Railroad News

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday gave New Jersey Transit the green light to begin revenue service demonstration of its positive train control (PTC) system on the Morristown commuter-rail line between Summit and Denville, New Jersey.

The FRA's approval means NJ Transit is a step closer to meeting the federally mandated deadline of PTC certification by Dec. 31, NJ Transit officials said in a press release. 

CN is temporarily laying off about 450 employees in its Eastern Canada operations after canceling more than 400 trains over the past week in response to protest blockades along its rail line, Canadian news media reported yesterday.

The layoffs will affect operational staff, including employees working at Autoport in Eastern Passage, Moncton, Charny and Montreal, according to news reports.

CN is temporarily laying off about 450 employees in its Eastern Canada operations after canceling more than 400 trains over the past week in response to protest blockades along its rail line, Canadian news media reported yesterday.

The layoffs will affect operational staff, including employees working at Autoport in Eastern Passage, Moncton, Charny and Montreal, according to news reports.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a final rule that launches the Risk Reduction Program to support an increasing standard of safety for Class Is, agency officials announced yesterday.

The final rule requires the nation's largest freight railroads to develop and implement an FRA-approved risk-reduction plan that identifies and analyzes hazards and associated risks to safety. The railroads also must develop and implement plans to eliminate or mitigate those risks, FRA officials said in a press release.

The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) logged 1,777,136 riders in fiscal-year 2019 from Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019, marking an all-time high for the intercity passenger-rail service in Northern California. 

The previous annual ridership record was logged in FY18, when CCJPA recorded 1.7 million riders, according to the authority’s annual performance reports. 

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) last week named Rhonda Allen the agency’s first chief customer experience officer.

In this new role, Allen will serve as MARTA’s “internal customer advocate” responsible for establishing the agency’s inaugural Riders’ Advisory Council, MARTA officials said in a press release.

Alaska Railroad Corp. will promote Sean Mesloh to chief mechanical officer effective March 1. He will succeed Don Freestone, who will retire Feb. 28.

Mesloh began his railroad career in December 2000, when he was hired as a mechanical worker in the railroad's rail-car shop in Anchorage, where he advanced through apprenticeship levels and learned to maintain freight and passenger cars.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board last week selected the joint venture firm that will redevelop the agency's headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. 

WMATA selected the Stonebridge and Rockefeller Group joint venture to add three floors to the  Jackson Graham building and redesign it into a mixed-use commercial development.

Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) board last week approved a $38.3 million contract for T.Y. Lin International Great Lakes Inc. to provide planning and preliminary engineering services for the Red Line extension project. 

Under the contract, the firm will prepare a final environment impact statement for the project that will extend CTA’s Red Line 5.3 miles between 95th and 130th streets in Chicago.

CN officials announced the company supports the decision by Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau to amend his Feb. 7 order that restricted the speed of trains hauling dangerous goods on all of the nation's railway networks.

The initial order reduced by at least a third CN's overall network capacity for all trains, even those not carrying dangerous goods, CN officials said in a press release.

CN officials announced the company supports the decision by Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau to amend his Feb. 7 order that restricted the speed of trains hauling dangerous goods on all of the nation's railway networks.

The initial order reduced by at least a third CN's overall network capacity for all trains, even those not carrying dangerous goods, CN officials said in a press release.

Stadler Rail entered into a $914 million contract with Nexus to supply and maintain 42 trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro in northeast England. Under the contract, Stadler will also construct a new maintenance facility where it will maintain the trains for 35 years. The new trains will replace Tyne and Wear Metro’s existing fleet by 2024, Stadler officials said in a press release. 

VLS Recovery Services appointed John Magee chief executive officer. He succeeds VLS founder Mike Dilick, who has transitioned to an oversight and advisory role as a VLS board member. Magee joined the rail-car cleaning company from Crane Worldwide Logistics, where he served as president and CEO for 11 years.

The Reading & Northern Railroad and its sister railroad Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway will resume passenger train rides into and out of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, after resolving a local tax dispute.

The railroad's decision to restart the train service followed months of discussions with local government officials, company officials said in a press release. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will award a $13.4 million grant to the Port of South Louisiana for a project to make improvements to the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, including a new rail spur connection, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) announced earlier this week.

The grant will come from the Port Infrastructure Development Grant Program, which is administered by the USDOT's Maritime Administration, according to a press release issued by Graves' office.

Kansas City Southern’s (KCS) board yesterday announced the promotion of Adam Godderz to senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. 

Godderz will oversee the railroad’s legal departments in the United States and Mexico.