Railroad News

U.S. rail traffic continued to swoon in April, but fared better than in March. U.S. railroads originated 1,041,544 carloads, down 0.9 percent, and 1,056,146 intermodal loads, down 3.9 percent compared with April 2018 volumes, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Combined traffic totaling 2,097,690 units fell 2.4 percent. Only six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR posted gains, including petroleum and petroleum products (29.5 percent), metallic ores (5 percent) and coal (1.8 percent). Decliners included crushed stone, sand and gravel (10.1 percent), motor vehicles and parts (5.4 percent), and grain (4.7 percent).
 
"Rail traffic in April was significantly improved compared with March, in part because railroads affected by severe flooding in the Midwest were able to return their operations more toward normal," said AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics John Gray in a press release. "It appears that some of the economic uncertainty that was prevalent earlier in the first quarter has dissipated, although concerns about trade issues may still be having an impact on rail volumes."
 
Through 2019's first four months, U.S. roads logged 8,769,756 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9 percent year over year. Canadian railroads' cumulative volume rose 2.4 percent to 2,523,702 units and Mexican roads' total volume dropped 5.8 percent to 610,898 units.

Amtrak’s fiscal-year ridership is up 1.3 percent year over year through March and its operating earnings are heading toward breakeven by fiscal-year 2021. 

Those figures put the railroad on track for the best performing year in its 48 years of operation, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced Robert Pace was unanimously re-elected by its board as chairman.

He is president and chief executive officer of The Pace Group Ltd., a Halifax-based company that's engaged in radio broadcasting, real estate and environmental services. Pace, who became CN's chair in 2014, also is chairman of the Walter Gordon Foundation, and a board member for the Atlantic Salmon Federation and Asia Pacific Corp.

After strong growth in 2018, intermodal volume fell 1.5 percent in 2019’s first quarter to 4,477,728 units, according to the Intermodal Association of North America's (IANA) latest Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report.

International intermodal volume rose 1.2 percent to 2,319,585 units, but domestic container counts dropped 4.1 percent to 1,821,916 units and domestic trailer traffic declined 5.4 percent to 336,227 units compared with first-quarter 2018 figures. Total domestic equipment volume decreased 4.3 percent to 2,158,143 units.

Fluor Corp. earlier this week announced the Eagle P3 commuter-rail project in Denver has been completed and the 11-mile Gold Line (G Line) now is open from Downtown Union Station to Wheat Ridge Station. The G Line is the third and final commuter-rail line to open for the Regional Transportation District (RTD), following the A and B lines, Fluor officials said in a press release. Part of RTD’s FasTracks program, the Eagle P3 project was developed through a public-private partnership between the district and Denver Transit Partners (DTP), which includes Fluor, John Laing plc and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments USA LLC, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc., Alternative Concepts Inc. and Ames Construction. The DTP consortium will operate the A, B and G lines for 29 years per an agreement.

Icertis recently announced that Norfolk Southern Corp. has selected the Icertis Contract Management (ICM) platform to serve as its enterprise-wide contract management system. The ICM platform will help NS modernize its contract management processes to accelerate contract velocity, protect against risk and better optimize commercial relationships, Icertis officials said in a press release. The platform will standardize contracting for several thousand enterprise users in all contracting scenarios across the railroad. ICM is designed to automatically create contract amendments when business conditions change, enabling NS to respond to market fluctuations. The platform can integrate with other enterprise systems and automatically update contracts based on pre-defined business rules.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) recently unveiled a new logo and website, and updated social media applications. 

The new logo reflects JAXPORT’s trade lanes, which include connections with Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East and South America, as well as Jacksonville’s strategic location "at the crossroads of the nation's rail and highway network," port officials said in a press release. 

On Monday, the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department (BART PD) swore in six lateral police officers — the most the department has sworn in at one time in recent history, agency officials said in an April 29 press release.

So far this year, the department has hired 19 officers and "will easily surpass" last year’s total of 24, agency officials said, citing an "aggressive recruitment effort" aimed at reducing the  officer vacancy rate from a high of 41 down to 20 as of this week. 

Sound Transit's board and the King County Council this week will consider extending an agreement through which King County Metro would continue to operate and maintain Sound Transit Link light-rail service during certain hours.

More than 370 King County Metro employees operate and maintain the service — which was launched in 2009 — from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily under the current agreement.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday approved contracts for a new commuter-rail station in Chelsea and additional locomotive overhaul work.

The station contract was awarded to A.A. Will Corp. for $32.4 million. The new Chelsea Station will be an intermodal facility that connects the Newburyport/Rockport lines to the Silver Line 3-Chelsea line that began operating in April 2018. Construction is projected to start in early summer, with completion pegged in late 2021.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to work together on a $2 trillion surface transportation infrastructure package.

Pelosi and Schumer led a Democratic delegation to the White House to discuss a bipartisan infrastructure bill. The two had sent a letter to President Trump outlining several priorities for a comprehensive bill.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) plans to hold events May 3 and 4 to mark the 80th anniversary of LA Union Station.

The events will include cultural displays, concerts, guided tours, arts and crafts, model train exhibits, train memorabilia, live music and family activities.

Last year, total ridership reached an all-time high for TransLink, while overcrowding remained a key issue, according to a 2018 Transit Service Performance Review (TSPR).

The annual TSPR measures the agency's ridership, cost, reliability, on-time performance and crowding across all transit modes. TransLink uses the review's findings to identify service improvement opportunities.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) yesterday announced Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin has resigned. He will continue to serve in the role until his contract expires in mid-August.

Reiskin assumed the post in July 2011. Prior to joining SFMTA, he was director of the Department of Public Works for the city and county of San Francisco.

Port of Los Angeles officials last week proposed the creation of a "cyber resilience center" with port stakeholders, including railroads.

Port officials convened a stakeholder working group — including representatives from railroads, ship lines, marine terminal operators, trucking companies and labor unions — to discuss closer collaboration to address potential cybersecurity threats.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 78 cents, an 11.4 percent increase over the same period in 2018 despite severe winter weather and flooding in North America.

The severe weather resulted in a 9 cent, or 10 percent reduction, in diluted EPS versus first-quarter guidance, said G&W Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jack Hellmann in a press release.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation yesterday announced the approval of 27 freight-rail improvement projects and their state share of funding.

"Keeping goods and services moving across Pennsylvania's more than 5,000 miles of freight track is vital to the state's economy," said Wolf in a press release. "These investments in our rail infrastructure will continue to support business development and create new jobs throughout the state.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

Despite extreme and prolonged cold temperatures that prompted shorter trains in portions of the first quarter, CN registered solid financial results with strong top-line growth in the period, the Class I reported yesterday.