Railroad News

Norfolk Southern Corp. is well-positioned to "safely and successfully" weather the unprecedented situation presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, NS President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires said last week at the company's annual meeting of shareholders.

Squires addressed shareholders May 14 during the company's first virtual-only annual meeting, a board decision made in response to public health concerns and social distance guidance for the pandemic.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week released a first-quarter 2020 status report on railroads’ progress in implementing positive train control (PTC) systems as required by Congress. 

As of March 31, 98 percent of the nearly 58,000 route miles subject to the federal mandate were either in revenue service demonstration or in revenue service. 

The Chicago Transit Board (CTB) earlier this week approved a measure that allows the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to add funding to CTA employee welfare funds to help families pay for funerals of CTA employees who die from COVID-19.

The CTB established the CTA employee welfare fund in 1949 to support employees during times of financial hardship and assists with employee-driven initiatives. 

An improperly used train approach warning led to a railroad worker's death after the worker was struck by a train in Queens Village, New York, in 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday in its final report on the incident.

The accident occurred on June 10, 2017, when an MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train, on track three in multiple track territory, approached a five-member crew of roadway workers in the Queens Interlocking. The foreman and two roadway workers were conducting a walking inspection on Track 1, and were accompanied by the watchman. The fifth worker was clear of the tracks.

Solar manufacturer First Solar Inc. has selected Greenville, South Carolina, for its new East Coast distribution hub, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) announced earlier this week.

With its headquarters in Arizona, First Solar operates a photovoltaic model manufacturing footprint in northwest Ohio, as well as factories in Malaysia and Vietnam. The company plans to open a 450,000-square-foot distribution center in Greenville, its first in the Southeast, to warehouse and stage deliveries for U.S. customer, SCPA officials said in a press release.

Caltrain tomorrow will close the Hillsdale Station in San Mateo, California, for up to six months in order to rebuild it into an elevated station.

When construction is completed, the Hillsdale Station will be relocated about a block north of its current location. 

The MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) on May 18 will begin reconstructing what is now the School Street grade crossing in Westbury, New York, into a two-lane grade separated underpass.

Eliminating the crossing will increase safety and reduce noise, air pollution and traffic backups, LIRR officials said in a press release.

Amtrak yesterday announced the cleanliness procedures and convenience measures it has implemented to reassure passengers during, and as the nation begins to recover from, the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are doing everything we can to offer vital transportation services in a way that prioritizes employee and customer safety and well-being," said President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Flynn in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's (SDMTS) board yesterday appointed Sharon Cooney chief executive officer. Cooney succeeds Paul Jablonksi, who died last week.  

Cooney has 15 years of experience at the agency, serving in various leadership positions including director of government affairs, director of planning, chief of staff and deputy CEO.

TranSystems’ board appointed Chief Executive Officer Richard Morsches chair, and elected John Hovanec and John Grow to serve three-year terms. Both Hovanec and Grow previously served as advisers to the board. Grow serves as the regional senior vice president for TranSystems’ Florida region. Hovanec is an external board member who worked for Union Pacific Railroad for nearly 38 years. TranSystem’s also elected Tim Rock, the company’s national freight market sector leader and regional SVP for the Texas region, as a board adviser. Stepping down from the board are Brian Larson and Robert Spane. Larson retired from his role after serving as chairman for 35 years.

Global freight logistics provider OL USA launched a supply chain platform designed by Blume Global Inc. to provide shippers end-to-end status visibility and customizable data analytics and reports for cargo.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) is gathering rider feedback on several proposed cost-cutting measures that could affect rail service in California. 

SMART’s board is analyzing several strategies to reduce expenses as costs rack up due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Budget reductions being considered include eliminating weekend service, reducing weekday service and suspending free onboard WiFi.

The Reading & Northern Railroad (R&N) announced it has donated $10,000 to the town of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, to help the community during the pandemic.  

The Tamaqua Borough Council allocated the funds to Tamaqua’s first responders. Seven emergency services will share the donation.

New Jersey Transit's board yesterday authorized a $250 million contract for initial construction elements of the Raritan River Bridge replacement project in New Jersey, and a $4.1 million contract for preliminary design of the central concourse extension at Penn Station in New York City.

The board approved a contract with George Harms Construction Co. Inc. to construct bridge approach spans, lift bridge and flanking spans piers and perform associated land work for the first phase of construction of the Raritan River bridge replacement project.

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U.S. freight-rail traffic plunged 22.1 percent to 412,549 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 9 compared with the same week a year ago, Association of American Railroads (AAR) data shows.

Work is advancing on two BNSF Railway Co. bridges this spring, one near Sandpoint, Idaho, and the other over Drano Lake in Skamania County, Washington.

BNSF is continuing work on a temporary rail bridge over Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint. Construction crews are building a second rail bridge adjacent to the existing rail bridge, and are currently working on a temporary span. That span will be taller than the eventual permanent bridge, which will be the same height as the existing bridge that BNSF is replacing, BNSF officials said in a recent company newsletter.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) announced yesterday its board has elected Fiona Murray chairperson. Murray, vice president of public and government affairs at CN, is the first woman to chair the 103-year-old organization's board.

Murray joined CN in 1992, initially working in the public affairs department before moving to positions of increasing responsibility. Her experience and thorough understanding of railroading will be a "great asset" to the association, RAC officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) earlier this month approved Canadian Pacific's acquisition, through subsidiary Soo Line Corp., of Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. (CMQR US) from Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC.

The STB decision, made on May 1 and issued May 4, is subject to standard employee protective conditions.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on May 18 will begin work to install two cross-track drainage lines beneath the Tufts interlocking in Medford in order to advance the Green Line Extension (GLX) project.

The work is necessary to accelerate construction of critical infrastructure inside a narrow rail corridor shared by the Lowell commuter-rail line and the GLX project, MBTA officials said in a press release.