Railroad News

Amtrak and New Jersey Transit yesterday announced a joint $31 million investment to improve railroad infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in New Jersey and conduct renewal work throughout spring and summer. 

As part of the investment, Amtrak crews on May 20 will begin a block tie replacement program at Newark Penn Station. Crews will replace 95 feet of ties on Track 1 and 1,100 feet of ties on Track 4. The existing wooden have deteriorated and will be replaced by concrete ties, according to a press release from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office.

The League of Railway Women (LRW) is calling for nominations of rail industry women to serve on its board for a term that extends from October 2019 to September 2021.

Run by an all volunteer board, the LRW represents women who work for railroads and the rail supply industry.

The Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) and the Panama Canal Authority recently extended their memorandum (MOU) of understanding that calls for joint promotions and information exchanges.

Signed by STC Chairman Mike Bellar and authority Chairman Jorge Quijano, the MOU extends a partnership between the two organizations that serves to raise awareness of the canal's role as a "key link in the agricultural supply chain," according to an STC press release.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) will open the 2.3-mile Southeast light-rail extension on May 17. 

An extension of RTD's E, F and R lines, the line will extend service south from Lincoln Station to RidgeGate Station in Lone Tree, Colorado. 

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) crews earlier this week completed installation of an upgraded automatic train control (ATC) system between St. Patrick and Dupont subway stations, restoring full service on the line ahead of schedule.  

The nine month process to upgrade the section to a modern signaling system included installation of more than 100,000 feet of cables and over 500 trackside components, according to a TTC press release.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach both reported record-breaking cargo volumes last month.

The Port of Los Angeles handled 736,466 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the busiest April in the port's history. The volumes reflected a 4.4 percent increase from April 2018's levels and is 3 percent more than the previous April record set in 2017, port officials said in a press release.

A Sound Transit committee met last week to discuss the possible location of a 30-acre operations and maintenance facility to expand light rail farther south, according to a KIRO 7 news report.  

The System Expansion Committee voted unanimously to recommend advancing a former landfill site in Kent, Washington, and two sites in Federal Way to the draft environmental impact statement study phase. The board will take a final vote to confirm the recommendation on May 23, according to the report. 

Last week, hundreds of railroaders, contractors, suppliers and rail shippers visited 350 congressional offices to discuss political issues of concern to the industry during the annual Railroad Day on Capitol Hill.

Among the topics discussed with dozens of U.S. senators, congressmen and congressional staffers included an extension of the short-line tax credit; ratification of a new trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico; opposition to increases in truck size or length; the preservation of balanced economic regulation of the rail industry; and support for comprehensive infrastructure legislation.

The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition's (SCIC) board voted to select Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners LP for a public-private partnership to finance, develop and construct the proposed Uinta Basin Railway in Utah.

The Uinta Basin Railway is a new freight-rail line proposed by SCIC to connect the Uinta Basin to the national rail network and make it possible to economically transport goods in and out of the region, according to the project's website. 

Last month, two western (well, west of the Mississippi) railroads reported above-consensus first-quarter earnings: Kansas City Southern, which grew year over year (YOY) by 18 percent (adjusted, versus Street estimates of around 10 percent); and Union Pacific Railroad, in its weather-dominated quarter, by 15 percent YOY (versus around 12 percent). KCS lowered its operating ratio by 160 basis points (bps) to (adjusted) 64.2, and UP lowered its OR by a point — having absorbed a 160bps weather impact — to 63.6. It was also noted that “at Union Pacific, we do not include real estate sales in our OR.” Zing! But more than the results — it was the differing tones and tenors of the earnings' webcasts that struck me.

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority today received its second streetcar from vehicle manufacturer CAF USA Inc., which increased the fleet from four to five vehicles.

Streetcar No. 805 is the first of two vehicles scheduled to arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, this year. 

The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) yesterday began collecting fares on the G Line after offering free rides on the electric commuter-rail line since it opened April 26. 

RTD offered free rides in appreciation of the public’s patience in the delayed opening of the 11-mile, eight-station line that connects passengers from Denver’s western-most station to Union Station downtown, RTD officials said in a press release. 

Last week two overhead electrical wires broke on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County, Texas, (METRO) light-rail system, prompting an emergency shutdown of three lines to repair the hazards. 

Crews yesterday completed emergency repairs on the Red Line extension that runs between the University of Houston-Downtown Station and the Northline Transit Center, but the shutdown continues on the Green and Purples lines as crews reinforce 79 locations of wire to prevent them from falling in the event of another break, METRO officials said in a press release. 

Union Pacific Railroad executives joined other public and private-sector officials in ceremonies last week marking the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in Promontory Summit, Utah, which signaled the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

On May 9, a ceremony held at Ogden Union Station in Ogden, Utah, featured UP's steam locomotives Living Legend No. 844 and Big Boy No. 4014. The two met, recreating the historic image taken at Promontory Summit on May 10, according to a UP press release.

CN announced last week that union members have ratified three of four tentative agreements reached between CN and Unifor Council 4000 negotiators in March.

The three ratified agreements, reached prior to their expiration, cover 2,000 CN railroaders in Canada, including all clerks and intermodal workers, excavator-operators, as well as conductors and locomotive engineers working on the SAR internal short line in northern Alberta, Canada, according to a CN press release.

Valley Metro on May 18 will begin operation of the 1.9-mile Gilbert Road light-rail extension in Mesa, Arizona. 

The agency will mark the opening of the more than $180 million extension by offering limited free transit passes to riders, according to a Valley Metro press release.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has awarded $15 million in state grants for three projects in the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) grade-separation program of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG).

The grant program will contribute $5 million each toward the completion of roadway underpasses under construction on Fairway Drive and Fullerton Road in Industry, California; in Rowland Heights, California; and on Durfee Avenue in Pico, Rivera, California, according to a SGVCOG press release.

The Timken Co. launched a new website, driveschain.com, for identifying and selecting precision roller, attachment and engineered-class chains. The site includes an attachment chain configurator, technical resources and engineering tools and a master product catalog. In a separate announcement, Timken celebrated the three-year anniversary of the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the world that connects Zurich and Milan. Timken provided tapered roller bearings for the tunnel boring machine that cut through 95 miles of granite.

Siemens Mobility Inc. and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Local 234 have signed a five-year contract. The contract calls for an annual wage increase of 3 percent per year and an increase in shift differential pay to 45 cents per hour for second shift workers. Other negotiations included a cap for mandatory Saturday overtime assignments; up to two weeks paid parental leave; and an increased allowance for safety shoes and glasses to $125 annually. Local 234 members will also maintain the same health and welfare benefits as Siemens Mobility company officials. 

Businesses that ship commodities on the Illinois Waterway system are being encouraged to make alternative plans due to scheduled closures of locks on the system during periods in the summers of 2019, 2020 and 2023.

Shippers will need to find alternative routes during the closure windows or ship along the Illinois River outside those periods, according to St. Louis Regional Freightway officials. One alternative route is the Mississippi River through the St. Louis region, they suggested in a press release.