Railroad News

The North Carolina Department of Transportation's Rail Division recently partnered with Progressive Rail Inc. (PGR) to spur freight business along the state-owned Piedmont and Northern rail line.

The 14-mile line between Gastonia and Mt. Holly is part of the 137 miles of track the division has worked to preserve. After a recent competitive bid process, the division selected PGR to operate the line.

Members of a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rail operators' union have expressed support for a strike in an unofficial vote, local media reported earlier this week.

Roughly a third of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308's 3,000 members participated in the preliminary vote. Ninety-eight percent of those who voted favored a strike, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 8, 2017. The July 4th holiday is included both in this year and the comparable week of 2016.

The Port of Long Beach in June handled 658,727 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 9.2 percent year over year and the second-most container volume for the month in the port’s 106-year history.

Imports grew 7 percent to 335,328 TEUs, exports declined 7.7 percent to 118,304 TEUs and empty container volume climbed 26.8 percent to 205,095 TEUs.
In the second quarter, the Southern California port's total volume rose 8.3 percent year over year to about 1.9 million TEUs, and in the year's first half, its volume increased 5.1 percent to about 3.5 million TEUs.

Demolition of the Schenectady Station is underway. The new, fully accessible rail station, which will connect travelers to places like New York City and Niagara Falls, has a projected cost of $23 million.

The project is in addition to $181 million in rail improvement projects recently completed along the Empire Corridor in the Capital Region.

Demolition of the Schenectady Station is underway. The new, fully accessible rail station, which will connect travelers to places like New York City and Niagara Falls, has a projected cost of $23 million.

The project is in addition to $181 million in rail improvement projects recently completed along the Empire Corridor in the Capital Region.

Demolition of the Schenectady Station is underway. The new, fully accessible rail station, which will connect travelers to places like New York City and Niagara Falls, has a projected cost of $23 million.

The project is in addition to $181 million in rail improvement projects recently completed along the Empire Corridor in the Capital Region.

The U.S. House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee on Monday released a transportation, housing and urban development funding bill that would eliminate the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.

Since 2009, Congress has dedicated nearly $4.6 billion for seven rounds of the TIGER program. In fiscal-year 2017, the program was funded at $500 million.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate Editor

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) has completed renovations to the Gresham City Hall MAX light-rail station.

The improvements include various safety and security upgrades, as well as improved lighting and new tactile warning strips on platform edges, TriMet officials said in a press release.

Watco Cos. LLC recently won an award from insurance carrier The American Equity Underwriters (AEU) for its safety efforts when handling marine cargo.

The short-line holding company received the stevedoring safety award at a ceremony held at a terminal in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Award criteria includes incident frequency and severity, and accident prevention controls that are in place.

Select Sands Corp. anticipates second-quarter frac and industrial sand volume at least doubled the 22,427 tons shipped in the first quarter. The company has reconfigured operational processes at its processing facility, which now can produce sand at an annual rate of 600,000 tons.

However, to ensure optimal inventory management, the company is producing at levels consistent with its ability to deliver product, primarily by rail, Select Sands officials said in a press release.

A group of rail suppliers and eight United Kingdom universities have partnered to secure $118 million to perform rail research in the U.K.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England will provide $36 million, while a group of 17 industry partners will pick up the remaining $82 million. The latter group includes Alstom, Siemens and Bombardier Transportation.

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill July 10.

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill July 10.

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill July 10.

Progressive Rail, Inc., and the North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Rail Division have partnered to preserve rail service along a portion of the Piedmont & Northern Railway corridor.

Progressive Rail, Inc., and the North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Rail Division have partnered to preserve rail service along a portion of the Piedmont & Northern Railway corridor.