Railroad News

Canadian provincial and federal governments last week awarded TransLink CA$644 million to cover revenue losses the agency is incurring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The one-time funding will enable TransLink to maintain current service levels and continue enhanced safety measures, TransLink officials said in a statement.

CN is handling all containers that arrived earlier this month at the Port of Halifax on the CMA CGM Brazil, the largest containerized cargo vessel to call at a Canadian port.

The ship, which measures 1,200 feet in length with a capacity of 15,072 20-foot equivalent units of cargo, berthed at the port's South End Container Terminal on Sept. 9. CN is the exclusive rail service provider to the port.

Pioneer Railcorp will receive a $4.1 million federal grant to help pay for a project to perform critical safety improvements at its Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway (NDW) subsidiary, which operates along 58 miles between Woodburn, Indiana, and Liberty Center, Ohio.

The funds will be granted through the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. The grant will cover 50 percent of the project's cost, with nearly $3.9 million matched by the NDW and 3 percent, or $250,000, by the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC), Pioneer officials said in a press release.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) today celebrated the opening of its newest electrified commuter-rail line, the N Line, which extends from Denver to Thornton, Colorado. 

The N Line includes six new stations along a 13-mile corridor between Union Station and Eastlake 124th Station, serving Denver, Commerce City, Northglenn and Thornton. An end-to-end trip will take about 29 minutes. 

Alstom has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Bombardier Inc. and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) for the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation. The price range for the acquisition of 100 percent of Bombardier Transportation shares was revised and reduced by $355 million to be between $6.5 billion to $6.98 billion. The proceeds are likely to amount to up to $6.3 billion, Alstom officials said in a press release. Following positive progress on an antitrust regulation process, the closing of the transaction is expected for first-quarter 2021.

Transdev promoted Laura Hendricks to chief executive officer of Transdev U.S. Hendricks previously served as president of Transdev Services. Prior to joining Transdev in 2019, she held executive leadership roles at Coach America, Paint Drop, Merry Maids, Cintas and FedEx. Hendricks succeeds Dick Alexander, who has served in the role on an interim basis since March. Alexander was named special adviser to Thierry Mallet, CEO of the global Transdev Group. In this role, he will focus on strategic projects aimed to expand the company’s global business via acquisitions and partnerships, Transdev officials said in a press release.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) yesterday announced it will restore 90 percent of pre-pandemic service levels beginning Oct. 19.

On April 6, DART temporarily reduced service on light-rail and bus services due to lower ridership levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau yesterday announced more than CA$25 million in funding for the Rail Safety Improvement Program.

The funds will support 165 new projects and initiatives that aim to raise public awareness and increase safety at grade crossings and along rail lines, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.

The Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) found in a recent audit that national intercity passenger railroad has not established certain practices that likely would improve the railroad’s track outage planning and coordination process. As a result, the OIG issued recommendations for Amtrak to adopt.

Following assessment of the effectiveness of the Amtrak’s efforts to plan and coordinate track outages, Amtrak’s OIG found that, starting in 2018, the railroad has built a more disciplined process. The process included implementing new procedures to prioritize capital projects and identify and plan for outages needed to accomplish the projects, according to the management advisory report issued this week.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) this week approved grant awards for Cleveland and Cuyahoga Railway LLC (CCRL), an OmniTRAX Inc. property, and Huhtamaki Inc. for rail-related projects.

ORDC approved a grant award of up to $300,000 to CCRL to help repair a stone arch culvert on the railroad's Mahong Subdivision. In June, the embankment adjacent to the culvert failed, requiring the railroad to perform emergency repairs to bring the rail line back into service. Based on the culvert's condition, CCRL took additional action to stabilize the structure and completed the interim repairs. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) board today voted on cost-cutting measures, including potential service cuts and layoffs, that will be necessary to balance the agency’s budget.

The actions would be necessary if federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding runs out without new revenue.

Union Pacific Railroad's Community Ties Giving Program has awarded $10.2 million in local grants to more than 930 nonprofit organizations across the Class I's 23-state system.

Traditionally, UP awards grants in the company's three philanthropic priorities: safety, workforce development and community spaces. However, this year, nearly $7 million is being awarded to efforts to address needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, UP officials said in a press release.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) yesterday issued the first of four request for industry feedbacks (RFIF) to gauge contractor interest and gather feedback on the scope of the contracts to be awarded for the SCVTA’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II extension project. 

The contractors and subcontractors ultimately awarded these contracts will complete the design and collectively build the six-mile, four-station extension of the regional Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara, California. 

U.S. freight railroads logged 474,785 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Sept. 12, a 9.9 percent decrease compared with the same week in 2019, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week were 214,142 units, down 15.2 percent, while intermodal volume was 260,643 containers and trailers, down 5 percent.

Metra's board yesterday elected Romayne Brown as chair, effective Nov. 1. 

Brown, who represents Cook County, Illinois, on the board, will succeed Norman Carlson. Carlson will remain on the board as vice chair. 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced the award of $1 billion in federal grant awards for fiscal-year 2020 to 70 transportation infrastructure projects in 44 states.

The funds were awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. The grants are for planning and capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and were awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. BUILD funding supports roads, bridges, transit, rail ports or intermodal transportation.

Metrolink has partnered with the Los Angeles and Orange County sheriff’s departments to reduce traffic and pedestrian violations along Metrolink’s Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County commuter-rail lines in Southern California.

Sheriff's deputies will conduct education and enforcement operations in Santa Ana, California, to encourage drivers and pedestrians to engage in safe behavior at crossings. Community members will be educated on the importance of safety laws to save lives, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

Metra yesterday unveiled a campaign to highlight its pandemic response to show riders that the Chicago commuter-rail service is safe to use.

The campaign will highlight Metra’s previous deep-cleaning efforts on all rail cars and stations; current daily cleaning and disinfecting practices; safety protocols like mask and social distancing requirements; the use of air filters; and the installation of hand sanitizer dispensers on each rail car.