Railroad News

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As President Donald Trump releases his long-awaited infrastructure plan today, a coalition of Northeast business leaders are calling on the president and Congress to provide federal resources to repair and upgrade the Northeast Corridor.

Trump is expected to unveil a plan today that would ask Congress to invest $200 billion over the next 10 years for infrastructure improvements such as roads and bridges. Federal dollars would serve as matching funds to encourage states and local communities to invest in infrastructure projects.

In 2017, TransLink logged a record 407 million boardings, marking a 5.7 percent increase over 2016.

Ridership grew across all modes of transit except the West Coast Express commuter-rail line, which experienced a 5.5 percent drop. That decline occurred because some riders moved to the new Evergreen SkyTrain extension, agency officials said in a press release.

Friday is the deadline to submit nominees for Progressive Railroading's sixth annual Rising Stars Awards program.

The magazine defines a Rising Star as an employee of the railroad industry who is under the age of 40 and who is making a positive difference in his or her company, department or team. Rising Stars are viewed as up-and-comers by their peers, colleagues, supervisors, clients or associates.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) crews have sectioned and aligned existing Green Line rail with new tracks for the Crenshaw/LAX Line.

Rail, fasteners, screws, nuts and bolts are in place and await final assembly, Metro officials said in a blog post.

The Chicago Infrastructure Trust has received four proposals to design, build, finance and maintain an express rail line to O'Hare International Airport.

The new service would take 20 minutes or less to travel from downtown Chicago to O'Hare, trimming the current transit time by about 50 percent. The Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line trains take about 45 minutes to travel from downtown Chicago to O'Hare, according to the agency's website.

Avant Energy will build a network of terminals to supply refined petroleum products from the Port of Altamira, Tamaulipas, to the Bajio region of north-central Mexico, the company announced last week.

The network will be known as Suministro de Petroliferos Altamira–Bajio, or SUPERA, Avant Energy officials said in a press release.

Kansas City Southern has awarded a contract to Biarri Rail to deliver a cloud-based locomotive master planning software. Known as Boss MP Loco, the software is designed to boost efficiency of critical rail assets by enabling KCS to quickly plan and optimize locomotives, Biarri Rail officials said in a press release. An earlier proof-of-concept using the software demonstrated that it could help the railroad identify fleet efficiencies and make strategic decisions on the deployment and positioning of locomotives. In addition, the software enabled KCS to examine how much of its fleet could be equipped with positive train control based on the number and location of cross-border trains operating in the United States and Mexico.

Cummins Filtration has unveiled the FleetguardFIT real-time filtration monitoring system. Using intelligent sensing and advanced data analytics, the system provides customers with "full visibility" into filter and oil life, Cummins officials said in a press release. Such information enables customers to proactively detect problems, avoid downtime, reduce repair costs and improve total cost of ownership, according to the company. FleetguardFIT has been installed on equipment applications used for rail, truck, bus and mining.

The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) has obtained new line boring equipment for locomotive overhaul projects.

Two educational sessions have been added to the Secure Rail Conference scheduled for April 24-25 in Orlando, Florida, the event's organizers announced today.

The additional sessions are titled "What Happens After the Assessment? A VRE Case Study;" and "Evaluating the Effects of Cybersecurity Measures."

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) has awarded a $10.5 million grant to Metrolink to modernize its signals and track.

The Los Angeles-area commuter railroad will use the funds to replace aging mechanical signals with modern electrical units. Metrolink also will install new switches and crossovers, and upgrade track infrastructure near Los Angeles Union Station.

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) announced yesterday that the United States and Canada will combine efforts to recognize the same Rail Safety Week in 2018.

Rail Safety Week will be observed by U.S. and Canadian Operation Lifesaver programs and partners from Sept. 23 to 29, OLI officials said in a press release.

Construction on a new 41-mile light-rail network in Montreal will begin in April, CDPQ Infra Inc. announced yesterday.

Initial testing on the system will start at the end of 2020, with passenger service slated to begin in summer 2021.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2017 operating revenue rose 10.7 percent to $571.6 million compared with the same quarter in 2016.

Operating income increased 101.9 percent to $108.2 million, while adjusted operating income climbed 2.2 percent to $105.7 million.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) this weekend will partially close its Line 1 subway route as Metrolinx crews continue to build the Eglinton Crosstown light-rail project.

Service will be halted Feb. 10-11 between the Lawrence and St. Clair stations. Current work on the Eglinton Crosstown project includes construction below the existing TTC station at Eglinton, a shift of TTC's platform to the north and installation of a new tunnel ventilation system at the south and north ends of the subway platform.

Caltrain on Feb. 10 will launch Caltrain Mobile, a ticketing app that enables riders to purchase and activate tickets from smartphones.

Caltrain Mobile will offer one-way and day pass tickets, as well as zone-upgrade tickets for adults and passengers who qualify for discounted fares.