Railroad News

Lighthouse Resources Inc. yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington state government for blocking the mining company from developing a coal export terminal along the Columbia River.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, the lawsuit details the company's allegations that state officials violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law by "unreasonably denying and refusing to process permits to develop a brownfield site on the river where an existing state lease allows coal exports."

Amtrak tomorrow will kick off the next round of track renewal projects at New York Penn Station.

The bulk of the infrastructure renewal work in 2018 will occur on weekends, with the entire project slated to wrap up on May 28, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

U.S. rail traffic for all of 2017 rose 3.4 percent to 27,489,960 carloads and intermodal units compared with traffic in 2016, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Carload traffic for the year climbed 2.9 percent to 13,478,126 units in 2017, while intermodal traffic increased 3.9 percent to 14,011,834 units for the year compared with 2016, according to an AAR press release.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 7 will add six train trips along the Red Line to help alleviate crowding on trains.

The agency will add three morning trips and another three in the evening, Cap Metro officials said in a press release. The agency also will adjust the schedules for the five bus routes that serve the Leander and Downtown train stations.

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Elaine Chao sent a form letter to 47 Class 1, intercity and state and local transit authorities to stress the urgency and importance of implementing positive train control (PTC) by Dec. 31, 2018.

Sec. Chao's letter explained that the coming year is filled with rail safety-oriented initiatives with PTC implementation among the most important. She noted that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would continue to work with the railroads as the congressionally-mandated deadline approaches.

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, will not seek re-election in 2018.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) named Dana Gresham to be his chief of staff Jan. 2.

Gresham, who is originally from Alabama, spent more than seven years with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as assistant secretary for governmental affairs. Before his time with the USDOT, Gresham served as chief of staff to former Rep. Artur Davis and in various legislative aide roles for elected officials going back to 1994. Gresham holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in 2017 "nearly completed" mining twin tunnels for the Regional Connector light-rail project, agency officials announced in a blog post.

The tunnels run from the city's Little Tokyo neighborhood to the financial district, according to the post summarizing progress on the project. Each tunnel measures about 5,700 feet in length and is made of 1,140 pre-cast concrete rings.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in 2017 "nearly completed" mining twin tunnels for the Regional Connector light-rail project, agency officials announced in a blog post.

The tunnels run from the city's Little Tokyo neighborhood to the financial district, according to the post summarizing progress on the project. Each tunnel measures about 5,700 feet in length and is made of 1,140 pre-cast concrete rings.

Progress Rail has acquired ECM S.p.A., an international signal solutions and technologies provider, in a transaction that officially closed Jan. 2.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) yesterday resumed full testing along the forthcoming G Line commuter-rail route.

This phase of the testing process focuses on communication and signaling systems, as well as the communication of traffic and rail signals at crossings, RTD officials said in a press release.

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC)/RT&S Contractor Safety Awards recipients were announced in a Jan. 2 e-mail, with a record of 65 companies winning awards.

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 30, 2017, as well as volumes for December 2017 and all of 2017.

President Trump's administration has cast doubt on the amount of federal funding available for the proposed construction of a new Hudson River railroad tunnel that connects New York and New Jersey.

In a letter obtained by Crain's New York Business, Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams informed New York and New Jersey officials late last week that a "50/50" agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the two states to share the cost for the proposed "Gateway" tunnel project is "non-existent."

House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) announced in an interview yesterday that he will not run for another term in Congress.

Shuster, whose term as chairman of the committee would expire at the end of this year, told the Washington Examiner that he wants to work with the Trump administration on getting an infrastructure bill passed in Congress this year.

BRIGHTLINE, Florida's new private passenger operator, has announced that it will launch an introductory service between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach during the week of Jan. 8.

Brightline next week will launch introductory passenger-rail service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The company is working toward operational readiness by training staff and testing equipment, Brightline officials said in a press release late last week.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is urging Class Is, intercity passenger railroads and state and local transit agencies to implement positive train control (PTC) by the congressional deadline of Dec. 31.

In letters to railroad executives, Chao said the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is concerned that many of the nation's railroads are behind in implementing the federally mandated PTC technology by the Dec. 31 deadline.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 2, 2018 – Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), issued the following statement on House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster’s (R-PA) announcement that he would not seek reelection.