Railroad News

U.S. railroads' combined intermodal volume continued to surpass carload traffic in the week ending Aug. 25, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total intermodal volume rose 6 percent to 290,372 units during the week, while carloads ticked up 1.8 percent to 275,334 units compared with the same week a year ago.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has certified transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) programs in Illinois and Tennessee, the agency announced yesterday.

States with transit-rail systems in operation or under construction must get their SSO programs certified by April 15, 2019. In total, 28 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are required to obtain the certification.

The Florida Development Finance Corp. (FDFC) yesterday approved a $1.75 billion bond issue that will finance infrastructure for Brightline's passenger-rail service in five Florida counties.

The financing will pay for infrastructure in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Brevard and Orange counties, Brightline officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad announced yesterday it will continue to "implement, test and refine" positive train control (PTC) technology in 2019-20.

The announcement was part of UP's regular quarterly updates of its PTC implementation progress.

More public transit usage can significantly lessen cities' traffic death rates, according to a recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) analysis.

Conducted by APTA and advocacy group Vision Zero Network, the analysis showed that metro areas that log more than 40 annual transit trips per capita experience a traffic mortality rate that's 40 percent lower than in metro areas with 20 transit trips per capita.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District's (SacRT) board on Monday agreed to reduce fares in a bid to boost ridership.

The board approved staff recommendations to use funds from cost-cutting measures and operational savings to "invest back in the Sacramento community," agency officials said in a press release.

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) Cathedral Parkway-110th Street subway station in Manhattan will reopen over the Labor Day weekend following structural repairs.

The repair effort, which lasted less than five months, was completed on time and on budget, agency officials said in a press release. The project included functional improvements to the station's steel and concrete structure, mezzanine, walls, stairs and platforms.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) logged its best July ever in container volumes, with total container movements rising 17 percent over the same period last year, port officials announced yesterday.

Nearly 97,250 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through the port last month, according to a Jaxport press release.

The Reading & Northern Railroad has appointed Susan Ludwig vice president of customer service.

She will oversee all customer service managers, as well as all business — including anthracite coal, forest products and general merchandise — for over 70 customers, Reading & Northern officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in October will start construction on a major Green Line track and signal replacement project, the agency announced earlier this week.

The project calls for installing 25,000 feet of track and 6.5 miles of modernized signal infrastructure along the Green Line's D Branch. The work is expected to continue through December 2020, according to an MBTA news release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a final rule to allow eligible smaller railroads and their contractors to use automated systems instead of paper records to comply with federal employee hours-of-service recordkeeping requirements.

The rule, which takes effect today, is part of the FRA's broader effort to reduce the paperwork burden of its regulations, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week issued $88 million in transit security grants aimed at protecting transit agencies from acts of terrorism and boosting the resilience of transit infrastructure.

The grants include a $6.2 million award to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) for track and tunnel intrusion technology to be installed throughout its underground rail stations.

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway has chosen Rockwell Collins' ARINC RailwayNet platform for positive train control (PTC) implementation. The platform creates a common communication infrastructure for PTC solutions and allows for interoperability between short lines, commuter railroads and Class Is, according to a Rockwell Collins press release.

Infinity Transportation Logistics LLC (ITL) this fall will add new next-generation domestic refrigerated intermodal containers to its fleet in various lanes to and from Washington state and Oregon. The new units will more than double the company's existing fleet, ITL officials said in a press release. The fleet will be able to haul up to 44,000 pounds. Meanwhile, the company is adding staff to its Kansas City, Missouri, office due to increasing demand for temperature-controlled intermodal service, ITL officials said.

Don Krusel has been named managing director of the Port of Quebec's project to build a container terminal.

Krusel was president and chief executive officer of the Prince Rupert Port Authority when the port created a new container port gateway for North American trade. As a result of the project, the Port of Prince Rupert has transformed from a regional forest and agricultural products facility to the fastest growing container port in North America, Quebec Port Authority (QPA) officials said in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) received a perfect score in the Federal Transit Administration's triennial review of operations.

This marks the fourth consecutive time the agency has achieved a perfect score, SDMTS officials said in a press release. That means that for the past 12 years the FTA has found no deficiencies in SDMTS' management of FTA funds and program implementation.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina yesterday agreed to provide $57.6 million to fill a funding gap for the $2.5 billion Durham-Orange light-rail project.

The added cash was needed after the the state's General Assembly changed the funding makeup for the project earlier this summer, The Herald-Sun reported.

Canadian government officials announced CA$3.3 million in funding will be used for 18 rail safety improvements in Alberta.

The money will be used to pay for construction of fencing and other barriers along rail properties; installation of flashing lights, bells and gates at crossings; and installation of advanced train detection and crossing control systems.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded $6.8 million to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to fund safety and security efforts.

The money will enable BART to continue to deploy its Critical Asset Patrol (CAP) team, which consists of seven officers and one sergeant who ride trains during peak passenger travel times and special events.