Railroad News

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV, aka, drones) are becoming an important tool in railroad engineering and maintenance. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates regional/commuter rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is among the latest to adopt the technology.

Why use drones? For Keolis in the greater Boston area, the region is packed with dense forests. In 2015, there were six collisions with fallen trees and 319 trains encountered slippery conditions due to fallen leaves over a 69-day span. A drone equipped with a high-resolution camera and providing a live data feed can scan a right-of-way for these problems much faster than an inspector in a hi-rail vehicle. A drone can also collect data to inspect inaccessible areas on bridges and buildings.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV, aka, drones) are becoming an important tool in railroad engineering and maintenance. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates regional/commuter rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is among the latest to adopt the technology.

Why use drones? For Keolis in the greater Boston area, the region is packed with dense forests. In 2015, there were six collisions with fallen trees and 319 trains encountered slippery conditions due to fallen leaves over a 69-day span. A drone equipped with a high-resolution camera and providing a live data feed can scan a right-of-way for these problems much faster than an inspector in a hi-rail vehicle. A drone can also collect data to inspect inaccessible areas on bridges and buildings.

Ontario late last week issued a request for bids (RFB) to develop environmental assessment terms of reference for the Kitchener-London segment of the proposed Toronto-Windsor high-speed rail corridor.

The terms of reference will serve as a framework for planning and the environmental assessment, Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials said in a press release.

An Amtrak Cascades train was traveling about 80 mph in a 30 mph zone before it derailed yesterday near DuPont, Washington, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Amtrak Cascades Train 501 was carrying 80 passengers, five Amtrak crew members and one Talgo technician when it derailed at 7:34 a.m. Pacific time while crossing an overpass.

This time last year, the rail equipment outlook for 2017 looked promising. Freight volumes had picked up in late 2016, rail-car demand had improved and 2017 was looking like a possible recovery year. However, the pick-up was short lived and there was no recovery to be had — just a continued slogging through a shifting market with too many cars in some segments and not enough in others.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved a $91.5 million design-build contract to the firm Halmar International to make improvements to five Metro-North stations.

Metro-North Railroad's White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale stations will undergo enhancement work as part of MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. Construction to deliver the improvements set to get underway in early 2018, officials said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved a $91.5 million design-build contract to the firm Halmar International to make improvements to five Metro-North stations.

Metro-North Railroad's White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale stations will undergo enhancement work as part of MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. Construction to deliver the improvements set to get underway in early 2018, officials said.

Amtrak has selected Penn Station Partners to negotiate a master development deal for Baltimore Penn Station.

The team is comprised of Beatty Development Group, Armada Hoffler Properties, Cross Street Partners, Gensler, WSP USA, Network Rail Consulting and Mace Group, among others.

Amtrak has selected Penn Station Partners to negotiate a master development deal for Baltimore Penn Station.

The team is comprised of Beatty Development Group, Armada Hoffler Properties, Cross Street Partners, Gensler, WSP USA, Network Rail Consulting and Mace Group, among others.

The 5.34-mile (8.6-km) Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Toronto-to-York subway extension opened to the public on Sunday, Dec. 17.

The new extension, also known as the TTC Line 1 Extension, connects Sheppard West Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station in York Region in the province of Ontario. TTC says the extension will reduce commute times and make it easier and faster for residents and tourists to get around.

The 5.34-mile (8.6-km) Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Toronto-to-York subway extension opened to the public on Sunday, Dec. 17.

The new extension, also known as the TTC Line 1 Extension, connects Sheppard West Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station in York Region in the province of Ontario. TTC says the extension will reduce commute times and make it easier and faster for residents and tourists to get around.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will use a bidding firms' past performance record on previous PANYNJ projects in contract award decisions.

PANYNJ says the move is part of its "continuing effort to assure completion of Port Authority construction projects on time and within budget."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will use a bidding firms' past performance record on previous PANYNJ projects in contract award decisions.

PANYNJ says the move is part of its "continuing effort to assure completion of Port Authority construction projects on time and within budget."

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)'s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) made strides toward accelerating environmental reviews and project delivery timelines for rail projects in Florida and Texas late last week.

USDOT signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for Phase II of the All Aboard Florida (AAF)/Brightline Project and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement review (DEIS) for the Texas Central Railway (TCR) High-Speed Rail Project.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)'s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) made strides toward accelerating environmental reviews and project delivery timelines for rail projects in Florida and Texas late last week.

USDOT signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for Phase II of the All Aboard Florida (AAF)/Brightline Project and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement review (DEIS) for the Texas Central Railway (TCR) High-Speed Rail Project.

Siemens has delivered new locomotives to the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

E. Hunter Harrison, president and CEO of CSX, died Dec. 16 due to unexpectedly severe complications following a recent illness.

"Hunter was a larger-than-life figure who brought his remarkable passion, experience and energy in railroading to CSX," the railway said in a statement.

E. Hunter Harrison, president and CEO of CSX, died Dec. 16 due to unexpectedly severe complications following a recent illness.

"Hunter was a larger-than-life figure who brought his remarkable passion, experience and energy in railroading to CSX," the railway said in a statement.

In the third quarter, U.S. transit ridership slipped 3.65 percent year over year to 2.503 billion total trips.

Nine of the 10 largest transit agencies in the nation reported declines for the quarter. Some agencies attributed the downtick to an increase in auto travel and continued low gas prices, according to the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Passenger Transport newsletter.