Railroad News

Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) officials yesterday provided more details on the Newington Road Bridge project in Fairfax County, which will be funded in part by a $14.4 million federal grant awarded last week.

The $37 million project calls for replacing the existing, substandard two-track railroad bridge with a new, publicly owned two-track structure over Newington Road in Lorton, Virginia, and a new two-track rail bridge for use by CSX trains. The result will be a four-track structure that separates passenger and freight service, and provides continuity of corridor operations for both types of service while construction is underway, DRPT officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit is seeking developers to design and build transit-oriented development (TOD) projects on NJ Transit properties located in Jersey City and Woodbridge.

The agency is accepting statements of qualifications and expressions of interest in developing 2 acres on Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City, near the Liberty State Park Hudson-Bergen light-rail station; and 12 acres  located adjacent to the Metropark Station on the Northeast Corridor Line. 

Edmonton, Alberta, officials last week selected Marigold Infrastructure Partners as the preferred contractor to design, build and partially finance the city’s nearly 8.7-mile Valley Line West light-rail line.

Marigold Infrastructure Partners is a team consisting of Colas, Parsons, Standard General, Francl Architecture, Fast & Epp and Stantec. 

Canadian Pacific set a new record for shipping Canadian grain and grain products in October at 3.04 million metric tons (MMT) moved, the first time CP exceeded 3 MMT in a month.

The achievement exceeds the highest-ever record for a month, set in April 2020, by 6.9%. It also represents a 14.2% increase from the previous October record of 2.66 MMT set in in 2019, CP officials said in a press release.

CN's Wisconsin Central Ltd. cannot unilaterally designate the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago's (BRC) Clearing Yard as the location where it will receive traffic in interchange with Canadian Pacific's Soo Line Railroad Co., the Surface Transportation Board ruled last week.

In April, CN/Wisconsin Central petitioned the STB for a declaratory order on a long-running disagreement with CP/Soo Line concerning interchange operations in the Chicago area. CN asked the board to determine whether CN had the right to designate the Clearing Yard, which BRC owns, as the point where the railroads may interchange and who should pay for the interchange costs.

Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Rail STS SpA and Mitsubishi Corp. have signed an $883 million contract with HPH Consortium, the prime contractor for Panama Metro’s Line 3 in Panama City. Under the contract, Hitachi and Hitachi Rail will provide 28 six-car vehicles (168 cars), the signaling systems, telecommunication systems, power systems, control center, platform screen doors and depot equipment for the monorail. Mitsubishi will manage the project's administration. Line 3 is a 15.5-mile, elevated double-track system that will cross over the Panama Canal. It will include 14 stations and open in 2025, Hitachi officials said in a press release.

Hatch completed its merger with LTK. The integration of Hatch and LTK will allow Hatch to broaden its U.S. capabilities and deliver solutions to clients globally, Hatch officials said in a press release. LTK’s focus on rail and rail systems combined with Hatch’s integrated, multidisciplinary transportation expertise will provide clients with comprehensive options across the entire supply chain and lifecycle of their operations, officials said. AEC Advisors initiated the merger transaction and served as the financial advisor to Hatch.

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, SunRail’s advisory board, last week voted to begin work to extend the commuter-rail system 12 miles into DeLand in Volusia County, Florida.

The vote passed narrowly by 3-2, with some officials saying the $100 million project wouldn’t payoff and that it would put a burden on county taxpayers, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) last week released its Watchlist 2020 list of eight key safety risks that require government or industry attention, including the risk of unplanned or uncontrolled movements of railway equipment.

The list is compiled as a result of hundreds of investigations, compelling findings, data and active TSB recommendations, board officials said in a press release. The list evolves each year, with the TSB removing some risks and adding new ones as they arise.

As of Oct. 30, CN was on track to exceed the 3 million metric tons (MMT) mark of Canadian grain hauled during October, which would break the Class I's previous record of 2.88 MMT moved in October 2019.

The "unprecedented" Canadian grain haul follows seven record months of performance from March through September, CN officials said last week in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) President and Executive Director Gary Thomas last week announced his intention to retire after serving as the agency's leader for nearly 20 years. 

DART’s board will initiate a search for Thomas’ successor.

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.