Railroad News

The White House on July 10 announced that President Donald Trump intends to nominate Ronald L. Batory, who recently retired as president and chief operating officer of Conrail, as the next Federal Railroad Administrator.

The White House on July 10 announced that President Donald Trump intends to nominate Ronald L. Batory, who recently retired as president and chief operating officer of Conrail, as the next Federal Railroad Administrator.

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R– IN-9) joined R. J. Corman Railroad Services and the Louisville & Indiana (L&I) Railroad on July 10 for a project tour and to discuss rail and manufacturing issues with various rail stakeholders.

The tour was led by Nathan Henderson, president, R. J. Corman Railroad Services, and John Goldman, president of L&I. R. J. Corman is performing contracting services for the railroad. From 2015 to 2017, 94 miles of continuous welded rail and more than 80,000 crossties were installed on L&I. The improvements are part of an agreement the shortline has with CSX that will see infrastructure upgrades along the 106-mile route between Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis.

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R– IN-9) joined R. J. Corman Railroad Services and the Louisville & Indiana (L&I) Railroad on July 10 for a project tour and to discuss rail and manufacturing issues with various rail stakeholders.

The tour was led by Nathan Henderson, president, R. J. Corman Railroad Services, and John Goldman, president of L&I. R. J. Corman is performing contracting services for the railroad. From 2015 to 2017, 94 miles of continuous welded rail and more than 80,000 crossties were installed on L&I. The improvements are part of an agreement the shortline has with CSX that will see infrastructure upgrades along the 106-mile route between Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis.

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R– IN-9) joined R. J. Corman Railroad Services and the Louisville & Indiana (L&I) Railroad on July 10 for a project tour and to discuss rail and manufacturing issues with various rail stakeholders.

The tour was led by Nathan Henderson, president, R. J. Corman Railroad Services, and John Goldman, president of L&I. R. J. Corman is performing contracting services for the railroad. From 2015 to 2017, 94 miles of continuous welded rail and more than 80,000 crossties were installed on L&I. The improvements are part of an agreement the shortline has with CSX that will see infrastructure upgrades along the 106-mile route between Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis.

President Donald Trump yesterday announced his intent to nominate Ronald Batory to serve as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Batory has more than 45 years of rail industry experience and most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Conrail. Batory joined the company in 1998 as vice president-operations and was appointed COO in 2004. He retired from Conrail on March 31.

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As we reported in our Daily News late last month, former airline industry exec Richard Anderson will be Amtrak’s next president and CEO. As of press time, Anderson — who most recently was executive chairman of Delta Air Lines after serving as its CEO from 2007 to 2016 — was to begin his new duties on July 12. Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman will be co-CEO with Anderson until Dec. 31. After that, Moorman will serve Amtrak in an advisory capacity.

BNSF Railway Co. has designated a transload facility operated by Sands Spring Railway Co. in Oklahoma a "premier status" location.

The designation means the short line provides superior performance, markets a comprehensive service offering and maintains a minimum capacity level at the Tulsa facility. BNSF bestows a limited number of premier status designations during the course of a year, said officials at OmniTRAX Inc. — which owns Sands Spring Railway— in a press release.

Caltrain logged 62,190 average weekday passengers during its yearly on-board ridership count in February and early April. The figure marked a 0.4 percent decrease over last year's on-board ridership count.

The news follows six years of consecutive ridership growth, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

Representatives from a coalition of six rail labor unions and the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) met for three days in late June but were unable to reach a new national agreement.

Known as the Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG), the union coalition includes the American Train Dispatchers Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU; and SMART Transportation Division. The unions represent more than 85,000 railroad employees covered by various national agreements, while the NCCC represents the labor interests of the Class Is.

Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCP&E) leaders recently joined state and local officials in Huron, South Dakota, to ceremoniously mark an upcoming mainline upgrade project.

The $12.4 million project calls for building a 7,000-foot siding in Philip halfway between Fort Pierre and Rapid City, and upgrading 10 miles of mainline track east of Huron.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has begun its search for a new president and chief executive officer.

The association has tapped executive recruiting firm Krauthamer and Associates Inc. to perform the search, according to APTA's Passenger Transport newsletter.

The province of Alberta will provide CA$1.53 billion to support the first stage of Calgary's Green Line light-rail project.

The funds will come from Alberta's "Climate Leadership Plan," which includes a carbon levy. The province's contribution will cover about a third of the $4.65 billion project; Calgary's municipal government and the Canadian federal government will fund the remainder.

Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V. has completed the acquisition of Florida East Coast Holdings Corp. (FEC) through its Transportation Business Unit Grupo México Transportes, S.A. de C.V. (GMXT).

As previously reported, the US$2-billion acquisition positions GMXT as a relevant player in the North American transport business, together with its current operations in Mexico and the state of Texas. The acquisition was funded with a $1.55-billion loan from BBVA and Credit Suisse, as well as a $250-million loan from Santander, with the remainder funded with GMXT's own resources and $97 million in debt at the FEC level.

Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V. has completed the acquisition of Florida East Coast Holdings Corp. (FEC) through its Transportation Business Unit Grupo México Transportes, S.A. de C.V. (GMXT).

As previously reported, the US$2-billion acquisition positions GMXT as a relevant player in the North American transport business, together with its current operations in Mexico and the state of Texas. The acquisition was funded with a $1.55-billion loan from BBVA and Credit Suisse, as well as a $250-million loan from Santander, with the remainder funded with GMXT's own resources and $97 million in debt at the FEC level.

Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V. has completed the acquisition of Florida East Coast Holdings Corp. (FEC) through its Transportation Business Unit Grupo México Transportes, S.A. de C.V. (GMXT).

As previously reported, the US$2-billion acquisition positions GMXT as a relevant player in the North American transport business, together with its current operations in Mexico and the state of Texas. The acquisition was funded with a $1.55-billion loan from BBVA and Credit Suisse, as well as a $250-million loan from Santander, with the remainder funded with GMXT's own resources and $97 million in debt at the FEC level.

Operation Lifesaver Canada has named Metrolinx transit safety officer Peter Mohyla as the recipient of its 2016 Roger Cyr Award for Public Safety.

Mohyla has served 30 years as a Metrolinx transit safety officer. Operation Lifesaver Canada says that during those three decades, he has used his field experience and passion to promote safety along Metrolinx's railway corridors in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), coordinating school presentations and community events, working with police and other public safety agencies and finding innovative ways to educate the public — including through his social media posts and a recent video series which he produced with TVOKids entitled Anytime is Train Time.