Railroad News

U.S. short lines operated a full year without experiencing a fatality, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced yesterday.

The achievement is a milestone for the industry and its 603 short lines, which focus on making every day a safe one, said ASLRRA President Linda Bauer Darr.

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

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) this weekend will halt service between the Patchogue and Montauk stations to continue modernizing its signal system.

Between Nov. 10 and Nov. 13, crews will install a high-capacity electric signal system along that segment of LIRR's Montauk Branch.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) has logged its strongest October on record, handling 184,804 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) for the month.

The volume represented a 10 percent increase from October 2016. The authority observed growth across several segments, with particular strength in export loaded containers, said SCPA President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome in a press release.

Tom Lambert will serve at least two more years as president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO), the agency announced yesterday.

METRO's board approved a new contract for Lambert that went into effect Nov. 1.

The boards of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last week agreed to follow a new plan to reduce air pollution.

The 2017 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) will usher in a new era of aggressive clean air strategies for moving cargo through the port complex, port and local government officials said in a joint press release.

Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. has named several new appointments as a result of the company's succession plan.

Al Satunas has been promoted to chief operating officer. He will report to Joe Parsons, who recently was named the railroad's new general manager.

Canadian Pacific has awarded ENSCO Rail a contract to provide inspection systems for the railroad's new track evaluation car. The unit will be equipped with track measurement and imaging system technology to provide key indicators of track quality and safety, ENSCO officials said in a press release. Specifically, the onboard technology installed on the new CP car will include a track geometry system, rail profile measurement system, track component imaging system and other systems. Together, the systems are expected to provide the data needed to help improve track maintenance and reduce operating costs, ENSCO officials said.

Miller Ingenuity has entered an agreement to install its ZoneGuard electronic roadway worker protection system on the Maryland Transit Administration's light-rail lines. The system provides a "robust communication network" that's triggered when a track vehicle approaches an on-track worker or work crew, Miller Ingenuity officials said in a press release. In addition, the train detection and communication network architecture is designed to eliminate costly false alerts found on similar systems. ZoneGuard also can be outfitted with wearable devices that provide equipped workers with an alert of an impending train.

Caltrain's board late last week adopted a new bicycle parking management plan aimed at enabling the railroad to more effectively manage the growing number of bike riders using the system.

Under the plan, Caltrain will increase bike parking capacity at stations along the corridor. The improvements will include secure, low-cost parking options, such as electronic bike lockers.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has scheduled two open houses to gather input on its latest energy action plan.

The first meeting will take place today, while the other is scheduled for Nov. 21. The plan outlines strategies for reducing SEPTA's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Highways and Transit Subcommittee are calling for further oversight of a federal competitive grant program after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found a lack of transparency in projects chosen to receive grants.

The GAO report focused on the selection of projects under the Nationally Significant Freight and Highways Projects (NSFHP) competitive grant program, created under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act in 2015.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has invested more than $101 million since winter 2015 in capital improvement projects aimed at making the transit system more resilient in severe weather.

The investments followed severe service disruptions in February 2015 that hampered the MBTA's commuter-rail operations and left passengers stranded.

The House tax bill's failure to address long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is a "glaring omission" in efforts to reform the nation's tax code, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) officials told members of Congress last week.

In a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, APTA Acting President and Chief Executive Officer Ricard White wrote that the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) neglects to include a long-term solution to the trust fund's solvency.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County has implemented a real-time tracking system for light-rail service, the agency announced last week.

The so-called "TrueTime" system enables riders to track the status and location of light-rail trains. Passengers can access the information on a separate website.