Railroad News

Total U.S. railroad traffic declined 2.9 percent to 508,239 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 20 compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Total carloads for the week fell 7.6 percent to 241,258 units, but intermodal volume ticked up 1.8 percent to 266,981 containers and trailers compared with the third week of 2017, AAR reported in a press release.

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

The Ontario government on Tuesday confirmed that Metrolinx was the victim of a cyberattack by North Korea.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) received approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to extend the New Starts project development phase for the 6-mile Bay Area Rapid Transit extension to Silicon Valley.

The deadline to complete the phase has been moved from March to June. VTA made the request so it could refine design considerations for two tunneling methods for the 5-mile segment into downtown San Jose, California, agency officials said in a press release.

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:10 p.m. CST.]

Union Pacific Corp. today reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income rose 5 percent to $1.2 billion, or $1.53 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the same period a year ago.

Including the impact of the recently passed federal corporate tax reform, UP posted net income of $7.3 billion, or $9.25 per diluted share for Q4 2017, according to a UP press release.

Stadler has acquired Knorr-Bremse subsidiary Swedtrac, which specializes in train modernization. The move is aimed at enabling Stadler to strengthen its presence in the Nordic countries, company officials said in a press release. Swedtrac will join Stadler in the first quarter. In the long term, Stadler aims to transform Swedtrac's site in Tillberga, Sweden, into a major service cente. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Harsco Rail has promoted Allen Branham to vice president of North America sales and global contracting services. He has more than two decades of experience with the company and most recently served as director of U.S. East sales. Branham also has held positions in product management, engineering and project management.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday approved the construction of Pier B on-dock rail support facility at the Port of Long Beach, California.

The facility would provide track space to join together sections of trains assembled at terminals. The ability to build long trains now is limited due to lack of adequate yard tracks and the configuration of mainline tracks, port officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has appointed John Scheib executive vice president law and administration and chief legal officer as of March 1.

Scheib will succeed William Galanko, who will retire on the same date after 28 years with the railroad, NS officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed an executive order mandating a full-scale audit of New Jersey Transit.

The audit will review the agency's finances, leadership structure, hiring process and customer service. It also will examine NJ Transit's relationship with Amtrak and its implementation of positive train control.

CN reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income decreased 6 percent to CA$897 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell by 2 percent to CA$1.20.

The results exclude the impact of changes in the U.S. corporate tax rate under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Including the tax benefit, CN reported Q4 2017 net income soared 156 percent to CA$2.6 billion and diluted EPS jumped 164 percent to CA$3.48 compared with Q4 2016's results, CN officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $486 million, or $1.69 per diluted earnings per share (EPS), compared with $416 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.

For full-year 2017, NS posted $1.9 billion in adjusted net income versus $1.7 billion in 2016. Adjusted diluted EPS were $6.61, an 18 percent increase over last year's record diluted EPS of $5.62, NS officials said in a press release.

Metra next month will host meetings to gather rider feedback about several changes to the agency's fare structure, including a plan to introduce a day pass for travel between any two zones.

The aim is to create a flexible fare structure that allows Metra to segment and price markets differently, and to give the railroad more flexibility to increase fare revenue while providing more control over ridership impacts from fare changes, agency officials said in a press release.

The Port of Savannah handled more than 4 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2017, an 11 percent increase and the port's highest annual volume ever, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported yesterday.

Last month, the GPA handled 323,000 TEUs, up 10.6 percent compared with a year ago and the busiest December in the authority's history.

U.S. Class Is continued to shrink their workforce last month.

As of mid-December, Class Is in the United States employed 145,416 workers, down 0.37 percent since mid-November's employment figure and down 3.19 percent compared with mid-December 2016's level, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

Trains on Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water lines in Michigan have begun traveling faster following recent rail infrastructure improvements, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced yesterday.

Amtrak staff now dispatch trains on the rail corridor between Porter, Indiana, and Dearborn, Michigan — a move that "ensures the efficient movement of passenger trains," said MDOT Office of Rail Director Tim Hoeffner in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has elected Jennifer Scanlon to its board of directors.

Scanlon is president and chief executive officer of USG Corp. She has been appointed to the NS board's Compensation Committee and the Finance and Risk Management Committee.