Railroad News

New Jersey Transit and the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU), laying the groundwork for the development of the North Brunswick commuter-rail station, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced yesterday. 

The MOU calls for the design and construction of a train station at the North Brunswick Transit Village along the Northeast Corridor. Under the agreement, MCIA will serve as the project manager.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) earlier this week awarded $15.3 million in grant funding to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), which will use some of the funds for its rail-car replacement program.

Under the Ohio Transit Preservation Partnership Program (OTP3), the ODOT awarded to GCRTA $5 million toward rail-car replacement. With the additional funds, GCRTA now has a total $57.2 million committed from a mix of local grants, reserve funds and expected future federal grants for rail-car funding, agency officials said in a press release.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) logged record container cargo and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail line served a record number of passengers during the first nine months of 2019, the agency announced yesterday.

PANYNJ's cargo volumes surged 5.5 percent to 5,620,381 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the period compared with the same period in 2018, which also was a record, PANYNJ officials said in a press release.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) yesterday announced that select trains operating on the Far Rockaway, Long Beach, Oyster Bay and West Hempstead branches in New York have begun operating with positive train control (PTC).

As a result of the implementation, 65 route miles of LIRR's system are in PTC operation, or 21.5 percent of the PTC system, LIRR officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced six new industrial locations have been awarded the Class I's Certified Sites designation.

Four of the sites are the first for their state in Arizona, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri. Two new sites were named in Illinois, bringing that state's count to four, BNSF officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced six new industrial locations have been awarded the Class I's Certified Sites designation.

Four of the sites are the first for their state in Arizona, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri. Two new sites were named in Illinois, bringing that state's count to four, BNSF officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight railroads logged 513,147 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Oct. 26, down 8.8 percent compared with the same week last year, Association of American Railroads (AAR) data shows.

Total carload traffic for the week plunged 9.4 percent to 243,321 units, while intermodal volume dropped 8.3 percent to 269,826 containers and trailers.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) on Nov. 4 will open a temporary MetroRail Station in downtown Austin, Texas, to resume service that has been suspended since June.

In June, Cap Metro closed its downtown rail station next to the Austin Convention Center to allow for  construction of a new station. Rail service was replaced by shuttle service to accommodate riders from Plaza Saltillo Station to and from the downtown.

New Jersey Transit has expanded its conflict de-escalation training for its rail operators, conductors and transit police officers in order to reduce assaults.

NJ Transit’s internal training program, which teaches techniques and best practices for de-escalating a potentially violent situation, now includes curriculum from Rutgers’ National Transit Institute.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit (NYCT) marked a construction milestone with the installation of the first section of an elevated cable bridge that will supply traction power to the entire the Coney Island Yard Complex.

Begun in March 2018, the Coney Island Yard project calls for installation of flood mitigation and other protections, including a new 4,280-foot-long bridge to carry power feeders and communication cables across the 74-acre yard.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has developed a set of templates and checklists to help members prepare in advance of severe weather events, derailments or other disasters that could disrupt their operations.

Developed with support from railroad and supplier members, the resources are designed to proactively assist short lines and regionals in addressing the challenges of weather and non-weather caused emergency events affecting employees, shippers, infrastructure and operations, ASLRRA officials said in a press release.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) and the New Orleans Department of Public Works (DPW) early next month will begin a two-month project to improve transit station access for people with disabilities.

The $300,000 project calls for adding concrete around streetcar stops, a ramp and turnaround area for wheelchair access and detectable warning surfaces that alert visually impaired individuals of an approach to street crossings and hazardous drop-off areas, according to a press release from the New Orleans Mayor’s Office.

Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) International’s Atlanta Chapter last week honored Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Parker as its 2019 Man of the Year.

WTS International — a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of transportation through the global advancement of women — cited Parker’s record of hiring and promoting women in transportation roles, MARTA officials said in a press release.