Railroad News

Sound Transit in Washington, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in California and Metro Transit-St. Louis have suspended fare collection on their light-rail systems to help protect rail employees and riders from the spread of coronavirus.

Meanwhile in California today, the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo passenger-rail corridor agency reduced Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner service and temporarily canceled some trains on the route; Sacramento Regional Transit District reduced light-rail service to operate daily trains on a Sunday schedule; and Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit temporarily cancelled three trains in addition to other service reductions announced last week.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) last week awarded Ashland Railway (ASRY) a $735,882 grant to expand its Mansfield Yard and make repairs along its Willard Line.

The more than $1.4 million project will involve the installation of about 3,000 feet of new track and seven turnouts; ultrasonic rail flaw detection on 23 miles of the Willard Line; and replacement of rail identified as defective by the rail test.

Class Is employed 127,634 workers as of mid-February, down 0.53 percent compared with mid-January’s level and down 12.46 percent compared with the year-ago employment level, U.S. Surface Transportation Board data shows.

Five of six workforce categories posted month-to-month decreases. They were: professional and administrative, down 0.29 percent to 10,817; executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.42 percent to 7,576 employees; transportation (train and engine), down 0.50 percent to 51,451; transportation (other than train and engine), down 0.56 percent to 5,316; and maintenance of equipment and stores, down 2.11 percent to 22,170.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) late last week proposed a rule that would define Amtrak on-time train performance and would set a minimum performance standard of 80 percent.

The proposed performance and service quality metrics would give Amtrak, its passengers, service providers, the FRA and others a common tool to help objectively gauge intercity passenger rail travel, FRA officials said in a press release.

Tealinc Ltd. has promoted Shannon Rodgers to manager of value creation-operations effective April 1. She will continue working out of the firm's office in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where she will remain focused on serving North American customers. Rodgers joined the company in 2019 with 20 years of experience at the Everett Railroad Co. and Watco Cos. LLC. At Tealinc, she has managed customer support projects, and developed and implemented processes to improve and drive efficiency and productivity, company officials said in a press release.

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) has postponed its Annual Equipment Auction, which originally was scheduled for May 14 in Granite City, Illinois. The rescheduled date will be determined once more information about the COVID-19 pandemic is available, NRC officials said in a letter to its members.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has elected as its next chair Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach.

Cordero will be installed as chairman during the AAPA's 2020 Annual Convention to be held Sept. 13-16 in Quebec City, Quebec. He will assume the chairmanship from Gary Nelson, executive director of Port of Grays Harbor in Washington.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) earlier this week awarded United Freezer and Storage Co. a $21,000 grant to support rail upgrades at its plant in Austintown, Ohio.

The grant will help fund a $42,000 project to improve a rail spur on site that will enable the company to receive 72-foot rail cars.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is calling on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to extend the public comment period on establishing safety standards for the Texas Central Railroad’s Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail system. 

As the nation abides by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19, the FRA canceled in-person public hearings for the project and replaced them with virtual meetings, Brady said in a statement.

The Maryland General Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill to extend the Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) MARC commuter-rail service into parts of Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

Under the proposal, MTA would be required to enter negotiations with Washington, D.C., Virginia and the railroads that use and own the tracks south of Washington Union Station. 

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is requesting $16 billion in emergency funding from Congress for public transit agencies and passenger railroads to offset the costs and revenue losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, association officials announced yesterday. 

APTA on Wednesday originally requested $12.9 million in funding. The increased request is based on an internal survey of 163 public transit agencies and revised estimates of costs and losses.

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis has selected CloudMoyo’s Crew Management solution to automate crew scheduling across all of its locations. The platform includes functions for crew eligibility, qualifications and certifications, hours of service, duty hour compliances, crew penalties, bidding rules, and records and vacation requests, CloudMoyo officials said in a press release. 

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) issued a statement on the global outbreak of COVID-19, urging NRC members to adhere to the safety recommendations issued by the Center for Disease Control to protect their employees, families and the public community.  “The NRC is aware that our members have a continuing and crucial responsibility to help construct and maintain our nation’s railroads and rail-transit lines,” NRC officials said. “We also know the importance of a seamless rail network to the public health of this nation. We are in habitual contact with the (Federal Railroad Administration) on this matter and will relay any pertinent information that we receive.”

Caltrain will increase the cost for single-ride fare and monthly passes on its Clipper fare card in April, officials with the California commuter railroad announced yesterday. 

The cost of Caltrain’s single-ride adult fare and adult monthly pass will increase by 30 cents and $9, respectively.

OmniTRAX Inc. has hired Robert Walker to serve as chief financial officer.

For the past 10 years, Walker has been the chief operating and financial officer at The Madison Cos. and affiliates, where his responsibilities included oversight of accounting, finance, tax, financial planning, treasury, human resources and IT functions. 

Falling intermodal volumes — likely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak — contributed to the 7.6 percent decline in U.S. freight railroad traffic during the week ending March 14 compared with the same period a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads logged a combined 463,017 carloads and intermodal units during the week. Total carloads fell 5.9 percent to 226,039 units, while intermodal volume tumbled 9.1 percent to 236,978 containers and trailers.

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) earlier this month launched a campaign to increase public awareness about the benefits of transportation, including rail. 

The campaign includes an interactive online map to highlight transportation projects in 40 states that are reducing travel times, improving safety, protecting the environment or boosting the economy, association officials said in a press release.