Railroad News

Several Democratic U.S. senators are criticizing the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) over delays in the process that would allow construction to begin on a new passenger-rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey.

In a Feb. 6 letter to FRA Administrator Ronald Batory, the senators expressed "deep disappointment" that the FRA has not yet finalized a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) nor a record of decision (ROD) that would allow for construction of the so-called "Gateway" tunnel beneath the Hudson River and provide "essential repairs" to the North River Tunnel.

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau late last week ordered a 30-day speed limit for trains hauling dangerous goods including crude oil. The order took effect Feb. 7.

Garneau issued the order after a second freight train in two months carrying crude oil derailed in Saskatchewan. The latest involved a Canadian Pacific train that derailed Feb. 6 near Guernsey. The incident caused a fire, which prompted the village to be evacuated because of air quality concerns.

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Wabtec Corp. broke ground on a 200,000-square-foot plant that will be used for developing and manufacturing brakes, as well as maintaining brakes and couplers for transit vehicles. Once completed, the plant in Bochum, Germany, will be a DGNB Gold-certified property in recognition of sustainable and innovative design, Wabtec officials said in a press release. Upon completion in third-quarter 2020, the site will have 99,000 square feet of production space, nearly 55,000 square feet of storage and 60,000 square feet of offices. The site also will have a green roof on the administration building; make use of geothermal heating, intelligent light control and photovoltaics; and offer loading stations for e-cars and e-bikes.

SCI Rail Holdings LLC, through its subsidiary A. Stucki Co., acquired Salco Products Inc. Salco supplies circular hatch covers, tank car valves and other components for the freight rail-car industry. The acquisition broadens SCI Rail’s freight car product offering and expands its customer reach with blue chip commodity shippers, SCI Rail officials said in a press release. Dave Oestermeyer will remain president of Salco. Financial terms were undisclosed.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) this year will begin a $2 million project to reopen a second set of entrances at the Nostrand Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, to reduce crowding and improve accessibility, the agency announced yesterday. 

The Bedford Avenue entrances to the station were closed more than 30 years ago during a period of concern about crime, NYCT officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) yesterday announced plans to accelerate several rail projects in 2020 to improve service, safety and reliability. 

The 2020 Infrastructure Acceleration Plan will deliver track replacement, upgraded intersections and station improvements eight years earlier than originally planned. The accelerated schedule is the result of expanding traditional work windows and increasing work activities within those windows, MBTA officials said in a press release.

Vitro Chemicals will become the first tenant of the Southwest International Gateway Business Park, a 540-acre industrial park in El Campo, Texas, built for cross-border shippers and served by Kansas City Southern Railway.

The first phase of Vitro Chemicals' development will include a 125,000-square-foot distribution center and a 200,000-square-foot speculative warehouse, according to a press release issued by the park's real estate investment firm, Stonemont Financial Group.

Montana Rail Link (MRL) promoted Joe Racicot, Jim Lewis and Ross Lane to vice president. 

Racicot will serve as VP of administration and general counsel; Lewis, VP of sales of marketing; and Lane, VP of corporate relations.

Total intermodal volumes dropped 7.4 percent year over year in fourth-quarter 2019, the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) reported yesterday.

During the quarter, domestic containers declined 2.7 percent to 1,958,649 units compared with Q4 2018; international shipments fell 9.1 percent to 2,195,684; and trailers plunged 21.4 percent to 292,513, according to IANA's Market Trends and Statistics report.

Valley Metro crews next month will begin installing special track to enable the Tempe Streetcar in Tempe, Arizona, to cross over the area's existing light-rail system.

The work will occur near the Dorsey/Apache Boulevard light-rail station, which is across from a future streetcar stop. The work, which will be performed March 7-9, will require single-tracking on portions of the light-rail route, agency officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit tomorrow will begin the second of three construction periods that will connect the new East Link light-rail tracks to the existing light-rail system in downtown Seattle. 

Crews will test the new track and systems on the northbound platform at the International District/Chinatown Station, according to the Sound Transit blog.

A coalition of railroads, local government, labor and other organizations is asking U.S. congressional transportation leaders to oppose proposed legislation that would increase truck size or weight limits on federal highways.

In a letter sent yesterday to the chairs and ranking members of transportation committees in the House and Senate, the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) called on Congress to reject proposed increases in truck size or weight as it prepares legislation to reauthorize the federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which expires Sept. 30.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) yesterday released a draft report that describes the design concept for the planned Southwest Corridor light-rail route between Portland and Tualatin. 

The report describes the preliminary design features of 13 stations and other related improvements along the 11-mile MAX light-rail extension, including bike facilities and stormwater improvements.

Reading & Northern Railroad (R&N) yesterday opened a new $14 million rail bridge over the Lehigh River in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania.

The Nesquehoning Bridge Phase 2 connects the regional railroad’s Reading and Lehigh divisions, allowing expedited movement between the Reading and Scranton area. 

For the first time in 15 years, the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing yesterday on issues surrounding grade-crossing safety.

The hearing was called as part of the subcommittee's work on legislation to reauthorize the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, said Chairman Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) in a prepared statement of his opening remarks. Addressing issues related to grade crossings is one of his "top priorities" in the legislation, including finding more funding for grade separations and quiet zones.

Canadian Pacific moved 2.09 million metric tons of Canadian grain and grain products in January, beating the railroad's January 2019 record by 200,000 metric tons.

CP officials cited the railroad's 8,500-foot high-efficiency product (HEP) train model, dedicated train program (DTP) and new high-efficiency hopper cars as significant factors in the new record.

Canadian Pacific moved 2.09 million metric tons of Canadian grain and grain products in January, beating the railroad's January 2019 record by 200,000 metric tons.

CP officials cited the railroad's 8,500-foot high-efficiency product (HEP) train model, dedicated train program (DTP) and new high-efficiency hopper cars as significant factors in the new record.

U.S. railroads hauled 2,410,813 carloads and intermodal units in January, down 5.6 percent compared with traffic hauled in January 2019, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

The combined number of carloads last month fell 5.9 percent to 1,165,733 units, while the number of intermodal containers and trailers dipped 5.4 percent to 1,245,080 containers and trailers versus the same month last year.