Railroad News

The Port Authority of Allegheny County has implemented a real-time tracking system for light-rail service, the agency announced last week.

The so-called "TrueTime" system enables riders to track the status and location of light-rail trains. Passengers can access the information on a separate website.

The Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) last week approved $52,520 in rail-safety grants for crossing improvements in Tonasket and Yakima County.

The UTC approved a $44,000 grant from the Grade Crossing Protective Fund at the request of Cascade and Columbia River Railroad.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means to identify its concerns with the proposed overhaul of the U.S. tax system.

APTA says the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, "fails to address key priorities of the public transportation industry." The association applauds the upholding of tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which are used to finance state and local government-sponsored public works, but says repealing the use of Private Activity Bonds (PABs-another infrastructure financing mechanism) would "undermine Congress' stated goal of leveraging a $1 trillion investment in our nation's infrastructure."

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means to identify its concerns with the proposed overhaul of the U.S. tax system.

APTA says the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, "fails to address key priorities of the public transportation industry." The association applauds the upholding of tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which are used to finance state and local government-sponsored public works, but says repealing the use of Private Activity Bonds (PABs-another infrastructure financing mechanism) would "undermine Congress' stated goal of leveraging a $1 trillion investment in our nation's infrastructure."

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means to identify its concerns with the proposed overhaul of the U.S. tax system.

APTA says the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, "fails to address key priorities of the public transportation industry." The association applauds the upholding of tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which are used to finance state and local government-sponsored public works, but says repealing the use of Private Activity Bonds (PABs-another infrastructure financing mechanism) would "undermine Congress' stated goal of leveraging a $1 trillion investment in our nation's infrastructure."

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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) later this month will begin replacing a mainline interlocking on the Red Line.

To complete the work, WMATA will suspend service between the Silver Spring and Fort Totten stations from Nov. 25 through Dec. 10.

Port Everglades handled a record 1,076,893 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in fiscal-year 2017, which ended Sept. 30.

The figure marks a 4 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, and a 1.5 percent over the previous containerized cargo record set in FY2015. The growth was steady throughout the year, but it reached record levels in December and March, Port Everglades officials said in a press release.

Transport Canada plans to incorporate data on rail surface conditions into its track inspection protocols following a safety recommendation from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) earlier this year.

Transport Canada has requested data on rail surface conditions from CN and Canadian Pacific, and both railroads have agreed to provide the information to the department on an ongoing basis.

MTA Metro-North railroad earlier this week used a Sperry Rail car to perform ultrasonic rail testing on the Upper Harlem Line. The unit performed the testing on a section of track between stations in Southeast and Wassaic, New York. The railroad used the equipment to detect defects and metal fatigue inside the steel rails. The Sperry Rail car is designed to identify issues before they become major problems, Metro-North officials said in a press release.

Keolis and the Institute for Data Valorisation have formed a strategic partnership aimed at supporting the development of "innovative urban mobility solutions" through the use of Big Data. As part of the agreement, both parties will collaborate on joint research and development projects, with an initial focus on Quebec. The projects eventually will expand to other areas where Keolis is present, company officials said in a press release. As a result of the partnership, Keolis will gain a better understanding of the way passengers move and how to best plan public transit networks, company officials said.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) last month surpassed the billion-dollar mark for payments made to small businesses for contract work through the agency's FasTracks transit expansion program.

Beginning in 2005 with an award to Jacobs Engineering Group to manage the project, FasTracks contracts have benefited more than 600 small and disadvantaged firms, and 2,200 subcontractors, RTD officials said in a press release.

The South Carolina Ports Authority's (SCPA) board this week approved a $69.5 million contract for the purchase of six ship-to-shore cranes to handle growing container volumes and big ships calling at the Port of Charleston.

Manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Ltd., the five cranes will offer 169 feet of lift height. They will be delivered to the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal, which is under construction, SCPA officials said in a press release.

Three Anacostia Rail Holdings railroads this fall conducted railroad hazmat training for more than 260 members of Indiana and Minnesota fire department and emergency response organizations.

Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad, Louisville & Indiana Railroad and Northern Lines Railway conducted the training sessions in September and October in Michigan City, Franklin and Columbus, Indiana, and St. Cloud, Minnesota.