Railroad News

The province of Ontario yesterday announced plans to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to select a team to design, build, finance, operate and maintain its GO Regional Express Rail (RER) project.

The contract will integrate rail operations and maintenance with the infrastructure and vehicle upgrades needed to deliver electrified service on the GO Transit rail network, according to a press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

BNSF Railway Co.'s $3.3 billion capital investment plan will put the railroad in a position to meet customers' growth and service expectations this year, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last week.

Ice is one of two Class I executives to respond so far to the STB's recent request for 2018 service outlook reports, as the board looks into shippers' complaints about deteriorating freight-rail service.

Oregon's Portland Streetcar last week obtained permission from the Portland City Council to buy two new streetcars to boost service frequency.

Workforce development firm ConnectWork LLC has registered two new rail-related apprenticeships with the state of Maryland.

The programs will provide instruction for future rail-car remediators and rail-car mechanics. While the apprenticeships are open to all rail companies in Maryland, the programs will primarily serve the Baltimore region, specifically in the Tradepoint Atlantic corridor.

Union Pacific Railroad has announced a $65 million capital expenditure program for Nebraska and a $63.3 million capex program for Oregon this year.

The Class I's plans for Nebraska include $54.9 million to maintain track and $3 million to maintain bridges.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) board late last week confirmed Jeffrey Parker as general manager and chief executive officer.

Earlier this month, the agency named Parker as the sole finalist for the position. His confirmation followed a state-mandated 14-day waiting period, MARTA officials said in a press release.

Siemens and Alstom have entered into a business combination agreement to merge their rail operations, the companies announced late last week.

The measure follows the memorandum of understanding announced in September 2017. The business combination agreement sets the merger's terms and conditions, according to the companies' press release.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's (PANYNJ) board late last week authorized agreements with Jersey City that will make way for construction of a new power substation for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail system.

The authority has agreed to turn the Washington Street Powerhouse over to Jersey City for possible future redevelopment. The aging powerhouse and adjacent substation had been the primary source of power for PATH, but it has "outlived its usefulness," PANYNJ officials said in a press release.

CN President and Chief Executive Officer JJ Ruest has informed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the railroad's plan to speed up its service in response to recent shipper complaints.

Earlier this month, the STB asked all Class Is operating in the United States to submit their service plans in response to shippers' complaints about a deterioration in rail service. Ruest, who earlier this month was named interim president and CEO after the sudden resignation of Luc Jobin, is the first Class I executive to respond to the STB.

The $1.3 trillion fiscal-year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill that President Donald Trump signed late last week includes "significant increases" for public transit, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

The legislation increases Federal Transit Administration (FTA) program funding to $13.5 billion, which is above the $12.3 billion authorized level. The budget also includes major increases in Federal Railroad Administration commuter and intercity passenger-rail programs, APTA officials said in a press release.

Brookville Equipment Corp. has restored and returned the first of six Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars to the city of El Paso, Texas. The remaining five vehicles will be delivered throughout the year. The vehicles will undergo on-site testing prior to entering revenue service, Brookville officials said in a press release. The streetcars were removed from service in 1974 and kept in outdoor storage for decades before the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority and Brookville agreed to restore them. The 2015 agreement included repairing and replacing structural carbody components, along with complete rewiring, new interiors and door system upgrades. The project also called for adding modern features such as HVAC systems, pantographs and a mobility device lifting system.

Trackmobile LLC dealer Wiese Rail Services has acquired Power-Serv Inc. Wiese will now manage business in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, as well as western Missouri, northeastern Nevada and southern Idaho. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The remaining territory formerly managed by Power-Serv will be supported by existing authorized Trackmobile distributors, including Harc-U-Lift, Pape Material Handling and Yale Chase. The Trackmobile distributor network's capabilities include new and used Trackmobile rail-car mover equipment, service and parts for rail-car movers and rail-car move rental units.

As of mid-February, Class Is in the United States employed 144,815 workers, up 0.34 percent as of mid-January, but down 2.71 percent compared with mid-February 2017's employment, according to the Surface Transportation Board.

Five of six employment categories reflected workforce increases in mid-February compared with mid-January. Those categories were maintenance of equipment and stores, up 0.69 percent to 26,746; executives, officials and staff assistants, up 0.33 percent to 7,856 employees; maintenance of way and structures, up 0.33 percent to 32,237; transportation (train and engine), up 0.27 percent to 59,847; and transportation (other than train and engine), up 0.18 percent to 5,591.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) today unveiled a flood protection project for rail operations facilities on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.

Crews will construct a perimeter flood wall, flood gates and a new compressor building within the protected site, NYCT officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has begun posting a quarterly "report card" that rates how long its trains are delayed while traveling on host freight railroads' tracks.

The majority of Amtrak's network operates on track owned, maintained and dispatched by freight railroads. Amtrak delays on host railroads are caused primarily by freight railroads that require passenger trains to wait so that freight trains can operate first, Amtrak officials said in the report card.

Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. Executive Chairman Chris Aadnesen has retired after a four-decade career in the rail industry.

He joined the GREX board in 2003, served as chairman from 2007 to 2010 and served as vice chairman from 2010 through 2013. He was elected executive chairman in 2013.

The city of Phoenix has awarded a $305 million contract to Bombardier Transportation for an extension of the PHX Sky Train automated people mover system at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The agreement covers a 2.5-mile extension to the airport's rental car center, along with two new stations, an expansion of the system's maintenance facility and the supply of 24 Innovia APM 200 vehicles.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) this month and next will hold a series of town halls via telephone to share details about the FasTracks transit expansion program and other projects underway.

RTD will host 15 telephone town halls, one for each RTD district. The calls will enable RTD's board and staff to speak with members of the communities that the agency serves, RTD officials said in a press release.

The first of Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) four new neo-Panamax cranes came online this week, bringing the port's operating fleet to 27.

The crane started work yesterday on a Hapag Lloyd container vessel capable of carrying 13,300 20-foot-equivalent units. Crane operators moved 2,700 containers on and off the ship during its time at the Port of Savannah, GPA officials said in a press release.