Railroad News

The Miami-Dade County Commission and Brightline last week approved an access fee agreement that helps pave the way for a new commuter-rail system on the Brightline/Florida East Coast Railway Corridor.

The agreement calls for a $12 million annual access fee, in addition to an initial payment of $50 million. The 90-year agreement includes the annual fee payment only for the first 30 years, Brightline officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad today announced Humberto Vargas has been named vice president-Mexico, marketing and sales, effective Dec. 1. He will succeed Bernardo Ayala, who recently was appointed to a leadership position in locomotive distribution and network operations.

Vargas will lead UP's international business strategy in all commodity areas traveling across all six rail gateways to Mexico, UP officials said in a press release. He will work with customers, other railroads, suppliers and multiple government agencies.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) $15.9 million through the Federal-State Partnership for the State of Good Repair Grant program to improve signals on the Amtrak-owned Harrisburg Line, also known as the Keystone Line.

SEPTA was awarded the grant in partnership with Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

All railroads subject to the federal positive train control (PTC) mandate are currently operating PTC systems in revenue service or in advanced field testing, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced today.

As of Sept. 30, PTC technology remains yet to be activated on about 223 required route miles, based on railroads' third-quarter 2020 PTC progress reports, which were due Oct. 31, FRA officials said in a press release.

Metrolink yesterday reintroduced its San Bernardino Line Express service between downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino, California, which was previously suspended due to low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Metrolink also adjusted schedules on the Ventura County, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County lines to better align with rider needs, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) later this month will begin work to improve accessibility at Place-Saint-Henri Station in Montreal. 

The project entails construction of two new entrance buildings that will replace the station’s underground entrances. The project will continue until fall 2023.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) yesterday announced it has reached 30% completion of the preliminary design for the D2 Subway, a proposed second light-rail alignment through the Dallas Central Business District. 

Reaching that milestone means DART can begin preparing a final environmental impact statement (FEIS). Once submitted, the Federal Transit Administration plans to issue a FEIS and record of decision to environmentally clear the project so it can advance to engineering, DART officials said in a press release.

MTA Metro-North Railroad yesterday unveiled a real-time train capacity tracker on its TrainTime mobile application to show riders how many seats are available on a train approaching a station.

The app feature is designed to help riders practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The feature was previously unveiled at MTA Long Island Rail Road in June.

R. J. Corman Railroad Group LLC has hired Michael Donfris to serve as chief financial officer.

Donfris is a finance, strategy and accounting leader with 34 years of experience in leadership positions, R. J. Corman officials said in a press release.

OmniTRAX Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Shuba has accepted a new role with the company's parent, The Broe Group.

Shuba has been OmniTRAX's CEO since 2013. After overseeing record-setting growth there, he will lead the development of a company-wide portfolio growth plan for The Broe Group, OmniTRAX officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday published a final rule that lays out the metrics and a minimum standard to measure service quality performance on Amtrak operations.

The metrics relate to on-time performance, train delays, customer service, financial and public benefits. The final rule requires Amtrak and its host railroads to certify Amtrak schedules, and sets an on-time performance minimum standard of 80% for any two consecutive calendar quarters. Other metrics defined by the rule address ridership, train delays, station performance and host running time.

Trinity Metro last week selected AECOM to conduct an environmental assessment and preliminary engineering work for the 2.1-mile TEXRail commuter-rail extension in Fort Worth, Texas.

Trinity Metro plans to extend the commuter-rail line south from downtown Fort Worth to a proposed station south of Mistletoe Boulevard in the Forth Worth Medical District. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) later this month will speed up major capital work on the Blue Line in Virginia, WMATA announced last week.

During construction — which will occur over 10 weekends beginning Nov. 27 and ending March 14, 2021 — WMATA crews will replace all major signal system components in the Alexandria Rail Yard, which connects to the Blue Line. Those components include switches, signals, track circuits and signal control rooms. 

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) board late last week elected Victoria Sheehan to serve as president and Shawn Wilson to serve as vice president for the 2020-2021 term.

Sheehan, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT), is the second woman to serve as AASHTO president in the association's 106-year history. Wilson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, is the first Black person to serve as vice president, AASHTO officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) board last week extended General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Parker's contract through June 2026.

Parker took the post in March 2018 with a contract set to expire in 2023.

Progress Rail will supply its new EMD® Joule battery electric locomotive for a demonstration project operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach under a new agreement with Pacific Harbor Line (PHL).

The new six-axle locomotive features the latest lithium-ion battery technology and battery management system, alongside AC traction and state-of-the-art electronics, Progress Rail officials said in a press release.

Metra’s board last week approved a $700 million operating budget and a $386.8 million capital spending plan for 2021. 

The operating budget assumes that the Chicago commuter railroad’s ridership will end 2020 at about 20% of its pre-COVID-19 levels and increase to 50% by the end of 2021. 

The San Angelo Development Corp. of San Angelo, Texas, has entered into a partnership with South Plains Lamesa Railroad Ltd. (SPLRR) for the development of a multicommodity rail port, through which bulk freight imports and exports will be delivered to the United States and Mexico.

The facility will be located on a 180-tract east of Schwertner Road between FM 2105 and 50th Street. It will connect to the Texas Pacifico Transportation Ltd. (TXPF) branch of the South Orient Rail Line, the portion of railroad that spans from Presidio, Mexico, up to San Angelo Junction in Texas' Coleman County.