Railroad News

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has endorsed the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) recent changes to the federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Funding (RRIF) Express program, saying the reforms will make it easier for short lines to access government loans to help fund infrastructure upgrades.

Changes to the RRIF Express program — unveiled as RRIF Express 2.0 — include extending the filing time for applications; increasing the size of eligible loans to $150 million; expanding the scope of eligible projects to include nearly everything under the traditional program; increasing the option for a loan used for refinancing to up to 75 percent; and increasing the potential amount of Credit Risk Premium subsidy to a maximum of 10% of loan size.

Texan by Nature named Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) an honoree of the second annual TxN 20, a ranking of Texas companies that have demonstrated a commitment to conservation.

The second annual TxN 20 recognizes 20 Texas-based businesses and operations across 12 industries that are forging new, beneficial paths in conservation, DART officials said in a press release.

The Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners this week introduced Stephen Edwards as the next leader of the Port of Virginia.

Edwards succeeds John Reinhart as chief executive officer and executive director on Jan. 19, 2021. In May, Reinhart announced plans to retire.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) moved 2,016,797 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the third quarter, a 2.5% increase from the same period last year.

In September, the port logged 720,969 TEUs, a 15.4% year over year increase.

The Reading & Northern Railroad announced yesterday that it delivered the the first rail cars to IRIS USA Inc., the regional's newest customer in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. 

The industrial park is the Japan-based plastics producer's first location on the U.S. East Coast. The railroad helped IRIS locate at the site starting in March 2017, Reading & Northern officials said in a press release. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday formally launched a new initiative that will allow subway riders to communicate with New York City Transit (NYCT) representatives in real time using the messaging platform WhatsApp. 

WhatsApp will expand the number of customer service channels available to the system's riders, and is expected to improve NYCT’s communication with riders who don't speak English, MTA officials said in a press release.

Wabtec Corp. appointed Nicole Theophilus as executive vice president and chief human resources officer. She will be responsible for leading Wabtec’s global human resources organization. Theophilus succeeds Scott Wahlstrom, who will retire after nearly 30 years at Wabtec. Meanwhile, the company released its 2020 Sustainability Report, which highlights recent efforts to develop the FLXdrive™ battery electric locomotive. The locomotive includes 20,000 battery cells that can reduce train fuel usage and emissions by 10% to 30%. The report also cites the installation of the Trip Optimizer™ cruise control system on 11,000 locomotives that helped save 400 million gallons of fuel.

Stadler US Inc. awarded Astronics Test Systems (ATS) an approximately $30 million contract to develop and supply consolidated test systems to Stadler US Inc. ATS will work collaboratively with Stadler and its major systems suppliers to design and deploy automatic testers and diagnostics that ensure passenger safety by verifying that critical rail-car systems remain in a state of good repair. ATS will supply post-delivery maintenance support equipment for metro cars being delivered by Stadler to the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). The cars are scheduled to be delivered to MARTA starting in 2024. 

Brightline Holdings, the developer of the proposed high-speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas, has launched a new website with details on the project's construction. 

The site reports that early works construction on "Brightline West" is expected to break ground late this year on the High Desert segment, which will connect Victor Valley and Las Vegas. 

The New Jersey Transit Police Department yesterday announced it will expand its community outreach unit from two to five officers.

The community outreach unit is a community-based policing approach that helps bridge the gap between law enforcement and social services to improve the health and well-being of those in need who frequent mass transit facilities, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) yesterday announced it has completed construction of the Poso Creek Viaduct in Kern County, the first completed structure in the 22-mile segment of high-speed rail from the Tulare-Kern county line to Poplar Avenue in Kern County. 

The more than 240-foot-long viaduct, which will allow high-speed trains to cross over Poso Creek, is the fourth high-speed rail structure completed in California’s Central Valley since August.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau last week authorized the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) to deploy an interoperable positive train control (PTC) system on its rail lines serving California’s Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Under a license modification, the FCC granted SCRRA permanent authority to operate 17 PTC wireless radio base stations, 546 PTC wireless radio wayside stations, and related mobile locomotive stations.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has recognized Meaghan Atkinson of CSX with the 2020 Professional Environmental Excellence Award.

As manager of environmental programs at CSX, Atkinson leads the railroad's effort to implement some of the most ambitious greenhouse gas targets in the transportation sector, AAR officials said in a press release. Those targets call for reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 37.3% per million gross ton-miles by 2029 from a 2014 base year.

Indiana officials yesterday signed a full funding grant agreement between the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Northern Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) that finalizes federal funding for a project to expand the South Shore Line commuter-rail service from the West Lake Corridor to Chicago.

The $354.6 million grant, provided through the FTA Capital Investment Grant program, will help fund a project that will "better connect northern Indiana residents to jobs, education and critical services," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release issued by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb's office.

As has been the case in recent weeks, intermodal volume gains helped lift traffic totals for U.S. freight railroads during the week ending Oct. 24 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads logged 522,653 carloads and intermodal units, a 1.9% percent increase compared with the same week in 2019. Total carloads for the week were 227,543 units, down 6.5%, while intermodal volume was 295,110 containers and trailers, up 9.4%.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced $291 million in Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program grants has been awarded for 11 intercity passenger-rail projects in nine states.

The grants will help fund upgrades in rail infrastructure and enhance railroad safety and reliability, Chao said in a press release. Of the funding total, $198 million was made available from the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 and $93,422,706 in remaining funds were made available through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019.

The North County Transit District (NCTD) ordered two additional Siemens Charger locomotives, for a total order of nine units. The new order will complete NCTD’s efforts to replace and convert its existing Coaster locomotive fleet to more efficient, lower-emission vehicles, NCTD officials said in a press release.  The new locomotives will expand the agency’s fleet size and enable NCTD to nearly double Coaster service frequency in San Diego County.

Trinity Industries Inc. reported third-quarter revenue of $459 million, down from $813.6 million in Q3 2019. Trinity attributed the decrease to lower deliveries and fewer rail cars sold from its lease fleet, according to Trinity’s financial report. Quarterly income from continuing operations was 21 cents per common diluted share. “Rail car loadings rebounded during the third quarter from the historical declines earlier in the year resulting from economic shutdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak,” Trinity officials said in a press release. “However, market uncertainty continues to cloud demand for rail cars as much of the economy remains under pressure.”

Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week voted to formalize and continue its BART police ambassador program, which deploys unarmed uniformed personnel to provide security on its rail system and perform a variety of police services. 

The police ambassadors now will be part of BART’s Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau. 

The Transportation Institute at the University of Denver (DTI) has named David Fisher as executive director. 

Fisher has more than 30 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics industry. Previously, he's held roles at Johns-Manville, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Danzas Corp. and others, DTI officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced it will begin a new COVID-19 screening program for its front-line employees in New York City. 

The MTA will offer free, voluntary COVID-19 testing to front-line New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad employees through November, MTA officials said in a press release.