Railroad News

U.S. railroads moved 559,989 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Oct. 21, a 3 percent increase over the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week ticked up 0.2 percent to 268,943 units, while intermodal volume surged 5.6 percent to 291,046 containers and trailers compared with year-ago traffic results.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded a $539.5 million contract to Cubic Transportation Systems to replace the agency's MetroCard with an electronic fare payment system.

The new system will enable riders to pay for rides using credit and debit cards or mobile devices instead of purchasing and adding value to a separate fare card.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has fully restored Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) ability to receive automatic access to federal grant reimbursement, the agency announced yesterday.

The FTA's action comes after WMATA submitted 65 correction action plans to address recommendations in a 2014 financial management oversight report. The completion of those action plans marks the final step in fully restoring WMATA's ability to receive federal funds.

Union Pacific Railroad today reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue despite the Class I's business disruptions caused by Hurricane Harvey.

UP announced third-quarter net income increased to $1.2 billion, or $1.50 per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.36 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.

GE Transportation yesterday introduced its EdgeLINC™ software for device management and streaming analytics. The software streamlines the collection of "edge-level" sensor data and enables faster aggregation and integration into other cloud and enterprise systems, company officials said in a press release. Compatible with GE's GoLINC platform and third-party devices, the software enables users to control configuration, telemetry and alerts. An undisclosed North American Class I has deployed EdgeLINC on more than 1,000 locomotives.

Pentair plc is launching an electrical company known as nVent Electric plc. Pentair will split into two independent, publicly traded companies. One will handle Pentair's electrical business, while the other will oversee the water business. The separation is slated to be completed by second-quarter 2018, Pentair officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Beth Wozniak was named chief executive officer of nVent, while Stacy McMahan was appointed chief financial officer.

Ontario will set up an advisory board to provide strategic support for the province's high-speed rail plans, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced earlier this week.

The board will engage with the private sector, stakeholders and indigenous communities about the project, according to a press release issued by Wynne's office. Ontario is considering providing high-speed rail service between Toronto and Windsor.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) has put into service two of its Azur subway trains on the Green Line.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has chosen Matt Williamson, manager of environmental and industry safety for CSX Corp., to receive the 2017 Professional Environmental Excellence Award.

The award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding performance in environmental awareness and responsibility during the year. Considered the highest honor for environmental professionals in the rail industry, the award was presented to Williamson at the annual Railroad Environmental Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) yesterday marked the completion of seven grade separation projects along a BNSF Railway Co. line running through Fullerton, Anaheim and Placentia, California.

The $663 million effort involved building vehicular bridges and underpasses to separate motorists and pedestrians from the rail line, which is used by at least 70 trains daily.

CN reported third-quarter net income fell 1 percent to CA$958 million, while diluted earnings per share rose 2 percent to CA$1.27 compared with third-quarter 2016's financial results.

Revenue for the quarter rose 7 percent to CA$3.2 billion; operating income climbed 4 percent to CA$1.5 billion; and adjusted net income increased 2 percent to CA$989 million compared with the same period a year ago, according to a company press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported third-quarter net income rose 10 percent to $506 million, or $1.75 per share, from $460 million, or $1.55 a share, in the same period a year ago.

NS' bottom-line growth was driven by an 11 percent increase in railway operations income, yielding a record quarterly operating ratio of 65.9 percent compared with 67.5 percent a year ago, company officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. announced today that three of its top executives — Cindy Sanborn, Fredrik Eliasson and Ellen Fitzsimmons — will leave the company effective Nov. 15.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sanborn and Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Eliasson will resign. Fitzsimmons — who serves as executive vice president of law and public affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary — will retire, according to a CSX press release.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) recently authorized construction of grade-crossing improvement projects in Ashland, Butler, Champaign, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Seneca and Wayne counties.

Railroads involved in the projects are the Northern Ohio & Western Railway (NOW), Norfolk Southern Railway, Ashland Railway (AR), Cleveland Commercial Railroad (CC), Indiana & Ohio Railway (IO) and CSX, according to a commission press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has begun deploying work trains that spray water jets to clear tracks of slimy leaf debris, the agency announced yesterday.

Crews are operating the trains on MTA Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and Staten Island Railway.

The Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) public sea terminals logged record growth in containers and overall tonnage during fiscal-year 2017, which ended Sept. 30.

JAXPORT moved more than 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 7 percent increase over FY2016, which also was a record year in container volumes for the port.  JAXPORT moved 9.3 million tons of cargo in FY2017, up 7 percent over the previous fiscal year.

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have chosen Toronto Tunnel Partners as the preferred team to design, build and finance the development of an upgraded rail tunnel in the Toronto area.

The team is made up of EllisDon Civil and Strabag Inc. The project calls for building a second rail tunnel under Highways 401/409 to accommodate two tracks, allowing for more frequent GO Transit rail service.