Railroad News

The Canadian government this week filed a lawsuit against OmniTRAX Inc. for breach of contract in its failure to repair and resume operation of a portion of a rail line into Churchill, Manitoba.

The announcement followed OmniTRAX's announcement that it intends to ask for arbitration under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

MTA Metro-North Railroad has completed infrastructure repair work on its Port Jervis Line, the railroad announced earlier this week.

Crews made structural repairs at the Moodna and Woodbury viaducts, and removed a defunct overhead bridge at Day Road in Campbell Hall, New York.

The U.S. Senate's version of the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" would eliminate or alter tax code provisions in ways that would discourage investment in the nation's public transportation system, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Like the House's version, the Senate's tax legislation fails to address the challenges of the Highway Trust Fund's potential insolvency, APTA Acting President and Chief Executive Officer Richard White said in a prepared statement.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has added more officer patrols and increased the number of security guards on its system, the agency announced yesterday.

DART assigned additional police officers to the West End Station, CBD West Transfer Center and Rosa Parks Plaza, which are three of DART's busiest locations, agency officials said in a press release.

Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) last week offered a tour of its liquid natural gas (LNG) operations in Jacksonville, Florida, to U.S. and global representatives from a range of industries.

The tour was offered as part of the annual Natural Gas for High Horsepower summit, which was held in Jacksonville Nov. 6-9. The summit attracted participants from as far as Colombia, Japan, Korea and Canada, FEC officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) next month expects to take delivery of four new Orange Line cars manufactured by China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC).

Government officials in Canada and Quebec on Monday announced a nearly CA$30 million investment in 11 public transit projects in Montreal.

The projects include rail infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction work on the Reseau de transport metropolitain's (RTM) Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter-rail line. In addition, the funds will be used to establish a park-and-ride area at the Vaudreuil station and provide better information for RTM train and bus riders.

An Amtrak derailment that killed two track maintenance workers last year was caused by "deficient safety management" across the railroad, which resulted in a lack of a "clear, consistent and accepted vision for safety," the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday.

The derailment occurred April 3, 2016, in Chester, Pennsylvania, when an Amtrak train traveling from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., struck a backhoe, killing the backhoe operator and a track supervisor. Thirty-nine other people were injured.

Ballard Power Systems has signed a $9 million agreement to develop a zero-emission fuel cell engine to power Siemens' Mireo light-rail train. Terms call for Ballard to develop a 200-kilowatt fuel cell engine to power Mireo, which is a modular commuter train platform designed for speeds up to 100 mph. Initial deployments of the fuel cell-powered Mireo train are planned for 2021, Ballard officials said in a press release. The Ballard agreement marks a "decisive step towards replacing diesel-powered rail vehicles with emissions-free vehicles in the long-term interests of sustainable and climate-friendly mobility," added Sabrina Soussan, chief executive officer of Siemens' mobility division.

ALLU USA Inc. has chosen Sonoran Process Equipment Co. (SPEC) to serve as the southwestern U.S. distributor of its ALLU Transformer™ line of material processing attachments. SPEC will provide sales and rental of ALLU's screener crusher buckets and soil stabilizing equipment, as well as aftermarket service and spare parts for customers in Nevada and Utah.

The Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) advocacy group yesterday unveiled a prototype vehicle for a proposed 14-mile streetcar line connecting the two New York City boroughs.

The National Mediation Board (NMB) has named two new board members: Gerald Fauth III and Kyle Fortson.

Fauth, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Nov. 2, will succeed Harry Hoglander as the board's chairman. Hoglander left the board Nov. 9.

Port of Oakland's board last week gave initial approval to a landmark agreement with CenterPoint Properties to develop a $52 million logistics center on port property that once served as a U.S. Army base in Oakland, California.

The agreement calls for CenterPoint to construct and manage the 440,000-square-foot facility, which would be the first phase of a planned seaport logistics complex that could eventually encompass nearly 180 acres.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 757 late last week reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract.

The pact covers terms for the period between December 2016 and November 2019. The agreement includes a 3 percent wage increase retroactive to December 2016 and an additional 3.25 percent increase in December 2017.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has secured $382 million in federal loans to implement positive train control (PTC), the agency announced yesterday.

The federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) programs issued the loans under a combined commitment agreement — a first for the federal programs, MBTA officials said in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) later this month will hold three community meetings to share updates on the Cotton Belt commuter-rail project.

The events will feature presentations about the project, which calls for establishing passenger-rail service on the 26-miles Cotton Belt Corridor between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Plano, Texas.

The first five of San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) latest generation light-rail vehicles have been cleared for passenger service, the agency announced last week.