Railroad News

Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Marta R. Stewart intends to retire effective Aug. 1, 2017, after a 34-year career.

 

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have published a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for the South Station Expansion (SSX) project.

MassDOT says the purpose of the SSX project is to expand South Station terminal capacity to meet current and anticipated future commuter rail and intercity rail service needs. The project would also promote city-building in a key area of Boston, and allow Dorchester Avenue to be reopened for public use and enjoyment for the first time in decades. The expansion of South Station would enable growth in passenger rail transportation within the commonwealth of Massachusetts and along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Expanding the terminal would improve the passenger experience of using South Station and updating the infrastructure (track and signals) and related layover capacity would improve service reliability.

4/28/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Supplier Spotlight

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 4/27/2017 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN announced yesterday a five-year contract has been ratified by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11. The union represents approximately 700 CN signals and communications employees in Canada.The agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, and runs through Dec. 31, 2021. It covers wage increases in each year, plus benefit improvements, according to a CN press release."The contract reinforces our commitment to working together with our employees and their representatives to address workplace issues in a mutually beneficial manner," said Mike Cory, CN executive vice president and chief operating officer. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 4/27/2017

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Rail Industry Trends

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that Rameshwar Godara will be a senior supervising engineer at the company's Orange, Calif. office.

In his new position, Godara will use his 26 years of professional experience as senior manager for rail and transit construction, operations and maintenance to develop design for traction power, overhead catenary system and supervisory control and data acquisition systems for rail and transit projects. Prior to joining WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, he served as chief resident engineer, power supply and traction, for a rapid transit project in Hyderabad, India.

Original author: Maggie Lancaster, assistant editor

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman detailed several initiatives aimed at strengthening the infrastructure and operations at New York Penn Station.

The initiatives include four bullet points that include an infrastructure renewal program; a passenger concourse coordination review; development of a joint station concourse operations center and safety and security improvements.

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 4/27/2017 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Corp. today announced first-quarter net income rose 9 percent to nearly $1.1 billion, or $1.32 per diluted share, compared with $1 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share in first-quarter 2016.The $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) was a first-quarter record, UP officials said in a press release.Revenue grew 6 percent to $5.13 billion compared with $4.83 billion in Q1 2016.The Class I's operating income rose 6 percent to $1.8 billion, while the operating ratio remained flat at 65.1 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Higher fuel prices had a negative impact on the operating ratio by about 1.3 points, UP officials said."This is a very solid start to the year, especially given the weather challenges we encountered on the western part of our network earlier in the quarter," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz."In keeping with our strategic value tracks, our engaged employees worked safely and productively under very difficult circumstances during the quarter," he said. "As a result, operations were restored quickly as we continued to focus on providing an excellent customer experience."Total volumes rose 2 percent, led by a 16 percent growth in coal traffic compared with last year, UP officials said.Volume increases in coal, agricultural products and industrial products combined to more than offset declines in chemicals and automotive. Intermodal volume remained flat in the quarter compared with a year ago, as increases in international intermodal offset declines in domestic shipments.Freight revenue during the quarter grew 6 percent, as a result of volume growth, higher fuel surcharge revenue, core pricing gains and positive mix, UP officials said. By category, coal revenue grew 25 percent; industrial products, 9 percent; agricultural products, 7 percent; intermodal, 3 percent; and chemicals, 1 percent. Automotive revenue declined 1 percent."With a solid first quarter performance behind us, we will continue to press ahead with our volume, pricing, and productivity initiatives through the remainder of the year," Fritz said. "Our six-track value strategy will keep us intensely focused on effectively leveraging volume growth, while providing our customers an excellent experience and our shareholders a solid return on investment." Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 4/27/2017

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board voted to accept the findings of the year-long environmental study for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) expansion project, one of New York's most significant efforts to increase capacity of the commuter railroad since it was first built in the mid-19th century.

In November 2016, the MTA Board voted to use a two-step public process to identify the private construction firms that are best qualified to work on the project and then, in the future, select one based on the best proposal to meet the project's objectives. MTA says the Requests for Proposals and environmental study were done in tandem so the agency's decision making would be properly informed by ideas that might emerge during the procurement process.

Nashville, Tenn., Mayor Megan Barry said the city would pursue its first light-rail project along the Gallatin Pike corridor during her "State of Metro" address on April 26.

 

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to study the feasibility of various transit modes and alignments through L.A.'s notoriously congested Sepulveda Pass.

With the RFP, LACMTA is seeking a consultant to identify and evaluate a range of high-capacity transit concepts that could serve the 11-mile north/south travel corridor connecting the LACMTA Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley with the future extension of the LACMTA Purple Line at Westwood or VA Hospital station and LACMTA Expo Line on the Westside. Transit modes that will be evaluated include bus rapid transit, light rail, subway and other transit technologies not currently operated by Metro. The study is expected to take approximately 14 months to complete.

4/27/2017    

Rail News: Amtrak