Railroad News

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) last week completed California state’s environmental review process for its high-speed rail route between Fresno and Bakersfield.

The authority received a supplemental record of decision and federal approval of its supplemental environmental impact study that evaluates the environmental effects of a 23-mile route between Shafter and Bakersfield in the Central Valley.

Amtrak in fiscal-year 2019 delivered its "best operating performance" in its history, logging 32.5 million passenger trips and $3.3 billion in total operating revenue, railroad officials announced late last week.

In FY2019, which ended Sept. 30, Amtrak set new records for ridership, revenue and financial performance as the railroad continues on its path to break even financially in FY2020, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) earlier this week resumed streetcar service on its Riverfront Line, 23 days after service was suspended due to the partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel under construction near Canal Street.

Crews were working on the hotel when a portion of the building collapsed, killing three and injuring more than 19 people, local media reported.

Sound Transit will hold two open houses this month to gather public feedback on the upcoming construction of the Link light-rail extension from Angle Lake in SeaTac to the Federal Way Transit Center in Federal Way, Washington.

On Nov. 13 and Nov. 20, Sound Transit officials and representatives from construction contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. will meet with riders to discuss design progress and construction schedules. The agency will also host an online public input opportunity from Nov. 13 to Dec. 12.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing Indiana & Ohio Railway and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad to make improvements at two grade crossings in Clark and Crawford counties.

Indiana & Ohio was directed to install lights and gates at the North Burnett Road grade crossings in Springfield, Clark County, by Aug. 6, 2020.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont yesterday published his 10-year vision for investing $21 billion in the state’s public transit systems, ports, bridges, roads and railroads. The plan calls for $6.2 billion for rail improvements.

The CT2030 plan would fund procurement of rail cars and locomotives, add capacity on rail lines and create partnerships with telecommunications companies to bring high-speed data service to trains. 

Federal funding secured nearly a decade ago for a state-supported project to build an Amtrak Quad Cities-to-Chicago route has received a multiyear extension, three Democratic U.S. lawmakers representing Illinois announced this week.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has extended $177 million in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding secured in fiscal-year 2010 for a proposed Amtrak route between Chicago and Moline until Dec. 31, 2024, U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos announced Nov. 5 in a jointly issued press release.

Lawmakers representing communities in Illinois and Hawaii earlier this week announced millions in federal grant dollars have been awarded to transportation projects in those states.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded the grants under the Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) program.

Metra yesterday opened a new station and warming shelter on the Union Pacific North Line in Cary, Illinois. 

The new facilities were built as part of a $3.3 million project to replace the original station structure built in 1942. Crews also replaced boarding platforms, Metra officials said in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) logged a 6.5 percent increase in trolley ridership in the first quarter of its fiscal-year 2020, which began July 1. 

The increase lead the charge for the agency’s trolley and bus combined ridership to climb by nearly 1 million more passenger trips compared with Q1 of FY2019, SDMTS officials said in a press release. 

Six of nine public transportation-related ballot measures offered during Tuesday's elections passed, with one measure still undecided, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced yesterday.

The results follow a "long track record of success" for supporting transit at the ballot box. Over the past two decades, public transportation measures have won more than 70 percent of the time, APTA officials said in a press release.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) have tentatively agreed on a new contract, union officials announced yesterday.

The tentative agreement governs rates of pay, benefits and work rules for about 50 members.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday announced the availability of $24 million in grant funding to initiate, restore or enhance intercity passenger-rail service.

The grants provide intercity passenger-rail operating assistance for staffing, fuel, electricity, station expenses, lease payments on rolling stock, routine planned maintenance, host railroad access costs, train yard operation and administrative costs, FRA officials said in a press release.

Florida's Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) yesterday announced it has been awarded a $20 million federal grant to reconstruct more than 100 acres of existing terminal pavement at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at the port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal. 

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program, and is part of a $238 million plan to expand and upgrade the facility to accommodate more containers, Jaxport officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight railroads' traffic in October dropped 8.1 percent to 2,556,421 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers compared with the same month a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

The total number of carloads fell 8.4 percent to 112,703 units, while the number of intermodal units dropped 7.8 percent to 111,910 units during the month.

Keolis Group Supervisory Board Chairman Joel Lebreton appointed Patrick Jeantet executive chairman, effective in early 2020. Kathleen Wantz O'Rourke will serve as acting chairwoman during the transition. Previously, Jeantet served as chairman and chief executive officer of SNCF Reseau; deputy chairman of the SNCF Executive Board; Keolis’ international deputy CEO; Keolis’ CEO in France; and chief operating officer of Groupe Aeroports de Paris, Keolis officials said in a press release.

Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. acquired Roadrunner Intermodal from Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. Roadrunner Intermodal is a nationwide drayage provider, servicing major port and rail locations throughout the United States, and is made up of Roadrunner Intermodal Services LLC, Morgan Southern Inc., Wando Trucking LLC and Central Cal Transportation LLC. Universal officials say they anticipate that Roadrunner Intermodal will operate as a subsidiary of Universal Intermodal Inc. 

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) yesterday awarded contracts worth CA$4.38 million to two architectural firms to complete the first phase of design for three stations on the Blue Line rail extension in Montreal. 

The Lemay Bisson Fortin Architectes en consortium will design the Anjou and Pie-IX stations, and ACDF Architecture will design the Langelier station, STM officials said in a press release.