Railroad News

The Greenbrier Cos. Inc. has acquired a majority stake in Turkish rail-car manufacturer Rayvag Vagon Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. Based in Adana, Turkey, Rayvag also provides rail-car repair and parts services. The acquisition will extend Greenbrier's continental reach and enable Greenbrier Europe to acquire new rail-car customers and serve existing ones that operate along the nearly 5,500-mile Turkish rail system. The freight transportation sector in Turkey is "growing quickly," with the country's government committed to modernizing its existing rail system, Greenbrier officials said in a press release. Financial details of the acquisition were undisclosed.

GE Transportation's planning pilot project at the Port of Long Beach, California, is  underway, GE announced Thursday. Over the next two months, the port's stakeholders will use GE's Port Optimizer™ software to access data that will enable them to move cargo containers more efficiently, GE officials said in a press release. The software provides better advanced notice of cargo arrival, along with equipment availability data, labor and other resources. Three of the port's six container terminals are involved: the Long Beach Container, Total Terminals International and the International Transportation Service. The system debuted at the Port of Los Angeles last year.

Imports at the nation's major retail container ports have set two new records this summer and are expected to set another this month, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released yesterday by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

The records are due in part to rising retail sales and retailers rushing to bring merchandise into the country ahead of proposed new tariffs on products from China, according to an NRF press release.

Becca Nagorsky, 37

Job description: Leads the team that does early stage planning and preliminary design for new subway, light-rail and bus-rapid transit projects.

Education: Bachelor of Arts, McGill University; Master of Urban Planning, New York University

A Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed yesterday near Station Square in Pittsburgh, sending rail cars down a hill and onto light-rail tracks operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

No one was injured in the incident, according to an NS statement. Light-rail riders experienced delays today heading to and from downtown Pittsburgh, as crews continued to clean up damage and debris from the derailment, authority officials said in a website post.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last week received the Railroad Achievement Award from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and GoRail.

Denham — who chairs the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials — was recognized for his "continued leadership on issues affecting both freight and passenger railroads," according to an AAR press release.

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) will honor American Trucking Associations Chairman David Manning with this year's Silver Kingpin Award.

The award recognizes an individual's long-term contributions to the intermodal industry. Manning, who is head of Nashville, Tennessee-based TCW Inc., will receive the award Sept. 17 during the Intermodal Expo in Long Beach, California, IANA officials said in a press release.

The New Jersey Transit Police Department late last week began using social networking app Nextdoor to boost community policing efforts.

Using the app's public agency platform, NJ Transit police will be able to geo-target Nextdoor users who live within a mile of commuter- and light-rail lines, as well as bus terminals.

All three of Amtrak's Michigan routes now accept bicycles on board.

Last week, the Wolverine Service became the last Michigan Department of Transportation-sponsored line to allow riders to bring their bikes on board. Wolverine trains provide three daily-round trips between Pontiac, Michigan and Chicago, via Detroit, Dearborn, Jackson and other stops in Michigan.

Nick Edelen, 35

Job description: Manages the operational, financial and administrative aspects of R. J. Corman's Emergency Services company. Responsible for overseeing more than 200 employees in 18 divisions across the United States.

Education: Bachelor of science in business administration, Georgetown College

A thermite weld failure resulted in a Canadian Pacific train derailment in Manitoba in August 2017, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced yesterday.

On Aug. 11, 2017, a CP unit train was heading north on the Emerson Subdivision when 22 covered hopper cars loaded with corn derailed while exiting a bridge over the Roseau River near Dominion City, Manitoba.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) yesterday announced the launch of a program to assist riders with mobility issues.

Through the new LIRR Care program, the railroad will offer help to passengers who need assistance boarding or exiting trains. The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, LIRR officials said in a press release.

Long Ridge Energy Terminal has completed its rail loop construction project in Hannibal, Ohio, which makes the facility the first in the Appalachian Basin to offer unit-train and barge transloading capabilities.

CSX serves the terminal.

The Port of Portland is continuing its Terminal 6 service with BNSF Railway Co. through mid-2019, as part of a larger focus to increase options to shippers at Terminal 6, port officials announced this week.

The intermodal rail service, which began in January, moves containers by rail between Portland and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Goods are loaded from rail on or off ocean carriers, with three carriers using the service in Washington, port officials said in a press release.

Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas, has hired Mike Stolzman as vice president and chief operating officer of rail.

He has more than 20 years of railroad experience. In 1995, he joined the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co., which was later purchased by Union Pacific Railroad.

GE Transportation and Ukrainian Railways earlier this week marked the completion of the first of 30 GE Evolution Series locomotives to be built under a framework agreement signed early this year. The TE33A locomotive features a 12-cylinder, 4,500-horsepower Evolution Series engine. Compared to the legacy Ukrainian fleet, the unit can "significantly reduce" emissions, economize fuel and oil costs, and increase time between maintenance overhauls, GE officials said in a press release. Production is occurring in the United States, with final assembly in Ukraine.

Siemens, South Korean train manufacturer Hyundai Rotem and Taiwanese construction company BES Engineering have obtained a contract to deliver electrical and mechanical solutions to the Green Line metro route in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Siemens' share of the project includes the Trainguard MT communications-based train control system, traction drives for the trains and direct-current traction power supply. The signaling system will enable full automation of the metro line, Siemens officials said in a press release.

Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald Batory earlier this week toured CSX's Virginia Avenue Tunnel reconstruction project in southeast Washington, D.C.

Joining Batory on the tour were CSX officials, along with representatives of Clark Construction, Delta Railroad Construction and Parsons, which are members of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC).

On July 1, Watco Cos. LLC marked its 35th anniversary. The company was launched in 1983 by founder Dick Webb as an industrial switching operation in DeRidder, Louisiana.

Now, Watco has grown from one to more than 4,000 customers, from 14 to 5,200 employees, and from one to 202 operations, including 38 short lines. The company provides rail, switching, terminal and port, mechanical and other services in 37 states and four countries.

President Donald Trump has nominated former Metra Chairman Martin Oberman as a Surface Transportation Board (STB) member.

If his nomination is approved by the Senate, Oberman will serve the remainder of a five-year term that expires Dec. 31, 2023. The open Democratic seat on the board was vacated by former STB Chairman Dan Elliott last year.