Railroad News

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has named Gary Van Tassel II of CSX as the winner of the 2019 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award.

The award is named in honor of the late Rhode Island senator who was a strong advocate for sustainability and rail's environmental benefits. The Chafee award recognizes a railroad employee who has "demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year," according to an AAR press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has chosen Jacobs as the principal design consultant for the Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor project.

As the principal design consultant to the joint venture team of Archer Western Construction LLC and Herzog Contracting Corp., Jacobs will provide design and oversight services for track alignments, drainage, bridges, retaining walls and signaling for the project.

Wabtec Corp. today announced Rafael Santana will become president and chief executive officer on July 1. He will succeed Ray Betler, who will retire as a Wabtec executive and board member, and join the company's board.
 
Santana, 47, joined Wabtec earlier this year as president and CEO of its freight segment following the merger of Wabtec and GE Transportation. He previously served as president and CEO of GE Transportation.

A Brazil native, Santana has 25 years of commercial, product management and executive leadership experience, including more than 10 years in the transportation industry. While leading GE Transportation, he significantly expanded the company's regional footprint, and built strong overhaul and modernization capabilities through multiyear programs, Wabtec officials said in a press release.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today announced its Georgia Central Railway LP subsidiary will serve a major plastics distribution facility that's under construction in Pooler, Georgia.

Georgia Central will transport bulk plastic resin to the new Plastic Express multi-commodity transloading center beginning in late 2019. Carloads are expected to exceed 5,000 annually. The resin and other bulk commodities will be repackaged and trucked to the nearby Port of Savannah for export to international markets.

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program partners plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow for the Argo Connections portion of the ongoing public-private undertaking.

Dignitaries invited to the event include U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies, and CSX General Manager-Midwest William Blanchetti.

U.S. railroads' traffic volume fell 2.4 percent to 526,141carloads and intermodal units for the week ending April 20 compared with the same week in 2018, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads logged 262,011 carloads, down 0.9 percent, and 264,130 containers and trailers, down 3.9 percent compared with a year ago.

HNTB Corp. has hired Alexa Gangemi as the firm’s transit and rail senior project manager and associate vice president. Gangemi has more than 20 years of experience and has worked for transit agencies in Maryland, New York, Texas and Virgina. She also previously served as director of strategic planning for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Gangemi’s background includes the implementation of technologies used for fare collection, rail crew management, dispatching and timekeeping processes, HNTB officials said in a press release.

IntegriCo Composites now is offering IntegriTies™, a composite tie produced from landfill-bound recyclable plastics. The ties offer a more environmentally-friendly alternative to wood ties, according to an IntegriCo press release. One mile of track typically has about 3,650 ties, which means at least 912 trees are needed to produce the ties; alternatively, IntegriCo converts 765,000 pounds of plastic into IntegriTies that would be installed on one mile of track, company officials said.

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) officials last week announced construction will begin soon to add a second entrance and exit at the East Chicago Station platform.

To start April 29 and conclude in December, the project calls for converting the low-level platform on the station's east side into a covered walkway to access a new head house, stairwell and tunnel leading to the eastern parking lot. The upgrades will help accommodate the large influx of South Shore Line passengers at the station, NICTD officials said in a press release.

OmniTRAX Inc. and the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad yesterday unveiled a new environmentally friendly locomotive at the railroad's depot in San Joaquin County, California.

The KLW SE10B T4L unit built by Knoxville Locomotive Works in Tennessee complies with the Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 4 emission standard. It was purchased with the help of a grant from the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Central District, according to an OmniTRAX press release.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) officials on Monday announced the South Coast Rail Program has reached two critical first-phase milestones.

A finance plan now is complete for the more than $1 billion first phase, which will be fully funded in the commonwealth's capital investment plan, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the final federal permit required for the program to advance, MBTA and MassDOT officials said in a press release.

The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay announced the Coos Bay Rail Line swing-span bridge will be turned and tested this week.

After a scheduled inbound vessel passes today, the port will move the bridge to the open position for railroad traffic. The bridge will remain open for two days to allow for necessary alignment of the north and south railroad approaches, port officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently approved the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) request for a letter of no prejudice for the Purple Line extension’s third section between Century City and Westwood, California.

LA Metro now can proceed with a contract it awarded earlier this year to Tutor Perini Corp. for stations, trackwork, systems, testing and related section 3 activities, authority officials said in a blog. To be completed in 2026, section 3 of the subway extension will run 2.56 miles from the Century City Station to two stations in Westwood, one at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards and the other in front of the Westwood VA Medical Center.

Canadian Pacific reported first-quarter 2019 revenue of CA$1.77 billion grew by 6 percent and earnings rose about 3 percent during what company officials described as the one of the most challenging winters for the railroad in decades.

CP posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of CA$3.09 (up 28 percent) and adjusted diluted EPS of CA$2.79 (up 3 percent). Operating income climbed 1 percent to CA$543 million, while net income rose 25 percent to CA$434 million versus the same period in 2018.

Norfolk Southern Corp. today reported first-quarter 2019 net income rose 23 percent year over year to $677 million, as a result of a 16 percent increase in income from railway operations and a boost in other income.

Diluted earnings per share jumped 30 percent to $2.51 compared with Q1 2018. The Class I logged operating revenue of $2.8 billion, a first-quarter record and a 5 percent year over year increase. NS attributed the revenue growth to a rise in revenue per unit, resulting from higher rates and fuel surcharges.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday announced the creation of a five-year initiative to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of its Energy Action Plan, WMATA will invest $65 million from its capital budget by 2025 in energy efficient technology and modernized operations, according to a WMATA press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week relaunched a $5.6 million safety awareness campaign urging people to take greater care at grade crossings.

In 2018, 270 people were killed at railroad crossings. Of those, 99 people died — a 10-year high — after the vehicle driver drove around lowered crossing gate arms, according to an FRA press release.

U.S. Class Is employed 144,948 people in mid-March, down 0.58 percent compared with mid-February's level and down 0.11 percent compared with March 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

On a month-over-month basis, four of six employment categories posted decreases. They were: executives, officials and staff assistants, down 2.45 percent to 7,928 employees; professional and administrative, down 2.33 percent to 11,424; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 1.86 percent to 26,478; and transportation (train and engine), down 0.28 percent to 61,673.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday issued a request for proposals to lease the roof space of seven MTA properties for solar power development. 

MTA will lease the real estate to companies that would use the roof space to install solar panels and generate electricity to sell back to the municipal grid, MTA officials said in a press release.