Railroad News

In 2017, VIA Rail Canada Inc. provided almost 4.4 million rides, marking a 10.5 percent increase compared to ridership in 2016.

That increase marked the railroad's greatest year-over-year growth in ridership in the last decade, VIA Rail officials said in a press release.

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) has added to its Board of Directors Brett Urquhart of Vossloh/Rocla, vice president Class 1 Vossloh North America and vice president Rocla Concrete Tie, and Curtis Bilow, corporate director-Freight Rail/Regional Industrial Manager, Ames Construction.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will receive a $574,000 federal grant for a project to establish a rail link to the Port of Pascagoula.

The proposed 4,300-foot rail connection in Jackson County is part of the port's intermodal improvement project, according to a press release issued yesterday by U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.).

An increasing number of rail-related companies are joining an initiative to develop secure digital transactions.

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Progressive Railroading’s fourth annual Secure Rail Conference, held April 24-25 in Orlando, Florida, featured 23 presentations on topics that addressed how railroads can improve the security of assets, passengers and employees.

Sound Transit has named Don Billen executive director of planning, environment and project development department.

Billen previously served as the department's deputy director. Since September 2017, has has been the department's acting executive director.

A Pennsylvania court last week determined that the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) must award a freight railroad operating contract to Carload Express Inc.

The Commonwealth Court's ruling addressed a dispute over the JRA's interpretation of its legal ability to award a contract for the operation of five short-line routes in Centre, Lycoming, Northumberland, Mifflin, Montour, Columbia and Clinton counties.

Military Times has named Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak to its 2018 list of the top 100 best employers for veterans.

Amtrak was ranked 21st on the list, while UP was 68th. UP, which appears on the list for the eighth time, was the only Class I among the top 100 this year.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday announced a three-year capital project to rebuild outdoor platforms at 20 rail stations.

The work is aimed at fixing structural deficiencies. Temporary fixes have been made at many stations, WMATA officials said in a press release.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has been awarded a $574,000 grant to fund planning, surveying and permitting for a 4,300-foot rail connection in Jackson County.

The grant awarded to MDEQ, which was announced by U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss), as well as Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss), is being provided as part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The legislation provides funding for Gulf Coast states affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

The Association of American Railroads and Norfolk Southern filed comments with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on May 7 asking for a level regulatory playing field regarding automation.

Specifically, AAR's comment asks the U.S. Department of Transportation "to take the same supportive regulatory approach with railroads that it has with automation of trucks and cars."

Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC), a civil, building and specialty construction company, announced May 7 three recent low bids for new civil projects totaling about $1 billion.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to take a "supportive regulatory approach" to how railroads will use automation technology.

The AAR's comments were submitted in response to the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) request for public comments on the potential benefits, costs, risks and challenges to implementing automated railroad operations.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) unveiled a three-year capital project to reconstruct platforms and address structural deficiencies at 20 Metrorail stations on Monday.

WMATA notes that rebuilding platforms is a heavy construction activity that requires that tracks to be taken out of service to allow for demolition of existing structures, access to the construction area and concrete pouring. To add perspective to the ambitious nature of the program, WMATA reconstructed platforms at Minnesota Avenue and Deanwood stations took approximately three years to complete.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) voted May 7 to award a nearly $7 million contract to Hardesty & Hanover, LLC to design a replacement for the drawbridge above the Saugus River.

voestalpine Nortrak announced May 8 the launch of a new North American marketing and distribution agreement with Getzner USA to serve freight railways.

Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have signed a CA$2.5 billion contract with Mosaic Transit Group to design, build, finance and maintain the Finch West light-rail project in Toronto.

The contract reflects payments during construction, along with a "substantial completion payment" and monthly service payments during the 30-year maintenance period, IO officials said in a press release.

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx announced May 7 that Mosaic Transit Group (Mosaic) has signed a contract worth CA$2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) to design, build, finance and maintain the Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

BNSF Railway Co. reported first-quarter 2018 total revenue rose 8 percent to $5.6 billion from $5.2 billion a year ago as a result of a 5 percent increase in unit volume.

First-quarter net income net income soared 37 percent to $1.1 billion from $838 million a year ago, while operating income climbed 11 percent to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion, BNSF reported in a press release.