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Jan
24

POLB advances Pier B plan

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, progressing a plan to allow for more efficient cargo movement.

"This project is vital to our ability to stay competitive and will minimize truck trips generated by anticipated cargo growth," said Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum. "Moving more cargo by rail to and from the Port reduces air pollution and makes operations more efficient."

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Jan
24

Lac-Mégantic rail bypass gets big financial commitment from Canadian government

A plan to move a rail line from out of downtown Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, received financial backing from the federal government of Canada, but no solid dollar amount.

Transport Canada Minister of Transport Marc Garneau said in a statement that the federal government would contribute a "substantial sum" toward the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass project.

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Jan
24

Lac-Mégantic rail bypass gets big financial commitment from Canadian government

A plan to move a rail line from out of downtown Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, received financial backing from the federal government of Canada, but no solid dollar amount.

Transport Canada Minister of Transport Marc Garneau said in a statement that the federal government would contribute a "substantial sum" toward the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass project.

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Jan
24

TCU, BRC ratify labor contracts with freight railroads

Rail News Home Labor 1/24/2018 Rail News: Labor
Members of the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU) and the Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division (of TCU) have ratified new contract terms with major U.S. freight railroads.The agreement covers more than 17,000 workers, National Railway Labor Conference officials said in press release.The unions are the latest to ratify their agreements with the railroads. Others that have already approved agreements include the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers and the American Train Dispatchers Association."I am pleased that more than 70 percent of our employees have now ratified the national settlement terms and even more, that they are approving them by overwhelming margins," said A. Kenneth Gradia, chairman of the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), the bargaining representative for the railroads. "These latest results continue the steady stream of contract ratifications by railroad employees over the last six weeks."The NCCC represents more than 30 railroads, including BNSF, CSX, and Union Pacific Railroad.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have yet to ratify their agreements.

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Jan
24

CN: Q4 adjusted net income down 6 percent

CN reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income decreased 6 percent to CA$897 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell by 2 percent to CA$1.20.

The results exclude the impact of changes in the U.S. corporate tax rate under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Including the tax benefit, CN reported Q4 2017 net income soared 156 percent to CA$2.6 billion and diluted EPS jumped 164 percent to CA$3.48 compared with Q4 2016's results, CN officials said in a press release.

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Jan
24

CN: Q4 adjusted net income down 6 percent

CN reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income decreased 6 percent to CA$897 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell by 2 percent to CA$1.20.

The results exclude the impact of changes in the U.S. corporate tax rate under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Including the tax benefit, CN reported Q4 2017 net income soared 156 percent to CA$2.6 billion and diluted EPS jumped 164 percent to CA$3.48 compared with Q4 2016's results, CN officials said in a press release.

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Jan
24

NS attributes higher profit to volume growth, strategic plan

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $486 million, or $1.69 per diluted earnings per share (EPS), compared with $416 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.

For full-year 2017, NS posted $1.9 billion in adjusted net income versus $1.7 billion in 2016. Adjusted diluted EPS were $6.61, an 18 percent increase over last year's record diluted EPS of $5.62, NS officials said in a press release.

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Jan
24

NS attributes higher profit to volume growth, strategic plan

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $486 million, or $1.69 per diluted earnings per share (EPS), compared with $416 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.

For full-year 2017, NS posted $1.9 billion in adjusted net income versus $1.7 billion in 2016. Adjusted diluted EPS were $6.61, an 18 percent increase over last year's record diluted EPS of $5.62, NS officials said in a press release.

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Jan
23

LACMTA retires TBM mining Regional Connector tunnels

Boring work for the two tunnels that are part of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LACMTA) Regional Connector Transit Project has been completed and the tunnel boring machine (TBM) used for the work is being retired.

 

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Jan
23

MassDOT kicks off efforts to update state rail plan

Rail News Home Rail Industry Trends 1/23/2018 Rail News: Rail Industry Trends
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has begun working on a state rail plan to outline a 20-year vision and four-year plan for its rail system. The document is an update to MassDOT's 2010 State Rail Plan. The most recent rail plan will comply with the Federal Railroad Administration's requirement that states develop individual rail plans in a six-chapter format, MassDOT officials said in a blog post.Each plan must provide an overview of a state's existing rail system, the system's overall role in the transportation network, how the system is financed and documentation of coordination for developing the plan.MassDOT has scheduled a public meeting Jan. 29 to answer questions about the new plan.

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More News from 1/23/2018


Jan
23

Metra seeks rider input on fare restructuring

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 1/23/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
Some of the fare changes are aimed at encouraging off-peak travel.Photo – Metra

Metra next month will host meetings to gather rider feedback about several changes to the agency's fare structure, including a plan to introduce a day pass for travel between any two zones.

The aim is to create a flexible fare structure that allows Metra to segment and price markets differently, and to give the railroad more flexibility to increase fare revenue while providing more control over ridership impacts from fare changes, agency officials said in a press release.

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Jan
23

Georgia Ports Authority posts record TEUs in 2017

The Port of Savannah handled more than 4 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2017, an 11 percent increase and the port's highest annual volume ever, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported yesterday.

Last month, the GPA handled 323,000 TEUs, up 10.6 percent compared with a year ago and the busiest December in the authority's history.

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Jan
23

Michigan line improvements result in improved Amtrak travel

Amtrak says rail infrastructure improvements along its Chicago – Detroit/Pontiac line have been made to enable safe, faster travel along the Michigan passenger and freight corridor.

 

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Jan
23

STB: Class Is end 2017 with smaller workforce

U.S. Class Is continued to shrink their workforce last month.

As of mid-December, Class Is in the United States employed 145,416 workers, down 0.37 percent since mid-November's employment figure and down 3.19 percent compared with mid-December 2016's level, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

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Jan
23

Amtrak's Michigan trains travel faster after rail upgrades

Trains on Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water lines in Michigan have begun traveling faster following recent rail infrastructure improvements, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced yesterday.

Amtrak staff now dispatch trains on the rail corridor between Porter, Indiana, and Dearborn, Michigan — a move that "ensures the efficient movement of passenger trains," said MDOT Office of Rail Director Tim Hoeffner in a press release.

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Jan
23

Scanlon elected to Norfolk Southern's board

Rail News Home Railroading People 1/23/2018 Rail News: Railroading People
Jennifer Scanlon is president and chief executive officer of USG Corp.Photo – Norfolk Southern Corp.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has elected Jennifer Scanlon to its board of directors.

Scanlon is president and chief executive officer of USG Corp. She has been appointed to the NS board's Compensation Committee and the Finance and Risk Management Committee.

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Jan
23

New York City MTA to sign $4 billion contract for new subway cars

Rendering of a prototype for a new subway carPhoto – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is slated to sign a $3.7 billion contract with Kawasaki for 1,612 new subway cars, The New York Times reported late last week.

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Jan
23

Freight-rail groups: Don't scrap NAFTA

Freight-rail industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico are calling for "constructive negotiations" on a new version of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In an open letter to policymakers, freight-rail associations from each country stressed the importance of trade and the need for a continental railroad network to provide businesses with access to economic markets.

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Jan
22

In memoriam: Walter Winzen

Walter Winzen, founder and chief executive officer of Missouri-based Transportation Products Sales Co. (TPSC), died Jan. 19 of heart failure, the company has announced.

"We are saddened by the passing of Walter Winzen, but confident his leadership will live on in all aspects of the business operations, especially his mission to find solutions that advance the rail industry," said TPSC President Sid Bakker in a press release.  

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Jan
22

Chicago RTA calls for stable public transit funding

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 1/22/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The plan notes that Chicago-area transit agencies are "on uneven financial footing."Photo – Chicago Transit Authority

The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority's (RTA) board last week approved its 2018-2023 regional transit strategic plan, which calls for pursuing public funding for transit.

Titled "Invest in Transit," the plan makes the case for pursuing dependable funding streams that would enable the RTA, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace to continue providing service.

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