Railroad News

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Editor

Late last month, we announced the agenda for RailTrends® 2018, which will be held Nov. 29-30 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City. RailTrends is presented by Progressive Railroading.

MTA Metro-North Railroad tomorrow will begin installing positive train control (PTC) equipment on the New Canaan Branch.

Crews will install a radio case, antenna and ancillary pieces for the wayside data radio.

Bruce Landsberg has been appointed vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Landsberg, who joined the board this week, is past president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute and has held management positions with FlightSafety International and Cessna Aircraft Co.

The Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) announced yesterday it has completed a $32 million expansion of its soybean processing plant at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon.

Announced in fall 2016, the project more than doubled the size of the plant, which opened at the port in 1997. The expansion was designed to increase service for Indiana's soybean farmers, as well as increase product supply for agribusiness customers, CGB officials said in a press release issued by the Ports of Indiana.

Amtrak yesterday released renderings of the interior of its new Acela Express fleet that will operate on the Northeast Corridor.

Scheduled to enter service in 2021, the  trains will feature leather seats with integrated in-seat lighting and personal electrical outlets and USB ports.

New Jersey Transit's board yesterday adopted a $1.46 billion capital program for fiscal-year 2019 that includes projects to improve and expand its rail system.

The program allocates funds for state-of-good-repair work on transit stations and infrastructure, positive train control installation and other safety initiatives, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will need to pull 548 of its new 7000-series rail cars from service to address wire crimping defects, according to a recent internal review.

This year's story of U.S. rail traffic growth continued into week No. 31, with railroads logging a 4.2 percent increase in carloads and intermodal units over the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week ending Aug. 4 were 279,907 units, up 3 percent, while U.S. intermodal volume for the week was 291,088 containers and trailers, up 5.4 percent, compared with the same week in 2017, AAR officials said in a press release.'

Darren Reynolds, 33

Job description: Responsible for driving business development opportunities — including with ports, short lines and other project proponents — in addition to supporting opportunities for operating efficiency and optimizing CN's cohabitation with passenger railways. Currently the project manager for the Milton Logistics Hub, a new CA$250 million intermodal terminal being developed in the Toronto area.

Education: Degree in civil engineering, McGill University

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

Rio Grande Pacific Corp. (RGPC) has appointed Nathan Neblett chief executive officer of CTC Inc., the company's communication and signaling systems provider. He'll lead long-term planning to support growth and market positioning expertise across business lines, RGPC officials said in a press release.

Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. has appointed Luke Olson vice president of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for contract services, sales and marketing, as well as new and existing product development. He joined the company in 2003 as international marketing coordinator and most recently served as director of rail grinding. He played an "instrumental" role in developing the 400 Series Rail Grinder and expanding Loram's global presence, company officials said in a press release.

Metrolink in Southern California has promoted Kimberly Yu to chief operating officer.

Since she joined the commuter railroad in September 2015, she has served as deputy COO for planning and project delivery.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) this week announced $1.26 million for Special Transportation Circumstances (STC) grants to help fund rail capital projects in Alaska and Wyoming.

The funding was made available by 2017 appropriations legislation for the terminal wireless communications positive train control project in Alaska and the Greater Junction Railroad rehabilitation project in Wyoming, according to an FRA press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) today announced its 2018 Safety Awards.

The awards recognize RAC member companies' initiatives that help to ensure Canada's rail network remains "among the safest in the world," according to an RAC press release.

New Jersey Transit next month will suspend all service on the Atlantic City Rail Line to install positive train control (PTC) equipment on the rail fleet.

The agency also will halt off-peak, one-seat Raritan Valley Line service starting Sept. 10. While no trains will be lost on this line, the change means that passengers will need to transfer to and from New York trains in Newark Penn Station, according to a report on NJ.com.

International Rail Partners (IRP) announced yesterday it has acquired Grenada Railroad from Iowa Pacific Holdings.

IRP will operate the railroad through a lease-purchase agreement with the North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority, according to an IRP press release.

The failure of CSX and the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, to mitigate known safety hazards at a grade crossing is the probable cause of a 2017 fatal crash at the crossing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday.

Four people died March 7, 2017, when a chartered ECHO Transportation motorcoach grounded on the "high profile" grade crossing in Biloxi was struck by a CSX freight train. The four killed were among the 49 passengers on the motorcoach, NTSB officials said in a press release.

Przemyslaw Rakoczy, 34

Job description: Serves as research project manager and lead researcher in crashworthiness, blast-worthiness and structural integrity of rail vehicles at TTCI. Also creates project schedules and budgets, and oversees test planning, execution and analysis.

Education: Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, University of Technology and Sciences in Bydgoszcz, Poland; Master of Science in civil engineering-structures from the same university; and Ph.D. in civil engineering-structures, University of Nebraska-Lincoln