Railroad News

The Gateway Program Development Corp. (GDC) last week released an updated financial plan for the Hudson River Tunnel Project that shows the project's overall cost has increased $275 million.

The plan also pushes back by one year the major construction start date, which now is projected to be early 2022. Cost increases — which bring the project's total price tag to $11.6 billion — are attributed to the start delay. Major work can't begin until the federal government issues a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and record of decision (ROD) for the new tunnel and rehabilitation of the existing North River Tunnel, GDC officials said in a press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) continues to mark progress with a plan to maximize capital rebuilding work while ridership remains low because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the agency reduced service hours in March, more track time has become available for workers to improve the system, BART officials said in a press release.

President Donald Trump has designated National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg to continue to serve in the position for a new three-year term.

Landsberg began a five-year appointment as an NTSB board member on Aug. 7, 2018, and on that same day began a two-year term as the board's vice chairman.

Union Pacific Railroad last week named Craig Richardson interim executive vice president and chief legal officer.

Richardson is responsible for overseeing legal affairs, including commercial transactions and litigation, regulatory matters, labor and employment. He also supervises UP's compliance and ethics program, as well as risk management initiatives, including UP's police department.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) plans to hold community meetings today and tomorrow to review travel alternatives and work associated with a capital project planned on MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) E Line in Queens, New York.

To start Sept. 19, the work calls for replacing and installing more than 5,500 feet of track and more than 7,800 feet of third rail at or near two stations on the line. The track is reaching the end of its service life and needs complete replacement, which will help improve reliability and service on the line in Queens and Manhattan, MTA officials said in a press release.

A Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) exploratory task force is expected to begin working tomorrow on a proposal to eliminate all rail and bus fares.

The task force is charged with providing a fareless plan to LA Metro Chief Executive Officer Phillip Washington and the authority’s board by year’s end, including funding scenarios and sources.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has named the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) as the 2020 winner of the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award.

The annual award recognizes excellence among North American public transportation providers in leadership, innovation, safety and other key areas. The Houston transit agency received the national award for the second time in five years due to several notable achievements over the past three years, according to APTA.

Kansas City Southern has promoted Rodrigo Flores from vice president of automotive to VP of automotive and intermodal sales, effective Sept. 1.

Flores will be responsible for the KCS' automotive and intermodal business units in the United States and Mexico He joined the predecessor to Kansas City Southern de Mexico in 1997 as a manager in external reporting. 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) late last week issued a final rule allowing railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology, augmented with GPS technology, to conduct continuous rail testing.

The updated regulations are expected to improve safety by making it easier for railroads to test rail more frequently, and to identify and repair internal rail flaws before conditions degrade, FRA officials said in a press release.

NRE is moving ahead with a plan to consolidate several production lines. Over the next several months, the company will consolidate rail operations from plants in Dixmoor and Silvis, Illinois, and Milwaukee at production facilities in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and Paducah, Kentucky. In addition, operations now performed at a Hagerstown, Maryland, plant will be moved to a new facility adjacent to the Paducah shops. Featuring new and updated CNC machines, the new plant primarily will build and remanufacture diesel power assemblies. NRC provides new and remanufactured locomotives, maintenance services, and locomotive parts and components.

Koppers Inc. plans to spend $23 million on improvements to its North Little Rock, Arkansas, facility over the next two years. The wood-tie supplier plans to complete some construction work and purchase equipment to upgrade and modernize processes at the plant, which treats more than 1.5 million wood ties annually. Koppers also plans to hire more workers at the facility. The company produces various treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is seeking public input on an update to its four-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and revised public involvement procedures.

Comments will be received at two virtual public information meetings to be held Sept. 23 on the 2021-2024 draft STIP, a nearly $3.9 billion program that lists all federally funded transportation improvements planned for the next four years. Divided by federal funding category and region, the capital and operational improvements involve rail, bus, road and bicycle facilities.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) earlier this week marked the completion of platform-level lighting upgrades at 48 underground stations.

Expected to take three years to complete, the project was finished a year early, helping the authority realize energy cost savings sooner, WMATA officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. has moved to the next stage of its Sandpoint Junction Connector Project, which includes the construction of a second rail bridge over Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille adjacent to an existing rail bridge, the Class I announced this week in a company newsletter.

The project moved into the next phase since the work trestle at the north end has been completed. Engineering teams now are focused primarily on permanent pile construction for the new bridge, a three-quarter-mile long span next to the existing bridge. Additional pile installations will take place this month, as well.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that a CSX ballast regulator operator's attempt to repair a machine without powering it off and without using lockout/tagout procedures is the probable cause of a March 2018 accident that led to the worker's death.

The operator was fatally injured on March 12, 2018, while working on a main track near Wartrace, Tennessee, in the CSX Chattanooga Subdivision. According to the NTSB report, a CSX equipment manager was traveling in the area when he saw the ballast regulator operator climb into the cab. Shortly after, the manager heard a radio transmission from the operator reporting a problem with a proximity switch on the regulator. 

Union Pacific Corp. has hired Clarissa Beyah as chief communications officer.

She will be responsible for the railroad's corporate communications strategy, overseeing executive and employee communications, media relations, digital and social media, and serving as communication adviser to the Class I's chairman and senior leadership, UP officials said in a press release.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently named the 2020 winners of it annual President’s Safety Awards.

The 2020 awards recognize member railroads that achieved the lowest accident frequency rate based on 2019 Federal Railroad Administration data. Categorized based on the number of injury-free manhours worked, the winners will be honored during the ASLRRA’s virtual Connections convention to be held Oct. 5-9.

CN has awarded a contract to National Steel Car Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario, to build 1,150 new generation, high-capacity grain hopper cars.

The contract brings to CA$1 billion the amount the Class I plans to invest in Ontario by the end of 2022, CN officials said yesterday in a press release.

Ashley Wieland, 33
President
National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC)

Nominator’s quote: “Since rejoining the association in the summer of 2019, Ashley has infused the organization with renewed energy, passion and focus.” — Matt Ginsberg, TGA Association Management Solutions LLC

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) in California on Aug. 30 will expand its light-rail schedule to restore service to pre-pandemic levels. 

The service recovery plan calls for increasing service on the Blue and Gold light-rail lines.