Railroad News

A February hearing of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will focus on the progress made toward implementing Positive Train Control (PTC).

According to the chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee, U.S. Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA-10) and Michael Capuano (D-MA-7), several groups and organizations will address the subcommittee including Amtrak, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, private rail operators, public transit officials and labor.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $3.3 billion on capital expenses this year, the Class I announced yesterday.

The investment is the same amount as last year's capital budget, according to a BNSF press release.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $3.3 billion on capital expenses this year, the Class I announced yesterday.

The investment is the same amount as last year's capital budget, according to a BNSF press release.

Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. (GREX) hosted an event held this week to honor the Snead family, which founded the company. The family became known in the rail and quarry industries in the 1940s, when Edwin Brazelton Snead founded Texas Crushed Stone. He also founded Georgetown Railroad in 1958 to haul limestone from Georgetown to Austin, Texas. His eldest son Ned went on to establish GREX. This week's celebration was hosted in the GREX Business Car 400, which also bears Brazelton Snead's name. The 1920s-era car recently was moved to a permanent location at the company's Georgetown headquarters, where the car will be used to host special events, customer meetings and charitable events.

Harsco Rail Europe has begun delivering 31 rail vehicles to Switzerland's national railroad Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB for the maintenance of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Harsco obtained the contract for the order in 2013. Last month, Harsco held a ceremony to mark the delivery of the first six of 13 base vehicles, which weigh 80 metric tons. The units can be powered by electricity alone or a combination of diesel and electric power. The base vehicles can be operated from the driver's cab, via remote control or from other wagons.

A nonpartisan business coalition was formed yesterday to advocate for extending passenger rail from Boston to Manchester, New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Business for Rail Expansion has released a list of more than 50 businesses, organizations and individuals in support of the extension. The list includes Northwestern Mutual and University of New Hampshire.

The California State Transportation Agency awarded $51.9 million in State Rail Assistance program funding to seven recipients. The funds are made possible by the passage of state Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) last year.

SB 1 created the State Rail Assistance Program by directing a portion of new revenue specifically to intercity rail and commuter rail. The majority of program funding is directed by statutory formula to rail operators. The legislation is expected to provide $7.6 billion in new transit funding over the next decade.

The New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) board is set to consider New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's nomination of Kevin Corbett to serve as the public transportation system's executive director at its next meeting.

Caltrain announced yesterday that it will be awarded $2.5 million from California's new State Rail Assistance Grant program.

The program was created by Senate Bill 1, the landmark statewide transportation legislation signed last year. Caltrain expects to receive close to another $4 million from the program next year, railroad officials said in a press release.

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 27, 2018.

TNW Corp. has hired Luis Delgado to serve as market development manager.

Delgado will support marketing of TNW's three railroads and their respective logistics centers by contributing to the company's strategic planning and managing sales initiatives and programs.

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

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:40 p.m. CST.]

Texas Central earlier this week unveiled details of its planned bullet-train station in downtown Dallas.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy yesterday nominated Kevin Corbett to serve as executive director of New Jersey Transit.

The governor asked the agency's board to take up the nomination at its Feb. 4 meeting. If approved by the board, Corbett would succeed Steven Santoro, who earlier this month announced plans to resign.

President Donald Trump called on Congress last night to produce legislation that will modernize the nation's infrastructure.

In his first State of the Union address, Trump said he wants a bill that will generate "at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need."

A Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO) commuter train yesterday struck an electrical conduit hanging near track in Camden, New Jersey, resulting in four passenger injuries and extensive delays.

The train, which was traveling eastbound near the Ferry Avenue Station, was carrying 23 passengers, eight of whom were PATCO employees.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) has appointed Lindsey Baker director of strategic partnerships.

In her role, Baker will identify and establish strategic partnerships for the deployment of systemwide planning for the agency, DCTA officials said in a press release.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation (OKDOT) successfully moved two BNSF bridge spans into place the weekend of Jan. 26-28 in a complicated maneuver that was part of a highway expansion project.

OKDOT said the move was the first of its kind in state history, took two years to plan and required a 60-hour work window where all lanes of I-235 in Oklahoma City were shut down for the move.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has selected a preferred alignment for the Red Line Extension (RLE) project, which is set to extend the Red Line to 130th Street from 95th Street.

A trio of rail advocacy groups, the Rail Passengers Association (RPA), the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), are joining forces to make one thing clear: Railroad tracks are no place for pedestrians, cars and bicyclists.

Citing recent fatal incidents in Florida, what the groups call "an unhelpful political campaign targeting the Brightline rail service" and a local group's suggestion that using tracks as walking paths is a normal activity, have prompted the joint focus on safety around railroad tracks.