Railroad News

Members of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART TD) voted to ratify the new national contract with the freight carriers, the union announced Dec. 1.

The contract will cover more than 35,000 SMART TD members employed by BNSF Railway Co., CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific Railroad and numerous smaller carriers, union officials said in a press release.

The Regional Plan Association (RPA) late last week unveiled a proposal for sweeping changes to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) subway and commuter-rail services in the New York City area.

The association recommends that the MTA expand the subway system into neighborhoods with densities to support fixed-rail transit, particularly in low-income areas where residents dependent on public transit. For example, in Queens, fewer than four in 10 residents live within walking distance to the subway, according to the report.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) late last week filed comments with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) called for a federal regulatory approach that recognizes the railroad industry's private investments in infrastructure and technology that improve safety and performance.

The AAR submitted its comments in response to the Trump administration's directive to reform industry regulations and processes.

Miami-Dade Transit yesterday placed its first new Hitachi Rail Italy train into passenger service.

The four-car consist is the agency's first new train to enter service since the Metrorail system opened in 1984, Miami-Dade County officials said in a press release.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced today that its membership has voted to ratify a new contract with the National Carriers Conference Committee, representing the nation's freight carriers.

The BLET is the third union among the six represented by the Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG) to ratify the five-year agreement, which covers rates of pay, health and welfare, and other fringe benefits for 25,000 BLET members nationwide.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John "Jack" Hellmann was presented with Progressive Railroading's Railroad Innovator Award today at the 2017 RailTrends® conference in New York City.

The award recognizes an individual's outstanding achievement in the rail industry.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has once again delayed a requirement for commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop a system safety program (SSP).

Passenger railroads now have until Dec. 4, 2018, to develop their SSPs, which are aimed at improving the safety of their operations, according to a notice published yesterday in the Federal Register.

BNSF Railway Co. has awarded its "Certified Site" designation to three properties, the Class I announced yesterday.

The sites — which are located in North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma — feature hundreds of acres that are ready for new industrial facility development.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) is issuing a request for qualifications to identify teams interested in developing a high-speed rail service from downtown to O'Hare International Airport.

The RFQ is the next step in Emanuel's interest in creating an express train that will transport passengers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare in 20 minutes or less, reducing the current travel time by more than 50 percent, according to a CIT press release.

The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has rebranded itself as the Rail Passengers Association.

The organization unveiled the new name at its annual conference earlier this month. The brand switch, which coincides with the association's 50th anniversary, will herald "a new age for advocacy for rail passengers in North America," Rail Passengers Association officials said in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) on Dec. 3 will begin renovating the East 122nd Avenue MAX light-rail station in Portland.

Like the Gresham City Hall station upgrades completed over the summer, the new project includes the installation of updated lighting and digital "TransitTracker" displays.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) today will begin offering tours of a prototype of its newest class of subway cars.

U.S. railroads' carload and intermodal traffic activity rose in the week ending Nov. 25, according to the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) data.

Total reported U.S. rail traffic climbed 2.4 percent to 463,602 carloads and intermodal units compared with the same period in 2016, according to an AAR press release.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) is now the second union to ratify the national mediated collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG).

The BRS represents more than 8,000 members affected by the new agreement and is one of six labor organizations represented by the CBG.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) has introduced a bill aimed at bolstering security on the nation's mass transit systems, including passenger railroads.

The proposed Surface Transportation and Public Area Security Act (H.R. 4474) calls for additional funding and other resources to programs "aimed at critical soft targets, such as railroads, buses and the public area of airports," according to a press release issued by Watson Coleman's office.

Union Pacific Railroad has partnered with startup accelerator Plug and Play to help drive freight transportation innovations, the Class I announced yesterday.

As an accelerator, Plug and Play helps existing startup companies grow with a combination of seed money, mentoring and connections to large companies. UP will serve as an "anchor partner" in Plug and Play's Supply Chain Innovation Platform.

The Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend that Gov. Jay Inslee deny the proposed Vancouver Energy crude-oil terminal project.

The project calls for Tesoro Savage Petroleum Terminal LLC, also known as Vancouver Energy, to construct and operate an energy distribution terminal at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, located on the Columbia River.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has unveiled plans to rebuild GO Transit rail stations in Mississauga and Milton, Ontario.

At the Meadowvale Station in Mississauga, crews will construct a station building, reconfigure parking lots, and repair and replace damaged catch basins and storm sewer lines. In addition, workers will improve pedestrian connections and bicycle storage, according to a press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.