Railroad News

Texas Central Partners LLC, the private firm developing a bullet-train line between Houston and Dallas, has appointed Drayton McLane Jr. chairman.

A former owner of the Houston Astros, McLane first joined the board in January. He's currently chairman of the McLane Group and other family controlled companies.

The nation's freight railroads have reached tentative labor agreements with four unions, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) announced late last week.

Agreements have been reached with the Brotherhood Railway Carmen (BRC), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU), according to an NRLC press release.

Australian Rail Track Corp. (ARTC) has selected GE Transportation's Movement Planner software to provide real-time traffic planning and optimization for the Hunter Valley coal rail network. The control center for the network manages 24,000 metric tons of freight per hour, ARTC officials said in a press release. GE's software develops an optimized traffic plan by weighing multiple factors such as train schedules, traffic-control systems and train movements relative to each other. Movement Planner's Network Viewer and Network Optimizer modules will be implemented progressively on the Hunter Valley network through 2018 and 2019. The rail network is one of the busiest and most complex in Australia, said ARTC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer John Fullerton.

Stantec and Amec Foster Wheeler have been awarded a contract to provide technical advisory, design and construction support services for Metrolinx's Bowmanville rail expansion. The project involves building 12.4 miles of track to extend GO Transit rail service along the Lakeshore East corridor from Oshawa to Bowmanville, Ontario. Stantec and Amec will provide technical services related to the addition of two GO Transit tracks, a new layover facility, four new stations, grade separations and bridge expansions, several culvert and grade crossing modifications and associated utility work. Metrolinx aims to complete construction by 2023, Stantec officials said in a press release.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) tomorrow will close a portion of the Line 1 subway to replace special track and switches.

To complete the work, the agency will shut down the line Dec. 9-10 between the St. Clair and Lawrence stations.

Rob Reich, a senior vice president at Schneider, has been elected chairman of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). He succeeds Nicola Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Scott Perry.

Reich began his career at Schneider in 1992 after serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. His current title at the transportation logistics provider is senior vice president of equipment, maintenance and driver development.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) yesterday selected three contracting teams to develop proposals to design and build the first phase of the Red and Purple modernization program.

The three shortlisted teams are Walsh Fluor Design-Build Team, Chicago Rail Constructors and Kiewit Infrastructure Co. The CTA in June issued a request for qualifications for teams to work on the project.

The Texas North Western Railway (TXNW) and The Andersons Rail Group have established a rail-car repair and service center at the Panhandle Logistics Park near Sunray, Texas.

The new, 580-acre industrial park located in the Texas Panhandle is served by the TXNW Railway and BNSF Railway Co. A TNW Corp. subsidiary, TXNW owns and operates a private rail-car storage facility at the center that features nearly 11,000 storage spots.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's (PANYNJ) board yesterday approved a $3.2 billion operating budget and $3.4 billion capital budget for 2018.

The budgets — which contain no fare or toll increases — will fund agency efforts to enhance security, improve customer service, invest in sustainability and environmental protection, undertake state-of-good repair work and build new transportation facilities, according to a PANYNJ press release.

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Metra earlier this week offered a media tour of its GPS Center to demonstrate how the railroad communicates with riders.

Located at Metra's headquarters in downtown Chicago, the GPS Center is where platform announcements, website updates, email alerts and most service tweets originate, Metra officials said in a press release.

Southern California transit agency Omnitrans has hired Erin Rogers as deputy general manager.

Rogers has nearly three decades of transit industry experience, including 10 years as assistant general manager for the Orange County Transportation Authority.

In September and October, average weekday ridership in TransLink's Northeast Sector was 25 percent higher than the same months in 2016.

The sector comprises the cities of Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, as well as the villages of Anmore and Belcarra. The ridership jump followed the opening of the 6.8-mile Evergreen Extension of the Millennium SkyTrain line in December 2016.

Brightline, the new privately financed and operated express rail service in southern Florida, will begin "simulated service" between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale as soon as this week, the railroad announced on Twitter.

Although an exact date was not specified, the tweet stated that Brightline will run up to 10 trains a day on the route.

R. J. Corman Railroad Group yesterday announced a partnership with the Kentucky Labor Cabinet to create an apprenticeship program aimed at the recruitment and retention of new employees.

The program will start early next year, as R. J. Corman and the Labor Cabinet develop a curriculum, company officials said in a press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has released a final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the second phase of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Purple Line subway extension.

The report covers the segment that would run between the future Wilshire/La Cienega Station, downtown Beverly Hills and Century City. In particular, the document provides additional details on the Century City/Constellation Station, as well as potential public health and other impacts for the planned subway alignment.

U.S. intermodal rail traffic is on pace to set a new annual record this year, with strong gains in November and last week marking the best intermodal week in history, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced yesterday.

U.S. railroads logged 1,369,160 containers and trailers in November, up 3.8 percent, or 50,029 units, from the same month last year. Although U.S. railroads' carload traffic slipped last month 0.9 percent to 1,307,521 units, the combined total of intermodal and carload activity rose 1.5 percent to 2,676,681 for the month compared with November 2016, AAR officials said in a press release.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) yesterday announced the appointment of Mark Miller and Dianne Costa to its board.

Miller, who serves as vice president of Hillwood Properties, will represent the city of Flower Mound, Texas. He was appointed to the board in June, DCTA officials said in a press release.