Railroad News

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in late December will close its Wollaston Station on the Red Line to complete accessibility improvements.

The stop is the only Red Line station that doesn't comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Planned upgrades include new elevators, additional lighting, improved stairways and new bathrooms.

Caltrain's long-term business plan is shaping up after a recent workshop with more than 50 local stakeholders, the railroad announced Monday.

Work on the plan began last year after Caltrain awarded contracts for construction related to its electrification project.

The Texas Northwestern Railway (TXNW) has signed Crop Production Services (CPS) as the first tenant for the railroad's new Panhandle Logistics Park near Sunray, Texas.

The railroad is a subsidiary of TNW Corp. and CPS is a subsidiary of agricultural company Agrium Inc.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has appointed William Galanko executive vice president law and administration and John Scheib, senior vice president law and corporate relations, the company announced yesterday.

Scheib will oversee law, government relations and corporate communications, and report to Galanko. Galanko will have responsibility for human resources and labor relations, in addition to the areas reporting to Scheib, according to an NS press release.

German industrial group Siemens and French competitor Alstom announced yesterday they've agreed to merge their rail operations.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Siemens would receive newly issued shares in the combined company representing 50 percent of Alstom's share capital on a fully diluted basis, according to a jointly issue press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) police department will hold a terror attack simulation at the agency's Midtown rail station on Saturday.

The event will include explosions, smoke and actors to help create a realistic setting for first responders, MARTA officials said in a press release.

The Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) board yesterday chose Eric Green as chief executive officer.

A longtime JAXPORT executive, Green was appointed interim CEO in March. He joined the port in 2005 and previously served as senior director of government and external affairs.

Amtrak has begun a $22 million project to restore and repair the Great Hall at Chicago's Union Station, the railroad announced yesterday.

The project will include repainting the hall in its original colors, which will be made brighter by a restored and protected skylight with improved lighting.

The Metropolitan Council last week rejected all four civil construction bids for the Southwest light-rail transit project due to concerns over price and responsiveness.

The bids were opened in August and represent the bulk of construction work involved in building tracks, bridges, tunnels, stations and other facilities for the project.

America's Central Port District of Granite City, Illinois, has received a $700,000 federal grant to help cover the cost of rail and roadway improvements to the port's intermodal industrial park.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the grant earlier this month. The project is needed to spur business growth at the park, EDA officials said in press release.

Surface Transportation Board (STB) Vice Chairman Daniel Elliott III announced yesterday he will leave the board on Saturday.

Elliott, who was appointed chairman by former President Barack Obama and joined the board in August 2009, informed President Donald Trump of his plans in a letter yesterday, according to an STB press release.

Although the number of people injured or killed in vehicle-train collisions is on the decline, the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries in rail-trespass incidents is on the rise, Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) announced yesterday.

In 2016, 1,104 people were hurt or killed in vehicle-train collisions, marking a 13.7 percent decrease compared with 2015 statistics, according to preliminary Federal Railroad Administration data released by OLI.

Rocky Mountaineer, a privately owned luxury tourist train based in Vancouver, British Columbia, recently restructured its North American leadership team in an effort to drive sales growth.

The restructuring included internal promotions within the North American sales team. Inna Germanotta and Doug Johnson have filled the newly created positions of regional sales director, business development and regional sales director, key accounts, respectively, according to a company press release.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) on Sept. 30 will begin replacing wood ties with concrete ones along the Babylon Branch between Freeport and Merrick, New York.

The work is part of the railroad's efforts to improve infrastructure, safety and on-time performance, LIRR officials said in a press release.

Tradepoint Atlantic, Gov. Larry Hogan and other local officials gathered last week for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new FedEx Ground Distribution Center in Sparrows Point, Maryland.

The freight shipper was the first major company to open a facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,100-acre multimodal global logistics center, which provides access to railroads, highways, deepwater berths and storage.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) Deputy General Manager of Operations Mike York will retire on Friday, the agency announced late last week.

Throughout his five-decade career in the transit industry, he's held leadership positions at agencies in Atlanta, Dallas and Cleveland.

Twin Eagle Sand Logistics LLC announced last week it has acquired a frac sand terminal near Bridgeport, West Virginia, from Process Transloading Bridgeport.

The Bridgeport terminal is positioned to serve the southern Utica and Marcellus sand logistics markets with more than 130 rail-car spots and 20,000 tons of flat and silo storage, Twin Eagle officials said in a press release.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is seeking design concepts for hydrogen-powered trains as an alternative to conventional overhead wires on GO Transit's rail network.

The province has issued a request for proposals for designs that demonstrate how a hydrogen fuel cell system could be integrated into a bi-level electric multiple unit train.