Railroad News

The North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Rail Division has selected Dewberry to provide general rail engineering support. Contract services could include rail project management and technical support, as well as track, roadway and structure design and associated planning. Other services may include engineering feasibility studies for rail corridor projects and program management support for federal grant programs.

Iowa-based Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing Inc. (ELM) has chosen Chugoku Kogyo Co. Ltd. Hiroshima to serve as its exclusive nationwide distributor in Japan. Before the venture, the two companies studied the market potential for biobased grease and lubricants in Japan and determined the country is ready for biobased products, ELM officials said in a press release. It's expected that biobased grease and lubricants will become a growing commodity in Japan, ELM officials said.

The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) has been released for the Port of Long Beach's (POLB) proposed redeveloped of a rail yard to transition more cargo to rail.

Currently, POLB says the ability to build long trains is limited due to the lack of adequate yard tracks and the configuration of mainline tracks. The proposed Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility would change this by providing track space to join together trains assembled at terminals. No cargo trucks would visit the facility, which POLB says would enhance the environmental benefits of the facility by pushing more cargo to rail transportation. Further environmental benefit would be seen from the rail facility's operator, Pacific Harbor Line, a switching railroad that has converted its fleet to clean diesel locomotives that reduce air pollution and save fuel.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) Board of Directors in Austin, Texas, has named Randy Clarke as the agency's next president and CEO.

January will see the final five miles of rail installed as part of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Double Track project.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) explains that the utilization of design-build construction along with a specialized New Track Construction machine lays rail more than 10 times faster than the agency has ever done. The accelerated construction has saved MTA more than $7 million and the project is expected to be complete in August 2018, 16 months ahead of schedule.

Amtrak is adding rail cars to 10 of its daily Pacific Surfliner trains serving Santa Barbara County, California, to keep up with increased demand following last week's mudslides.

The cars will provide more than 2,000 additional seats, Amtrak officials said in a press release. Railroad officials observed an increase in demand after U.S. Route 101 was closed during the deadly mudslides that occurred near Montecito, California.

The Central Maine & Québec Railway (CMQ) has announced two appointments in the New Year.

The Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) has named Chad Mowery vice president of operations and J. Wesley Logan, general manager operations.

Mowery's promotion from general manager to his new role was effective Jan. 1. He joined CMQ in March 2015 after 16 years in transportation, engineering and mechanical management positions with railroads owned by short-line holding company RailAmerica and its successor, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

Florida East Coast Railway, the regional carrier operating 350 miles of main line from Miami to Jacksonville, has a new president and chief executive officer.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Cap Metro) board in Austin, Texas, late last week named Randy Clarke president and chief executive officer.

The board is expected to approve Clarke's contract on Jan. 29, according to an agency press release.

A Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Red Line train yesterday derailed outside the Farragut North Station in Washington, D.C.

The train of 7000-series rail cars was carrying 60 passengers when it derailed at about 6:30 a.m. No injuries were reported. Investigators believe a break in the rail caused the derailment, WMATA officials said on Twitter.

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After spending 10 years as a human resources executive with H.J. Heinz & Co., Les Dakens joined CN in 2001 as senior vice president of people. During his interviews with the railroad’s leadership team, Dakens met Hunter Harrison, then CN’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

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

After spending 10 years as a human resources executive with H.J. Heinz & Co., Les Dakens joined CN in 2001 as senior vice president of people. During his interviews with the railroad’s leadership team, Dakens met Hunter Harrison, then CN’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The Denver Regional Transportation District's (RTD) board has elected Doug Tisdale chair for 2018.

Tisdale, who is the former mayor of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, currently serves as president of law firm Tisdale & Associates LLC.

U.S. Reps. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) are calling on U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Trump administration to commit to funding the Gateway project to build a new passenger-rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey.

In a letter sent to Chao last week, the lawmakers disputed Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Jane Williams' claim last month that the U.S. Department of Transportation did not have an agreement with New York and New Jersey state officials to share in the project's multi-billion-dollar cost.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has laid the final 5 miles of rail for its double-track project, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced late last week.

The $387.2 million project calls for adding a second track on LIRR's line between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, New York. With just one track along that 18-mile stretch at present, the LIRR can only operate a limited number of trains and lacks operational flexibility during disruptions.