Railroad News

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced it has appointed Abbey Collins chief communications officer to oversee all aspects of strategic communications. 

Collins most recently served as a director at Kivvit in New York, where she advised Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, not-for-profits and governments on strategic and crisis communications while creating public affairs campaigns.

Caltrain has logged a 2.3 percent decrease in 2019 ridership so far for weekday passengers, with an average mid-weekday ridership of about 63,597 passengers.

There was less than a 1 percent increase in traditional peak riders — who travel northbound in the morning peak period and southbound in the afternoon peak period — from 34,373 riders in the same point in 2018 to 34,552 so far in 2019, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

The 42 railroads that are subject to the statutory positive train control (PTC) mandate continued to make steady progress with implementation in the second quarter, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced yesterday.

Based on the railroads' Q2 progress reports, PTC systems were in operation on about 50,300 of the nearly 58,000 route miles required to be equipped with the technology, a 4 percent increase in route miles since Q1, FRA officials said in a press release. Class Is reported that PTC systems were in operation on about 91 percent of required mainlines as of June 30, also a 4 percent increase since Q1.

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Metrolinx last week announced it has signed an agreement with Icomera Canada Inc. to connect the agency's GO Transit train network serving the greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, areas with free wireless internet connection beginning in spring 2020.

Icomera later this year will begin installation of the necessary infrastructure and equipment to provide a complete end-to-end Wi-Fi solution for GO passengers, Icomera officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit yesterday expanded commuter-rail service at Avenel Station in Woodbridge, New Jersey, to accommodate growing ridership and community requests.

NJ Transit expanded weekday service at the station by more than 40 percent by adding 11 train stops, and adding a full weekend schedule for the first time since 1985, agency officials said in a press release. 

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week announced that its L Subway Project tunnel rehabilitation is ahead of schedule and crews are now working to schedule station and accessibility improvements. 

The L Project consists of multiple projects, including tunnel rehabilitation, capacity and accessibility improvements, and additional capital projects.

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau has ordered Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQR) to repair rail deficiencies, undergo federal inspections and maintain a low speed line between Farnham and Lac-Megantic in Quebec until all defects are corrected.

The announcement followed the findings of Transport Canada inspectors who identified a number of deficiencies on a 125-mile section of the rail line, including defective rail and ties, mud spots and ballast conditions that needed to be corrected.

On Aug. 26, global infrastructure investor First State Investments (FSI) announced it reached an agreement with investment manager Steel River Infrastructure Partners to acquire Patriot Rail and Ports, which owns 12 short lines operating across 14 states. Terms were not disclosed.

“The short-line sector, providing essential transportation services to industrial regions in the United States, is a strong fit with First State’s long-term infrastructure investment strategy and mandate,” said John Ma, director of the Sydney, Australia-based FSI infrastructure team, in a prepared statement.

Trinity Industries Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy Wallace will retire after the company's board identifies a successor, Trinity officials announced in a press release. The board will consider internal and external candidates. Wallace has worked for Trinity for 44 years and became CEO and president in 1999. 

PowerRail Inc. was awarded a multiyear $1.9 million contract from New Jersey Transit to manufacture passenger rail car journal adapter boxes. PowerRail division Cooper Bearings specializes in new and remanufactured bearings and journal boxes for locomotives, passenger rail cars and light-rail vehicles, PowerRail officials said in a press release. 

The North County Transit District's (NCTD) board has requested funding from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to support the purchase of two trainsets for the Coaster commuter-rail line in San Diego.

NCTD needs the additional trainsets in order to increase from 22 to 42 Coaster trips during weekdays. An increase would mean trains would arrive every 30 minutes during peak periods and every 60 minutes during non-peak periods, NCTD officials said in a press release. 

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved a recovery plan for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit's (HART) passenger-rail project, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced yesterday.

Approval of HART's plan was key to receiving $744 million in federal funding that the FTA was withholding until it was confident in HART's plan for containing costs and minimizing further delays in the city's construction of a 20-mile elevated passenger-rail system.

R. J. Corman Railroad Co. announced today it has finalized a long-term agreement to lease and operate a short line from the City of Childersburg Local Redevelopment Authority, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway.

The newly formed R. J. Corman Railroad Co./Childersburg Line is a 13.32-mile line in Coosa Pines, Alabama, southeast of Birmingham, company officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) are soliciting public comment on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and other draft documents related to the proposed Long Bridge project.

A public hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 22 and public comments on the documents will be accepted until Oct. 28, according to an FRA announcement.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) board today will consider a tentative labor contract with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265.

VTA staff will recommend the board approve a three-year ATU labor agreement, which was ratified on Aug. 29. Alternatively, the board may instruct staff to continue negotiations, according to the labor contract agreement.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday announced it had removed three safety recommendations from its "Most Wanted List" of transportation safety improvements after the board's concerns that led to the recommendations were adequately addressed.

The three listed items were related to pipeline safety, which the NTSB said were improved through recommendations that called for better inspection programs, records and documentation of natural gas systems, as well as procedures to mitigate risks identified during management of change operations.