Railroad News

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco last week unveiled its seven-point plan to reduce costs annually to address anticipated short-term and long-term operating budget deficits created by reduced ridership and revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of mid-October, BART ridership hovered at 13% of pre-COVID levels. It might not exceed 40% by the end of fiscal-year 2021, agency officials said in a press release. About 70% of BART’s operating revenue comes from fares. Its current fiscal year funding gap is $33 million, BART officials said in a press release.

The Ports of Indiana has received a $4 million federal grant to convert a vacant gravel yard into a multimodal storage facility at Burns Harbor.

The grant will fund construction of an 84,000-square-foot warehouse on a 1.64-acre storage pad in the east harbor arm. Public bidding for the project is tentatively set for first-quarter 2022, with construction slated for spring 2022, port officials said in a press release.

New York City, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, officials last week filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its new policy of withholding federal funds from cities it claims to be "anarchist jurisdictions."

The three cities — which the Trump administration has determined are local governments that permit "anarchy, violence and destruction" — say the policy is an "unconstitutional scheme to strip the cities of federal funding."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) late last week announced the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $15.6 million "State of Good Repair" grant to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to improve rail infrastructure between Ypsilanti and Jackson.

The project calls for replacing 80,000 feet of rail, rehabilitating 42 horizontal curves, and improving safety at 16 public and eight private grade crossings on the state-owned rail corridor.

AECOM launched Mobilitics™️ for Pandemic Response, an updated version of its transportation scenario-planning tool originally launched in 2018. The latest iteration is designed to help transit agencies and transportation departments assess how pandemic infection rates, stay-at-home orders, availability and deployment of a vaccine, economic recovery and reopening are expected to impact transportation patterns, AECOM officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. awarded Phunware Inc. a multiyear contract to provide its Smart Workplace mobile application portfolio for the railroad. The Smart Workplace will enable NS to better engage its office-based workforce with features that include room booking, parking reservations, food ordering and help requests, Phunware officials said in a press release.

Metrolinx last week completed construction of a new rail bridge at the Milliken GO rail station in Toronto.

Since spring 2019, trains at the station have been running on a temporary diversion track to allow for construction of the new rail bridge. On Oct. 19, trains were shifted back to the new east track atop of the rail bridge.

The Port of Savannah handled 1.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo during the first quarter of fiscal-year 2021, a 1.2% increase compared with the same fiscal quarter a year ago, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) officials announced last week.

The port also set a monthly record in September, with TEUs increasing by 11.2% for a total of 412,148 TEUs, GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said during his State of the Port Address and in a press release.

InnoTrans has postponed its conference until Sept. 20-23, 2022, due to the “constantly changing situation” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, InnoTrans 2020 was rescheduled to be held in April 2021 in Berlin. Ultimately, the factors in postponing again were a lack of planning certainty and the forecast for the pandemic in the months to come, officials said in a press release. “In the current situation no one can predict with sufficient certainty whether the overall conditions will permit the use of our rail track display in April 2021, and the holding of a leading international trade fair such as InnoTrans," officials said.

Focused Technology Solutions (FSI) developed its first ever battery-operated spike driver. Dubbed the SpikeForce, the spike driver eliminates the need for the claw bar, hydraulic fluid, hoses and generators. The SpikeForce operates using a standard Milwaukee Tool drill, and has the capability to dock two batteries on the tool at once, allowing for increased production, FTS officials said in a press release.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) in Texas has created an 11-step plan to welcome returning commuter-rail riders during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The plan is designed to outline the precautions and safety efforts DCTA is taking during the pandemic to increase rider confidence in the system, DCTA officials said in a press release.

VIA Rail Canada Inc. earlier this week announced it will resume service between Winnipeg and Vancouver on Dec. 11.

After evaluation of health and safety protocols, including social distancing measures and enhanced air ventilation systems, VIA Rail plans to offer one weekly round-trip between those cities on the Canadian route, VIA Rail officials said in a press release.

Intersand America Corp., a cat litter producer, has opened its new U.S. headquarters in Windsor, Colorado.

Located in the Great Western Industrial Park, the plant is served by OmniTRAX Inc.'s Great Western Railway of Colorado LLC. The 46,000-square-foot, packaging distribution facility already shipped by rail its first orders to begin operations, Intersand officials said in a press release.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) this month approved the installation of lights and gates at three grade crossings in the state.

PUCO approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing CSX to install flashing lights and gates at the East Franklin Street crossing in Miami County by July 7, 2021. 

Canadian Pacific yesterday announced two winners of its Elevator of the Year award: Viterra Gull Lake (Canada) and CHS Northland Grain Hazel (U.S.).

The Class I presents the award annually to grain elevators that achieve high volumes from a single loading point while consistently demonstrating efficient rail-car loading and a strong commitment to safety, CP officials said in a press release.

Canadian Pacific yesterday announced two winners of its Elevator of the Year award: Viterra Gull Lake (Canada) and CHS Northland Grain Hazel (U.S.).

The Class I presents the award annually to grain elevators that achieve high volumes from a single loading point while consistently demonstrating efficient rail-car loading and a strong commitment to safety, CP officials said in a press release.

Amtrak's latest projections are that the railroad ended fiscal-year 2020 on Sept. 30 with $1.24 billion in annual ticket-sales revenue, just 53 percent of what it had been in the previous fiscal year, President and Chief Executive Officer William Flynn told a U.S. Senate committee this week.

Flynn on Oct. 21 provided members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation an update on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on Amtrak's finances and operations, as well as the railroad's measures to address the drastic loss in ridership and revenue over the past several months.

Union Pacific Railroad this week announced that Jim Vena, chief operating officer, will transition to a new role by year's end. He will be succeeded by Eric Gehringer as executive vice president of operations, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

Vena will remain employed at the company as senior adviser through June 2021. After a long railroad career, he joined UP in January 2019 to lead all aspects of the Class I's operations, including the Unified Plan 2020 implementation.

Nearly a quarter of MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) subway and bus workers have contracted COVID-19, according to a new study conducted by the New York University (NYU) School of Global Health.

The pilot study, conducted by NYU researchers in coordination with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 (TWU), illustrates the toll the pandemic is having on the physical and mental health of transit and other front-line workers, NYU officials said in a press release.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) earlier this month selected the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) as its 2020 Veterans Engagement Award winner for recruiting and supporting veterans. 

At ASLRRA’s Virtual Convention on Oct. 5, TRRA was recognized for its "focused and sustained" efforts to recruit veterans for employment. TRRA also was recognized for supporting veterans and their families in the community beyond the railroad's workforce.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday honored individuals and organizations for their leadership, vision and life-time commitment to public transportation. The association also inducted four new members into the APTA Hall of Fame.

The APTA Honors recognize North American public transportation leaders who are outstanding role models of excellence, have demonstrated significant leadership, and whose accomplishments and innovations have greatly advanced public transportation, APTA officials said in a press release.