Railroad News

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Senior Associate Editor

Former Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman died March 7 after suffering a stroke in Florida, where he shared a vacation home with his wife, Joanne. He was 70.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (JPB) last week named Shamann Walton to serve as a member.

Walton will represent the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors on the JPB, the governing body of Caltrain. He is taking over for former member Monique Zmuda, according to a JPB press release.

Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) crews today will begin a six-week rail profile grinding project on 25 miles of track along the MAX light-rail route. 

The grinding will be done overnight when trains are not running, according to a TriMet press release. Crews will begin in downtown Portland and work toward the Portland International Airport. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday launched a new public awareness campaign to stop harassment.

Advertisements, developed to empower riders to report and intervene if they witness or experience an incident of harassment, were placed in stations today, according to a WMATA press release.

Norfolk Southern Railway is continuing to address service interruptions due to flooding conditions in Hannibal, Missouri, the Class I announced yesterday.

The situation is requiring NS traffic between Decatur, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri, to be diverted and operated via St. Louis, NS officials said in an operations alert to customers. Conditions along the route are expected to improve by April 14.

The Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO) yesterday marked the completion of its $194 million rail-car overhaul project by placing the last pair of refurbished trains into service. 

As part of the project, Alstom Transport upgraded 120 PATCO rail cars in total. 

CN announced yesterday it has budgeted $505 million for capital projects this year in Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

In Illinois, CN will spend $190 million to expand and maintain its infrastructure in state. Planned expansion projects will include development of a positive train control (PTC) system and adding capacity to the Joliet Intermodal Terminal.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) yesterday handed out its highest individual honors for safety and distinguished service at the organization's annual convention in Orlando.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Editor

For the second straight year, a representative sampling of North American freight and passenger railroads plan to spend more on infrastructure upkeep, as Managing Editor Jeff Stagl reports this month in our annual MOW Spending Report.

The Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) last week approved the appointment of Kome Ajise as executive director. 

The 30-year veteran of regional planning and transportation will assume the role on an interim basis pending the formal contract approval process. 

The SMART Transportation Division has announced that John Whitaker has been named vice president to succeed David Wier, who retired April 1.

Most recently, Whitaker served as an alternative vice president for SMART TD, according to a press released issued by the union. He began his railroad career in 1997 when he joined CSX as a conductor. In 2002, he became certified as an engineer and was elected local chairperson for Local 1106 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Several U.S. House members representing Texas districts have written to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of Texas Central's Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail project.

U.S. Reps. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) led the bipartisan group in support of the proposed project. In the 115th Congress, which ended last year, several members had indicated their support for Texas Central's plan, the April 2 letter stated.

Sound Transit last week announced that construction on its 14-mile East Link light-rail extension project is more than half completed. 

East Link, projected to launch as in 2023, will connect riders in downtown Seattle to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond, Washington. 

The Port of Beaumont, Texas, has opened its Orange County Terminal Overpass, which was designed to improve access into a liquid bulk transload facility operated by Jefferson Energy Cos.

The overpass, which opened late last month, will allow for a more efficient flow of passenger vehicles and freight trucks without impeding safe movement of railroad traffic, port officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) have scheduled two public meetings April 25 to present information on the D2 Subway, a proposed second light-rail alignment through the Dallas Central Business District. 

DART is developing preliminary engineering and a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed project to extend light-rail from Victory Park to Deep Ellum in Dallas.

Pandrol appointed Eran Gartner to a newly created chief executive officer position as part of a reorganization of the company’s senior leadership. Gartner also will join the executive committee of Delachaux Group, Pandrol's parent company. Gartner has more than 20 years of  international rail engineering leadership experience, according to a Pandrol press release. He most recently was CEO of Megalim Solar Power Ltd. Gartner previously served stints as group senior vice president of strategy for Alstom and president of the systems division for Bombardier Transportation.

Thales completed its acquisition of Gemalto for $5.6 billion. Gemalto will form Thale’s digital identity and security division, according to a Thales press release. The acquisition will expand Thales' operations to 800,000 employees in Latin America, Asia, India and North America.

MTA Metro-North Railroad has granted five new leases to bring dining and shopping options to passengers at Mt. Kisco, Purdy’s, Hastings-on-Hudson, Peeksill and Tarrytown stations in New York.

The tenants will provide $193,000 annually, as well as build cleaning and upkeep valued at $90,000, bringing the total value of the leases to $283,000 annually, according to an MTA press release.