Railroad News

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) in fall will add several trains along the A, D, E and F subway lines to accommodate growing ridership.

The additional trains primarily will run before or after rush hours. The service increase will take effect in November.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced Monday that work has begun on the first phase of its $33 million Safe and Secure initiative.

The agency will begin the initiative by upgrading more than 600 security cameras on the Red and Blue subway lines, along the Blue Line O'Hare branch and at the Clark/Lake Station in the Chicago Loop.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host a webinar next month for applicants interested in recently announced federal grant dollars to help pay for positive train control (PTC) deployment.

Last week, the FRA issued a notice of funding opportunity for $250 million in grants to help fund PTC implementation on freight, intercity passenger and commuter railroads.

Trinity Metro and other local officials yesterday held a grand-opening ceremony for a new equipment maintenance facility that will house TEXRail trains in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 53,000-square-foot building includes three maintenance pits and a train washing area. All eight TEXRail train sets will be housed and maintained at the facility, which also includes offices, a parts warehouse and dispatch operations, Trinity Metro officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is halfway finished constructing the $1.75 billion Regional Connector rail line in downtown Los Angeles.

The agency marked the milestone at a May 19 public event, which included construction site tours, according to a Metro press release.

iChurchill Inc. is stepping away from its plan to acquire the flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, the private company announced yesterday.

Earlier this month, a group of Manitoba First Nations and iChurchill announced they had reached an agreement to buy the rail line, port and associated assets, which are owned by OmniTRAX Inc.

Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. announced yesterday that its Huron Central Railway (HCRY) will halt service on its 176-mile line from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Sudbury, Ontario, by year's end.

The announcement follows the "recent refusal of support" from Transport Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund, according to a G&W Canada press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on May 26 will begin positive train control (PTC) installation along the Worcester Line.

To give crews space to carry out the work, the agency will halt weekend train service between the Worcester and Framingham stations from May 26 through June 17.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) announced that Ron Trees has been named to the authority's board.

Trees will represent the town of Little Elm, Texas, on the board. He is a semi-retired military operations research analyst who is on the adjunct staff for the Rand Corp., according to a DCTA press release.

The Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has appointed Brian Sager to its board to represent McHenry County, Illinois.

Since 2005, Sager has served as mayor of Woodstock, Illinois. He has been on the Woodstock City Council since 1989.

The Center for LNG has become the newest sponsor of TRANSCAER®, which provides hazardous materials education and training to first responders.

The center represents the full liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain, including producers, shippers, terminal operators and developers.

Amtrak last week announced a $4 million plan to update the interiors of the entire Acela Express fleet operating on the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

The 14-month program will rehab the interiors of 20 trainsets, which include 100 Amtrak cars.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) President Phil Eng yesterday announced plans to repair faulty infrastructure and boost operating efficiency following a year of poor on-time performance.

In 2017, the railroad logged its worst on-time performance history in nearly two decades, Newsday reported last month.

Kansas City Southern yesterday announced the appointments of Michael Walczak to vice president mechanical, Maquiling Parkerson to vice president labor relations and Adam Godderz to associate general counsel and corporate secretary.

Effective immediately, the appointments were made for professional advancement and organizational development, KCS officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. will put more resources into safety, company executives said at the annual shareholders meeting held late last week in Jacksonville, Florida.

President and Chief Executive Officer James Foote told shareholders that CSX soon will announce a new chief safety officer and is bringing in an outside consulting firm to help with safety issues, according to a report by WJCT News.

Metra's board earlier this month approved a series of new fare pilot programs, including a day pass.

The Chicago commuter railroad also will test a plan to consolidate its outer zones and reassign certain stations to closer zones. The new fare programs are aimed at attracting riders and simplifying fare structure, Metra officials said in a press release.

The Portland Streetcar last month averaged 16,650 weekday riders, marking a new record.

The streetcar system also reported an 84 percent on-time performance rating for April, according to a Portland Streetcar press release.

The Virginia International Gateway (VIG) in Portsmouth last week completed the changeover of its terminal operating system to the Navis N4.

The switch began May 11 and was completed May 14, Virginia Port Authority officials said in a press release.

As of mid-April, U.S. Class Is employed 145,959 workers, up 0.59 percent since mid-March, but down 2.11 percent compared with April 2017, according to Surface Transportation Board data.

All but one employment category — professional and administrative — reflected slight increases in the workforce on a month-over month basis. Categories that logged increases since mid-March were executives, officials and staff assistants, up 0.07 percent to 8,298 workers; maintenance of way and structures, up 0.65 percent to 32,644; maintenance of equipment and stores up 0.22 percent to 26,647; transportation (other than train and engine), up 0.18 percent to 5,566; and transportation (train and engine), up 0.99 percent to 60,891.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs last week approved the nomination of Thelma Drake as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was the only committee member who voted against her nomination, the AASHTO Journal reported.