passenger-rail service, construction of a new bridge over the Potomac River and the acquisition of more than 350 miles of railroad right-of-way and 225 miles of track.

The agreement aims to expand reliability and service on Virginia's rail lines, creating a pathway to separate passenger and freight operations between Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., Virginia officials said yesterday in a press release issued by Gov. Ralph Northam's office.