Railroad News

An SUV driver's actions are the probable cause of a fatal 2015 collision between the vehicle and an MTA Metro-North Railroad train at a grade crossing in Valhalla, New York, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday.

The collision resulted in the deaths of the SUV driver and five passengers on the train in the Feb. 3, 2015, accident. The passengers were killed when 343 feet of the third rail, which powers the train, penetrated the floor of the first rail car and struck passengers, NTSB said in its final report on the accident investigation.

Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger yesterday testified before the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) regulatory reform task force on proposed regulatory measures.

In prepared remarks, Hamberger reiterated AAR's call for the STB to promote and defend the economic regulatory structure Congress established through the Staggers Act, which deregulated aspects of railroad pricing and routing.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joseph Lhota yesterday unveiled an action plan aimed at stabilizing and improving MTA New York City Transit's subway system.

The plan's initial phase will focus on the key drivers of nearly 80 percent of the major incidents that cause delays on the system. Those incidents include problems with signals, track and power, MTA officials said in a press release.

CN logged "solid" second-quarter 2017 financial results on strong volume growth across most commodity groups, the Class I reported yesterday.

CN's Q2 net income surged 20 percent to CA$1.03 billion, or CA$1.36 diluted earnings per share, compared with CA$858 million, or CA$1.10 diluted EPS, in the same period a year ago, according to a CN press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. second-quarter 2017 net income rose 23 percent to $497 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, compared with the same quarter a year ago, the Class I reported this morning.

The profit growth was driven by a 15 percent increase in railway operations income, and an all-time record operating ratio of 66.3 percent, according to an NS press release.

Laura Fotiou, 28

Job description: Fotiou has worked in the railroad industry for nearly four years. At Amtrak, she ensures compliance with environmental regulations at stations, yards and facilities; enhances recycling and sustainability initiatives; and tracks greenhouse gas emissions for Amtrak’s corporate reduction goal and its annual report to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Fotiou also volunteers for the family assistance branch of the Amtrak response team that helps passengers and their families at accident sites.

Education: Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, B.S. in chemistry; University of Pennsylvania, M.S. in applied geosciences

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has reopened the Illinois Medical District Station's Damen Avenue entrance, the agency announced yesterday.

The development marked a milestone in CTA's $23 million renovation of the Blue Line station, which serves more than 940,000 riders each year and provides access to four major hospital systems.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced the appointment of David Horner and Steve McMillin to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) board.

Effective yesterday, the appointments come at a critical time for WMATA, Chao said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Keolis Commuter Services yesterday announced plans to improve the agency's ticket checking system for its commuter-rail network.

The initiative includes a revenue-sharing partnership between the agency and Keolis, which operates the MBTA's commuter-rail system. The agreement expands a marketing and ridership growth initiative aimed at allowing additional investment into the system, Keolis officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad has received a Telly Award for its "Your Life is Worth the Wait" videos that urge drivers to stop for trains at grade crossings, the Class I announced yesterday.

The video series, which reached 32 million viewers on social media, was part of UP's 2016 public safety awareness campaign, according to a UP press release.

Stephen Hoye has been named vice president of its Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) effective early next month.

Hoye will join the PHL from The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, where he has been a superintendent since 2011.

Metrolinx has issued a request for qualifications for an operator to work with the agency as it finalizes arrangements for its GO Regional Express Rail (RER) plan.

As part of the plan, Metrolinx aims to increase the number of trains it runs each week from 1,500 to 6,000. The agency seeks a company with experience operating and maintaining service to passengers during a major construction and expansion program.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has chosen a joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts Inc. to operate and manage service on the CTrail Hartford Line, a passenger-rail route that will run between New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass.

Currently under construction, the Hartford Line is scheduled to launch in May 2018, according to a press release issued by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's office.

Joshua Engel-Yan, 38

Job description: Engel-Yan has worked in railroading at Metrolinx for eight years. He provides the evidence and analysis to inform the agency’s transportation planning and investment decisions. He leads teams of technical experts who specialize in ridership forecasting, mapping and economic modeling. In addition, Engel-Yan is responsible for the Metrolinx business case framework, which is aimed at ensuring that project assessments consider benefits and costs from a range of angles.

Education: Bachelor’s of applied science in systems design engineering, University of Waterloo; master's of applied science in civil engineering, University of Toronto

Alstom has inaugurated its first locomotive repair center in Astana, Kazakhstan. At the more than 28,000-square-foot facility, the company will perform overhauls of the Prima T8 and Prima M4 locomotives over the next 25 years. The facility includes a repair and testing shop, warehouse, spare parts shop and office space. The center also will be able to maintain products built by other companies, such as pantographs, transformers and braking systems. The Kazakh rail network spans about 8,700 miles and represents a "substantial market for maintenance activities," Alstom officials said in a press release. 

GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. has appointed Doron Grosman president and chief executive officer. He will be responsible for the company's operations in both Canada and the United States. Grosman succeeds Stephen Edwards, who held the position since 2012. Most recently, Grosman was an operating partner at Court Square Capital Partners. Before that, he was president for Hexcel Corp., a company specializing in advanced composites technology. Grosman also spent 11 years in various senior executive roles at GE and GE Plastics.

Union Pacific Railroad's rail safety programs contributed to a 5 percent decline in vehicle-train collisions at grade crossings in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016, the Class I announced late last week.

UP logged a 2.27 crossing accident rate across its 23-state network compared to a 2.40 rate during 2016's first half, UP officials said in a press release. The rates are calculated by the number of Federal Railroad Administration reportable crossing accidents per million train miles.

On July 22, the Sun Link streetcar system in Tucson, Arizona, marked its third anniversary.

Since its launch, the system has provided approximately 2.93 million rides, Sun Link officials said in a press release.

Last month, Metra logged an on-time performance rate of 95.3 percent.

The figure exceeded the commuter railroad's goal of operating at least 95 percent of trains on time, Metra officials said in a press release. The agency considers a train to be on time if it reaches its final destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of the scheduled arrival.

CSX has designated the South Alabama Mega Site in Bay Minette as a Select Site.

The site is located between Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, on CSX's mainline.