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Aug
31

UP to provide crude-by-rail service for Vista terminal in Texas

Vista Proppants and Logistics LLC has entered into a definitive agreement with JupiterMLP LLC for transloading crude oil from truck to rail at its facility in Pecos, Texas.

Vista and Jupiter plan to ship crude oil via Union Pacific Railroad through 2019 and potentially into 2020, depending on pipeline construction timelines and capacity availability, the companies announced earlier this week in a press release.

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Aug
31

UP to provide crude-by-rail service for Vista terminal in Texas

Vista Proppants and Logistics LLC has entered into a definitive agreement with JupiterMLP LLC for transloading crude oil from truck to rail at its facility in Pecos, Texas.

Vista and Jupiter plan to ship crude oil via Union Pacific Railroad through 2019 and potentially into 2020, depending on pipeline construction timelines and capacity availability, the companies announced earlier this week in a press release.

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Aug
30

MBTA launches stopped-train messages on countdown clocks

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/30/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
When a train has spent two minutes or longer than predicted in an area of track, the clocks will notify passengers how many stations away it stopped.Photo – MBTA's YouTube account

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Tuesday introduced new "stopped-train" messaging on its countdown clocks along the Red, Orange and Blue heavy-rail lines, as well as at Mattapan Trolley stops.

When a train has spent two minutes or longer than predicted in an area of track, the clocks will notify passengers how many stations away it stopped. Previously, the countdown clocks became "stuck" and simply displayed the last estimated time of arrival for a train, according to an agency press release.

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Aug
30

BLET, South Buffalo Railway reach tentative pact

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals 8/30/2018 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative contract agreement with the South Buffalo Railway Co.The agreement governs rates of pay, work rules, and health and welfare for 15 BLET members who work in the locomotive engineer craft, BLET officials said in a press release.Ratification ballots have been mailed and are due Sept. 21.Owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc., the short line operates over 52 miles of track in Buffalo, New York, with connections to CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway, CN and Canadian Pacific.

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Aug
30

NYCT wraps up first phases of flood protection in Queens

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) A and S rail service on Queens' Rockaway Peninsula will resume service Sept. 4 after completing the first two phases of a major flood protection project.

Crews installed foundations for a 20-foot-tall perimeter flood wall to surround the 3-acre site. Workers also installed steel sheet piles, extended a concrete retaining wall and began construction on a new building for compressor equipment, which provides compressed air to elevated tracks for signals.

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Aug
30

U.S. intermodal volume still outpacing carload activity

U.S. railroads' combined intermodal volume continued to surpass carload traffic in the week ending Aug. 25, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total intermodal volume rose 6 percent to 290,372 units during the week, while carloads ticked up 1.8 percent to 275,334 units compared with the same week a year ago.

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Aug
30

FTA certifies transit-rail safety oversight in Illinois, Tennessee

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has certified transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) programs in Illinois and Tennessee, the agency announced yesterday.

States with transit-rail systems in operation or under construction must get their SSO programs certified by April 15, 2019. In total, 28 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are required to obtain the certification.

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Aug
30

Brightline bond issue OK'd for rail infrastructure extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/30/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Brightline will use the financing to extend rail infrastructure into five Florida counties.Photo – Brightline

The Florida Development Finance Corp. (FDFC) yesterday approved a $1.75 billion bond issue that will finance infrastructure for Brightline's passenger-rail service in five Florida counties.

The financing will pay for infrastructure in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Brevard and Orange counties, Brightline officials said in a press release.

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Aug
30

UP's PTC work to continue into 2019-20

Union Pacific Railroad announced yesterday it will continue to "implement, test and refine" positive train control (PTC) technology in 2019-20.

The announcement was part of UP's regular quarterly updates of its PTC implementation progress.

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Aug
30

UP's PTC work to continue into 2019-20

Union Pacific Railroad announced yesterday it will continue to "implement, test and refine" positive train control (PTC) technology in 2019-20.

The announcement was part of UP's regular quarterly updates of its PTC implementation progress.

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Aug
30

APTA: Public transit use cuts traffic death rates

Rail News Home Safety 8/30/2018 Rail News: Safety
In terms of fatalities, the analysis found that commuter- or intercity-rail travel is 18 times safer for passengers than auto travel, according to APTA.Photo – APTA's Twitter account

More public transit usage can significantly lessen cities' traffic death rates, according to a recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) analysis.

Conducted by APTA and advocacy group Vision Zero Network, the analysis showed that metro areas that log more than 40 annual transit trips per capita experience a traffic mortality rate that's 40 percent lower than in metro areas with 20 transit trips per capita.

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Aug
29

Sacramento transit agency to lower fares

The Sacramento Regional Transit District's (SacRT) board on Monday agreed to reduce fares in a bid to boost ridership.

The board approved staff recommendations to use funds from cost-cutting measures and operational savings to "invest back in the Sacramento community," agency officials said in a press release.

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Aug
29

NYCT to reopen Cathedral Parkway Station over Labor Day weekend

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 8/29/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The repair effort was completed on time and on budget, agency officials said.Photo – NYC Councilmember Mark Levine's Twitter account

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) Cathedral Parkway-110th Street subway station in Manhattan will reopen over the Labor Day weekend following structural repairs.

The repair effort, which lasted less than five months, was completed on time and on budget, agency officials said in a press release. The project included functional improvements to the station's steel and concrete structure, mezzanine, walls, stairs and platforms.

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Aug
29

Jaxport broke container volume record for July

The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) logged its best July ever in container volumes, with total container movements rising 17 percent over the same period last year, port officials announced yesterday.

Nearly 97,250 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through the port last month, according to a Jaxport press release.

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Aug
29

Reading & Northern promotes Ludwig to VP customer service

Rail News Home Railroading People 8/29/2018 Rail News: Railroading People
Susan LudwigPhoto – Reading & Northern Railroad

The Reading & Northern Railroad has appointed Susan Ludwig vice president of customer service.

She will oversee all customer service managers, as well as all business — including anthracite coal, forest products and general merchandise — for over 70 customers, Reading & Northern officials said in a press release.

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Aug
29

MBTA to begin Green Line track, signal replacement in October

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 8/29/2018 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
The project includes installing 25,000 feet of track along the Green Line's D Branch.Photo – MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in October will start construction on a major Green Line track and signal replacement project, the agency announced earlier this week.

The project calls for installing 25,000 feet of track and 6.5 miles of modernized signal infrastructure along the Green Line's D Branch. The work is expected to continue through December 2020, according to an MBTA news release.

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Aug
29

CN honors 40 businesses for sustainability efforts

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 8/29/2018 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN last week recognized 40 customers and supply-chain partners for their sustainability practices. The CN EcoConnexions Partnership Program recognizes companies that pledge to work to reduce their carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency and drive sustainable business practices throughout the supply chain, CN officials said in a press release.On behalf of the companies and their sustainability efforts, CN will collaborate with the nonprofit Tree Canada organization to plant 100,000 trees this year in Canada and the United States, said Mark Lerner, CN's vice president of marketing and business development.Click here to see the list of companies recognized in CN's EcoConnexions program.

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Aug
29

CN honors 40 businesses for sustainability efforts

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 8/29/2018 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN last week recognized 40 customers and supply-chain partners for their sustainability practices. The CN EcoConnexions Partnership Program recognizes companies that pledge to work to reduce their carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency and drive sustainable business practices throughout the supply chain, CN officials said in a press release.On behalf of the companies and their sustainability efforts, CN will collaborate with the nonprofit Tree Canada organization to plant 100,000 trees this year in Canada and the United States, said Mark Lerner, CN's vice president of marketing and business development.Click here to see the list of companies recognized in CN's EcoConnexions program.

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Aug
29

FRA allows small railroads to automate hours-of-service records

Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 8/29/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
Ronald Batory is the federal railroad administrator.Photo – fra.dot.gov

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a final rule to allow eligible smaller railroads and their contractors to use automated systems instead of paper records to comply with federal employee hours-of-service recordkeeping requirements.

The rule, which takes effect today, is part of the FRA's broader effort to reduce the paperwork burden of its regulations, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

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Aug
29

DHS allocates $88 million in transit security grants

Rail News Home Security 8/29/2018 Rail News: Security
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority received a DHS grant for track and tunnel intrusion technology.Photo – LA Metro

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week issued $88 million in transit security grants aimed at protecting transit agencies from acts of terrorism and boosting the resilience of transit infrastructure.

The grants include a $6.2 million award to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) for track and tunnel intrusion technology to be installed throughout its underground rail stations.

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