Railroad News

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday announced it "strongly opposes" the inclusion of restrictive project eligibility criteria in the federal grant opportunity for COVID-19 research grants to public transit agencies.

On Oct. 8, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) to provide federal funding for COVID-19 research demonstration grants. The NOFO states that the FTA will review and consider applications in accordance with President Donald Trump's Sept. 2, 2020, memorandum that directed the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of Management and Budget to review federal funding to state and local government recipients that are permitting "anarchy, violence and destruction."

The Federal Transit Administration earlier this month announced the award of $7.5 million in Safety Research and Demonstration Program grant funds to 10 projects in nine states that explore technologies and practices to prevent safety hazards on rail transit systems.

The rail-related grants awarded include:

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) last week released its "Quality of Life Study," which focuses on the impact the agency has on the areas most affected by transit improvements. 

The study found that 89 percent of the population in the metro Denver region live within RTD’s service area, and 3,300 affordable housing units are within a half-mile of a rail or bus station. 

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P) earlier this week issued Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) in California an AA rating on the proposed refinancing of the agency’s construction debt.

S&P Global Ratings assigned the AA rating on SMART’s anticipated $123.4 million Measure Q sales tax revenue refunding bonds, which will be sold as green bonds.

Port Manatee on Tampa Bay, Florida, logged 88,466 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, representing a 54.6% increase over FY2019 and an all-time high, port officials announced yesterday.

In FY2019, Port Manatee posted 57,239 TEUs, a 49.2% increase compared with FY2018's level.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is seeking public input on the agency’s proposed 26-mile LYNX Silver Line light-rail project that would extend from Belmont through Charlotte and into Matthews, North Carolina. 

CATS is in the pre-project development phase of the project to refine the line’s proposed alignment, and is wrapping up its early scoping period in collaboration with the Federal Transit Administration. Today is the final day to provide comments for the project. 

The Federal Transit Administration awarded the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) $742,000 through the federal Safety Research and Demonstration Program to install an automated technology to protect rail workers in the right-of-way at some work zones. 

The automated system is designed to prevent trains from being inadvertently routed into work areas where track personnel and first responders are working. A key feature of the system allows track workers in the field to control the application and removal of work zone blocks, providing safety redundancy and further decreasing the risk of work zone incursions, agency officials said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded the Kansas City Port Authority (Port KC) a $9.88 million federal grant for the Missouri River Terminal project.

The grant will be used for advanced project planning and redevelopment activities for the terminal site, such as preventative flooding maintenance, environmental remediation efforts, site design, land acquisition and limited pavement and rail access development, state officials said in a press release issued by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's office.

Cummins Inc. announced plans to invest more than $25 million into upgrading its engine manufacturing plant and high-horsepower headquarters in Seymour, Indiana, over the next several years. The investment will improve and refine the plant’s manufacturing capabilities to prepare for the addition of a new engine platform that will be launched in 2024, Cummins officials said in a press release. The Seymour engine plant produces diesel engines for the rail industry.

FreightCar America Inc. announced it has made significant progress in its manufacturing repositioning and business transformation strategy. The company has finalized early termination of the lease at its manufacturing facility in Cherokee, Alabama, effective Feb. 28, 2021, and completed Association of American Railroads certification audits for a new joint venture facility in Castanos, Mexico. FreightCar America also completed its first rail car at the Castanos facility, and obtained a new asset-backed credit facility to facilitate the business and repositioning process.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) last week declared an impasse in contract negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 (ATU), which  represents more than 2,700 TriMet employees.

Since October 2019, TriMet and ATU have completed 15 negotiation sessions and four mediation sessions with no headway on major issues, TriMet officials said in a press release.

U.S. ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 2.1 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in August, a 9.7% increase from July and an 8% increase year over year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates reported late last week.

August's TEU level was the highest number of containers imported in a single month since the NRF began tracking imports in 2002, beating 2.04 million logged in October 2018 ahead of a scheduled tariff increase, NRF and Hackett officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week announced that construction of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Expansion Project has hit the halfway point.

The $2.6 billion project will introduce 10 miles of new track between Floral Park and Hicksville, New York.

The Port of Virginia will receive $20 million in federal funds to complete the Central Rail Yard expansion project at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).

The funds will build on the investments the port has made across its two largest terminals, the NIT and Virginia International Gateway, to expand on-terminal rail capacity at NIT, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) announced late last week.

Union Pacific Corp. has named Rahul Jalali chief information officer, effective Nov. 2.

Jalali will lead the development, implementation and operation of UP's information and telecommunications technologies, UP officials said in a press release.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) last week awarded Virginia Railway Express (VRE) a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the commuter railroad’s annual financial report. 

A GFOA panel determined that VRE’s financial report for fiscal years 2019 and 2018 demonstrated a "spirit of transparency and full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report, GFOA officials said in a VRE press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is preparing a draft environmental impact report for proposed capacity and service improvements on the Antelope Valley commuter-rail line between Lancaster and downtown Los Angeles. 

LA Metro anticipates the 76.6-mile Antelope Valley Line (AVL) corridor will experience strong population and employment growth over the next 20 years, according to LA Metro’s AVL project website.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) last week announced the agency in November will begin a major project to refurbish the Outremont metro station. 

The CA$53 million project will include installation of three elevators, replacement of the roof, structural improvements, the addition of a natural ventilation shaft and electric equipment upgrades.

Canadian officials last week announced the federal government would spend CA$33.4 million for the construction of a multipurpose terminal west of the Port of Trois-Rivieres' existing infrastructure, located between Montreal and Quebec City.

The new 100,000-square-meter terminal will be used for the transhipment of dry bulk, liquid bulk and general cargo. The project includes construction of a wharf and road and rail access roads, as well as storage, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.