Railroad News

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced ridership increases on the New York City Transit (NYCT) subway, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad in September compared with the same month last year.

NYCT subway’s average weekday ridership was 5.77 million in September, up 4.5 percent compared with September 2018, MTA officials said in a press release.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has added Tech Mahindra to its list of curated providers available to assist member railroads with complying with positive train control (PTC) requirements.

Tech Mahindra will provide an online learning platform that features multiple modules of interactive training, as well as assessment and evaluation, ASLRRA and Tech Mahindra announced today in a joint press release.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will host a public meeting Oct. 24 to gather opinions on a second passenger-rail platform proposed for the Amtrak station in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

The existing Kannapolis Station platform accommodates Carolinian and Piedmont service on only one side of the double-track North Carolina Railroad/Norfolk Southern Main Line.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) last week completed construction on a two-way grade separated underpass at the Covert Avenue crossing in Long Island, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced late last week.

The project is the second of eight grade crossings LIRR plans to eliminate across its network by 2022 to improve safety and traffic flow and reduce noise from train horns and bells, Cuomo said.

The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) has named Tom Tisa its new president, the association announced in a September newsletter.

Tisa is head of marketing and strategic development at CSX, where his responsibilities involve short-line engagement and port activity.

After a 10-month closure, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) last week announced the light-rail Blue Line will reopen Nov. 2 between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. 

From then on, the line will be known as the A Line. 

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and Chief Executive Officer Doug Allen have "agreed to part ways," the agency's board announced last week.

Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer Rich Dalton will serve as acting CEO, while the board searches for a permanent successor, VRE officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is moving ahead with a proposal to allow liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be moved by rail in DOT-113 tank cars.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), announced late last week that it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to allow LNG to be transported by rail tank car.

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VIA Rail Canada Inc. posted a 1.2 percent ridership increase during Canada's Thanksgiving holiday weekend compared with the same period in 2018. 

For the second consecutive year, over 100,000 passengers traveled on the network Oct. 10-15 during the long holiday weekend, VIA Rail officials said in a press release.

Transportation industry and government leaders were among those offering statements and condolences on the passing of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who died early yesterday due to complications of longstanding health challenges. He was 68.

Cummings chaired the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. He also was a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), where he served on the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, as well as the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Oct. 21 will launch a one-year pilot commuter-rail service between Boston and Foxborough, Massachusetts. 

The pilot will offer 10 round-trip weekday trains between Foxboro Station and South Station via the Fairmount and Franklin Lines. 

Improving Amtrak's on-time performance (OTP) by 5 percentage points on all routes would result in $12.1 million in financial benefits to the railroad in just one year, Amtrak's Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported this week.

The benefits would include $8.2 million in reduced costs and $3.9 million in increased revenue, OIG officials said in a press release.

Kansas City Southern logged record third-quarter 2019 revenue of $747.7 million, a 7 percent increase over the same quarter a year ago, the Class I announced today.

The railroad was helped by a 21 percent increase in refined fuel shipments to Mexico, as well as cost-cutting efforts. Overall, carload volumes were flat in the quarter compared with last year, KCS officials said in a press release.

The holiday season is upon us and I hope you are spending time with your families, enjoying the fall foliage, and not indulging in too many pumpkin-spiced treats! As always, I want to touch on “Safety First” in everything we do. Make sure that you don’t allow the holidays to distract you from working safely and finishing the year with a strong safety record!

In September, I attended the Railway Interchange Exhibition and Conference in Minneapolis with many of you. It was an excellent event, well organized, as always. The technical presentations were timely and informative. The exhibits were a great opportunity for our board of directors and NRC staff to visit with NRC members at their booths, and see emerging products and technologies in our industry. Additionally, the NRC had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion with FRA Administrator Ron Batory and his staff to discuss the FRA R&D program and technology trends.

Metra yesterday announced that on Oct. 31, Union Pacific Railroad will close the on-site ticket office at the Evanston Central Street Station in Evanston, Illinois, due to declining on-site sales.

Located on the UP North Line, the station sold an average of 940 tickets per month this year. The station sells the fewest tickets of all of UP’s ticket agent-staffed locations, Metra officials said in a press release.