Railroad News

HNTB Corporation has tapped Michael Booth, AICP, as the firm's new transit planning group director and associate vice president. He is based in HNTB's Chicago office.

Although Genesee & Wyoming Inc. posted a 32 percent jump in adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) in first-quarter 2018, the company's North American results were hurt in part by congestion at several connecting Class Is that limited car supply.

G&W reported Q1 2018 revenue increased 10.7 percent to $574.7 million from $519.1 million a year ago. Operating income rose 14.5 percent to $86.9 million, while adjusted operating income climbed 2.7 percent to $87.4 million compared to first-quarter 2017, company officials said today in a press release.

Railroads and rail contractors will have an additional year to comply with the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Part 243 Minimum Training Standards rule, which was originally issued in 2014.

This is the second year-long delay in implementation dates for the rule. The rule requires each railroad or contractor that employs one or more safety-related railroad employees to develop and submit a training program to FRA for approval and to designate the minimum training qualifications for each occupational category of employee. The rule also requires most employers to conduct periodic oversight of their employees and develop annual written reviews of their training programs to close performance gaps.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) conducted work on its Myrtle Viaduct on the M Line this weekend, rebuilding the structure that has been in place for more than a century.

nVent Electric plc, a provider of electrical connection and protection solutions, has completed its separation from Pentair plc and its launch as an independent, publicly traded company.

"With the completion of this spin, nVent has achieved a major milestone in becoming a more focused, global leader in providing electrical connection and protection solutions to customers around the world," said Beth Wozniak, nVent's chief executive officer. "We are going to be a fast-paced, dynamic growth company, focused on our customers and moving with velocity. I am proud to be part of the nVent team and am confident in the strategy and portfolio we have in place to deliver long-term shareholder value."

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) this spring will enter the final phases of its $387.2 million double-track project.

Starting today and through May 18, LIRR crews will work around-the-clock to connect new track to the existing second track west of the station in Central Islip, New York. Workers also will install third rail in the same area.

TransLink has announced British Columbia Rapid Transit Co. (BCRTC) President and General Manager Vivienne King will step down May 16 to return to her native Australia.

BCRTC operates and maintains two of the three SkyTrain lines in Vancouver: the Expo Line and the Millennium Line. The company also operates the West Coast Express commuter-rail system.

Union Pacific Railroad announced last week it has established a $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation (NPF) to help encourage younger generations to explore the national parks via the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement.

"Union Pacific transported early park-goers to adventures out west," said Scott Moore, UP's senior vice president of corporate relations and chief administrative officer, in a press release. "Today, we deliver the goods Americans use every day to our nation's busiest cities and quietest towns, passing through rugged, beautiful landscapes. We traverse America's backyard, and we want the next generation to explore it."

Union Pacific Railroad announced last week it has established a $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation (NPF) to help encourage younger generations to explore the national parks via the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement.

"Union Pacific transported early park-goers to adventures out west," said Scott Moore, UP's senior vice president of corporate relations and chief administrative officer, in a press release. "Today, we deliver the goods Americans use every day to our nation's busiest cities and quietest towns, passing through rugged, beautiful landscapes. We traverse America's backyard, and we want the next generation to explore it."

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on MTA Metro-North Railroad to speed up its positive train control (PTC) implementation after a Federal Railroad Administration letter cast doubt on the railroad's ability to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology.

In a letter obtained by The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News, FRA Administrator Ron Batory noted that Metro-North had installed 63 percent of the hardware needed for its PTC system. Batory also expressed concern about Metro-North's progress toward fully implementing PTC.

Union Pacific remains the safest U.S. Class 1 railroad in employee safety for the third consecutive year.

The top-performing railroad had a 0.79 reportable injury rate in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. A railroad's reportable injury rate represents total number of injuries reported per 200,000 employee work hours. The reportable injury rate in 2017 is up slightly from the 0.78 reportable injury rate in 2016, but remains much lower than the 0.88 reportable injury rate in 2015.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded $2.6 billion in Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grants to 28 recipients. CalSTA is also providing additional funding for seven projects through multi-year funding agreements, bringing the total awarded to more than $4.3 billion.

TIRCP funding is provided through Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) and from the proceeds of the Cap and Trade program. The program provides major benefits towards meeting the State's climate and air quality goals, with a total reduction of more than 32 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) and CloudMoyo (CM), an information technology and services company, announced a partnership April 30 to modernize KCS' railroad operating system.

Watco Supply Chain Services LLC (WSCS) has purchased an interest in MID-SHIP Group LLC (MSG), which operates under three divisions: Marine, Logistics, and Kinder Morgan Logistics (KML).

Watco and MSG have had a long business relationship, particularly among MSG's logistics and KML business units and Watco's WSCS and Terminal and Port Services assets and operations. The new investment "further deepens that relationship and extends the companies' cooperation into marine chartering and international market expansion," Watco officials said in a press release.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) late last week awarded more than $2.6 billion in grants for rail and transit projects throughout the state.

In Southern California, grants were awarded to projects that are critical to preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles.