The Greenbrier Cos. has completed its acquisition of the rail-car and components manufacturing businesses of American Railcar Industries (ARI) from ITE Management LP, the companies announced today.
The asset acquisition is valued at about $430 million and consisted of cash and convertible debt, according to an ITE press release.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) last week announced it would review the budget and schedule of the Central Subway project, which calls for extending the Muni Metro mostly underground from South of Market to Chinatown in San Francisco.
The $1.6 billion project, which was originally scheduled to enter revenue service in 2019, is expected to be delayed, SFMTA officials said in a press release.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) board last week announced it will use solar technology to reinforce power for its rail signal systems on the Warminster, Doylestown and West Trenton commuter lines in Philadelphia.
The $16.2 million project eliminates the need for conduit and external wiring and will allow SEPTA’s system to run for 48 hours if its normal power source is lost, SEPTA officials said in a press release.
Virgin Trains, formerly known as Brightline, last month marked serving 1 million riders on the passenger-rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach, with a stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the railroad announced last week.
Riders used the South Florida service for business and leisure trips, Virgin Trains officials said in a press release.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) last week named Theresa Impastato executive vice president and chief safety officer, effective Aug. 12.
Most recently, Impastato was deputy chief safety officer of Amtrak, where she led the drafting and implementation of the railroad’s first safety management system and oversaw Federal Railroad Administration safety certification programs for Amtrak’s new high-speed trainsets, rolling stock procurements and facilities projects, WMATA officials said in a press release.
Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau last week announced CA$102 million in projects designed to increase efficiency at the Port of Vancouver.
Investments in projects that involve rail improvements include CA$42.7 million to consolidate the Annacis Auto Terminal and the Richmond Terminal operations to accommodate the growing Asian automobile market and improve rail operations in the area.
Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week appointed Robert Powers as the agency's 10th general manager.
Powers most recently served as BART’s interim GM following the retirement of Grace Crunican earlier this month. He also has served as the authority’s deputy GM and assistant GM of planning, development and construction, BART officials said in a press release.
CN moved more Canadian grain during the 2018-2019 crop year than ever before, and set multiple records despite restrictions on Canadian canola exports to China, the Class I announced today.
Many of the records were achieved during the peak demand period and despite extreme weather conditions, CN officials said in a press release.
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Landon Downes, 31
Assistant project manager
Balfour Beatty
Nominator’s quote: “He is a quick learner. He mentors his team and has strong abilities to partner in relationships and develop a consensus. His natural ability and personal nature to compromise, focus on the goals of all parties and leave a task with everyone happy is a rare asset that Landon brings to the industry.” — Joe Reed, Balfour Beatty
Trinity Industries Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of $736 million, a 16 percent year-over-year increase over the same period a year ago. The company’s leasing and management services brought in $189 million in revenue in the quarter. The leasing group grew its wholly- or partially-owned fleet to 102,140 units, bringing its net value to $7.4 billion. The rail products group reported quarterly revenue of $712 million compared with $566.2 million a year earlier, Trinity officials said in a press release. The group also reported quarterly rail-car orders and deliveries of 2,105 and 5,255, respectively, resulting in a total car backlog of $2.9 billion.
NRE has reopened its 450,000-square-foot locomotive plant in Paducah, Kentucky, to meet an increase in work orders after shuttering the facility two years ago, NRE officials said in a press release. NRE employees have begun making light repairs and inspections of locomotives. The company is seeking additional employees to fill positions.
The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) earlier this week announced it will launch an income-based fare discount program on July 29.
The LiVE Program will provide a 40 percent discount to qualifying riders whose household income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level; are between 20 and 64 years old; and live within the RTD district, RTD officials said in a press release.
An OmniTRAX Inc. affiliate announced today it has agreed to acquire the Virginia-based Winchester & Western Railroad (WW) from Covia Holdings Corp.
The $105 million acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter. WW operates about 100 miles of track in Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia, and interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway.
California officials announced yesterday they've received approval from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to complete environmental reviews of the first phase of the state's high-speed rail project.
Under a National Environmental Policy Act assignment from the FRA, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is now responsible for approving the project's environmental documents , authority officials said in a press release.
Starting Sept. 23, Amtrak will offer direct service between Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., and New York Penn Station in New York City.
The Acela nonstop service initially will operate on weekdays, with one southbound train departing at 6:35 a.m. and one northbound train departing at 4:30 p.m. per day. The travel time is about 2 hours and 35 minutes, Amtrak officials said in a press release.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) earlier this week published a notice of proposed rulemaking for a new regulation that would require installation of inward- and outward-facing video cameras on all lead locomotives in passenger trains.
The image-recording devices would record while a lead locomotive is in motion and retain the data in a crashworthy memory module, according to a notice the FRA published July 24 in the Federal Register.
Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.
Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.
The U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday announced $856 million in proposed award grants through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program.
"This significant federal investment will improve major highways, bridges, ports and railroads around the country to better connect our communities, and to enhance safety and economic growth,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release.
Kelley Carr, 34
Senior manager of positive train control
Amtrak
Nominator’s quote: “Kelley’s hard work has directly contributed to Amtrak’s implementation of over 17,000 miles of PTC on Amtrak’s network to date, making Amtrak an industry leader as the most interoperable of any railroad in the United States. He leads a team consisting of many Class I freight and commuter railroads to develop policies and procedures for the use of PTC in the field. He has earned the respect of these railroads for his leadership in this area. He is seen by many throughout the industry, including regulatory entities, as a PTC subject matter expert.”
— Ken Hylander, Amtrak