Railroad News

A report submitted to Congress on July 17 says restored Gulf Coast Amtrak service would expand travel markets; improve access to jobs, education and healthcare; reduce vehicular congestion and provide support for disaster and emergency response during coastal storm events.

Norfolk Southern will be consolidating its Central Division headquarters operations in Knoxville, Tenn., into three surrounding divisions "as part of ongoing efforts to enhance customer service and improve operating efficiencies."

The consolidation, effective on or about Nov. 1, will reduce NS's number of operating divisions to nine from 10. Dispatching responsibilities now handled from the Central Division, which includes lines primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky, will be divided among operating divisions headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Decatur, Ill., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Norfolk Southern will be consolidating its Central Division headquarters operations in Knoxville, Tenn., into three surrounding divisions "as part of ongoing efforts to enhance customer service and improve operating efficiencies."

The consolidation, effective on or about Nov. 1, will reduce NS's number of operating divisions to nine from 10. Dispatching responsibilities now handled from the Central Division, which includes lines primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky, will be divided among operating divisions headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Decatur, Ill., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Norfolk Southern will be consolidating its Central Division headquarters operations in Knoxville, Tenn., into three surrounding divisions "as part of ongoing efforts to enhance customer service and improve operating efficiencies."

The consolidation, effective on or about Nov. 1, will reduce NS's number of operating divisions to nine from 10. Dispatching responsibilities now handled from the Central Division, which includes lines primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky, will be divided among operating divisions headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Decatur, Ill., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

PowerRail Inc. has announced the formation of a new sister company known as PowerSeal Solutions™. The move is aimed at helping the rail industry solve locomotive leak issues while increasing reliability, PowerRail officials said in a press release. PowerSeal Solutions will manufacture all of its products in-house and will perform its own analysis and testing processes. The new company also will provide the same product lines currently offered by PowerRail in all applications.

ABB has obtained a $20 million contract from Great Britain's Network Rail to provide a trackside power electronics solution for new high-speed trains along the East Coast Mainline route. To run on electricity, the trains will need about three times more power than is currently available. ABB developed a "static frequency converter" solution that will adapt the feed from the existing Northern Powergrid local distribution network. This is expected to result in a total cost saving of 60 percent compared with building a new high-voltage connection, ABB officials said in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) yesterday launched the Hop Fastpass™ electronic fare payment system.

The technology enables riders to use a contactless payment devices — such as a Hop card — to pay for fares on TriMet trains and buses. In the coming weeks, passengers will be able to use a contactless bank card or smartphone with a mobile wallet connected to a bank card to pay for trips.

Pennsylvania's Public-Private Partnership (P3) Board has approved a project to pursue transit-oriented development (TOD) at one or more train stations along Amtrak's Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will seek proposals to develop and connect the areas around at least one Amtrak station. Locations to be considered include Harrisburg, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, Lancaster, Parkesburg and Downingtown, according to a PennDOT press release issued late last week.

Sound Transit's Angle Lake light-rail station has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The designation results from Sound Transit's use of sustainable practices in the construction and design of the station, which opened in SeaTac, Washington, in September 2016.

Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) celebrated the groundbreaking for the Newark Regional Transportation Center, parking lot and access road on July 17.

Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) celebrated the groundbreaking for the Newark Regional Transportation Center, parking lot and access road on July 17.

Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) celebrated the groundbreaking for the Newark Regional Transportation Center, parking lot and access road on July 17.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and its contractor Kleinfelder have begun performing geotechnical work for underground high-speed rail tunnels in the Pacheco Pass.

Drilling crews are taking soil and rock samples from several locations within the public right of way along State Route 152. These samples will be used to determine the exact conditions of the ground below, where roughly 13 miles of future high-speed rail tunnels are proposed.

Plans for privately-financed 400km- (248.548 mile-) commuter rail network centered on Ottawa and Gatineau took a step forward on July 1, when the Moose Consortium of eight local companies exchanged letters of intent with a consortium of LeMine Investment Group and Consortia N.A. (LeMine-ConsortiaNA) to assess the business and technical potential of the project.

The Moose plan is based on what the project backers describe as a "property-powered rail open market development model," which aims to optimise the return on property investment by providing passenger rail services on a commercial open-market basis to a limited number of so-called "linked localities." This would be achieved without any government subsidy, public debt or taxes.

Plans for privately-financed 250-mile commuter rail network centered on Ottawa and Gatineau took a step forward on July 1, when the Moose Consortium of eight local companies exchanged letters of intent with a consortium of LeMine Investment Group and Consortia N.A. (LeMine-ConsortiaNA) to assess the business and technical potential of the project.

Plans for privately-financed 250-mile commuter rail network centered on Ottawa and Gatineau took a step forward on July 1, when the Moose Consortium of eight local companies exchanged letters of intent with a consortium of LeMine Investment Group and Consortia N.A. (LeMine-ConsortiaNA) to assess the business and technical potential of the project.

Talgo Inc. has begun refurbishing rail cars in Milwaukee under the Spanish train manufacturer's contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA).

Talgo and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced last year that the manufacturer would return to Milwaukee's Century City business park, where it once built high-speed trains for Wisconsin and Oregon.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and its contractor Kleinfelder are currently performing geotechnical work along State Route 152 in the Pacheco Pass.

CHSRA says getting a head start on geotechnical investigations is crucial even with the environmental clearance process for the San Jose to Merced section still underway.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and its contractor Kleinfelder are currently performing geotechnical work along State Route 152 in the Pacheco Pass.

CHSRA says getting a head start on geotechnical investigations is crucial even with the environmental clearance process for the San Jose to Merced section still underway.