Railroad News

The number of people killed in U.S. rail accidents increased to 733 last year from 708 in 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced last week.

Among the rail incidents, 487 of the deaths were due to trespassing on freight-, passenger- or commuter-rail property, according to the NTSB's annual report on U.S. transportation fatalities.

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) late last week joined representatives from the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad for a tour of Budde Enterprises Inc.'s facility in Newtown, Kansas.

At the shop, Budde handles a variety of rail-related repair and fabrication work, including repairs on hi-rail vehicles and track equipment.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) recently experienced a cyberattack that erased key pieces of data from the agency's computers, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The hack last weekend erased certain components of computer programs that affect internal operations, such as the ability to use computers to dispatch employees, according to the newspaper.

A truck driver's failure to properly secure his unattended truck led to an Amtrak derailment that occurred in March 2016 near Cimarron, Kansas, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) latest briefing on the accident.

The day before the incident, the unattended truck rolled downhill and struck BNSF Railway Co. tracks, causing them to misalign. The Amtrak train then crossed the misaligned tracks and derailed.

Class Is employed 146,342 workers in the United States as of mid-October, down 0.2 percent since mid-September's employment figure and down 3.7 percent compared with mid-October 2016's level, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

Five of six employment categories reflected workforce decreases last month compared with mid-September levels: Executives, officials and staff assistants, down 3.3 percent to 8,217; professional and administrative, down 1.6 percent to 12,197; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 0.6 percent to 26,567; maintenance of way and structures, down 0.6 percent to 33,270; and transportation (other than train and engine), down 0.2 percent to 5,666.

Progress Rail has signed an agreement to acquire Downer EDI's freight-rail business, which is based in North Ryde, Australia.

Downer Freight Rail provides a suite of rolling stock, aftermarket parts and services.

Congress is missing the opportunity to use tax reform legislation to address the nation's infrastructure investment "crisis," according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

AASHTO officials told congressional leaders that the proposed "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" legislation not only misses the opportunity to address infrastructure funding, but would make it "nearly impossible" to later fund a major infrastructure package, the AASHTO Journal reported.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has appointed Andy Byford president of MTA New York City Transit (NYCT). He will assume the post in January.

Byford joins the agency after a five-year stint as chief executive officer of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the third-largest transit system in North America. During his TTC tenure, Byford spearheaded a number of initiatives, such as the development of a plan to modernize the agency and improve all aspects of operational performance.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) late last week put its first Siemens-built light-rail vehicle into revenue service. In total, Siemens will deliver 219 rail cars for the Muni light-rail system, marking the company's largest order for light-rail cars in the United States. Built at Siemens' manufacturing hub in Sacramento, California, the units feature a new seating configuration and new interior and exterior design. Earlier this month, the first five new light-rail vehicles were cleared for passenger service.

RATP Dev North America will integrate Ideagen's Coruson software into its new drive2zero™ safety and security framework. RATP will use the Coruson cloud-based software system to directly manage safety, risk and operational performance across all bus, paratransit and rail services. In particular, Coruson will enable RATP to pinpoint locations of incidents, provide real-time status of incidents and conduct root-cause analysis, Ideagen's Coruson Project Lead Andrew McIntyre said in a press release.

Michael Lewis will become the next executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Gov. John Hickenlooper announced yesterday.

Lewis will start his new role in December. Most recently, he served as deputy executive director and chief operating officer for CDOT, where he provided policy, technical, organizational and operational direction for the $1.4 billion organization with 3,000 employees.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) last week opened a new bike parking facility at L.A.'s Union Station.

The $2.5 million bike hub is one of the largest secure-access bicycle parking facilities of its kind on Metro's system, agency officials said in a press release.

Amtrak earlier this month unveiled a final preferred concept for its Philadelphia 30th Street Station Plaza.

The plan addresses future needs and shortcomings of the area surrounding the historic station. Built in 1934, 30th Street is Amtrak's third-busiest station, with direct rail connections to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and New Jersey Transit, as well as bus, subway and trolley connections.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has certified Utah's transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) program.

Utah is the third state to achieve the certification; Ohio was the first in August, followed by Minnesota in October.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has chosen a Fluor Corp.-led joint venture to serve as the design-build team for the $2 billion Green Line light-rail extension.

Known as GLX Constructors, the team includes Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc., Herzog Contracting Group and The Middlesex Corp. The project calls for extending the Green Line from its terminus in Cambridge to Somerville, Massachusetts.

Metrolink's leaders have asked Congress to maintain a tax deduction benefit for businesses that provide transit passes to their employees.

A proposal in the U.S. House's version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill would remove the federal deduction for public transportation benefits. The change could eliminate the incentive for employers to encourage their workers to use public transit, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

The North County Transit District (NCTD) in San Diego, California, next month will enable positive train control (PTC) on all of its Coaster commuter trains.

The agency will implement the technology on the trains over several weeks in December.