Railroad News

State and local leaders last week broke ground on a project to improve and expand rail service to the Port of West Memphis, Arkansas.

The project includes construction of a new facility that will allow various commodities to be transferred between road and rail at the port's International Rail Port Logistics Park, West Memphis officials said in a press release.

At a congressional hearing yesterday, Sound Transit Chief Executive Officer Peter Rogoff called on lawmakers to continue providing federal funding for transit agencies.

Testifying before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Rogoff said he was encouraged by President Donald Trump's stated goal to rebuild U.S. infrastructure. However, Rogoff said he's disappointed by the administration's fiscal-year 2018 budget proposal that would undermine those goals.

U.S. railroads posted a 6.3 percent increase in carload and intermodal traffic for the week ending Oct. 7 compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Total carloads for the week rose 2 percent to 269,336 units, while intermodal volume soared 10.8 percent to 285,490 containers and trailers compared with last year's data, according to an AAR press release.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved Minnesota's state rail-safety oversight (SSO) program — making it the second state to achieve such certification, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced yesterday.

Federal law requires states with transit-rail systems to establish an FTA-certified SSO program by April 15, 2019. If they fail to meet the deadline, states risk losing federal funding for transportation agencies until certification is achieved, FTA officials said in a press release.

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For Lisa Stabler, being career driven and family oriented aren't mutually exclusive.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has installed 11 new mobile device charging kiosks at six of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson's (PATH) busiest stations.

Three kiosks are located at PATH's Newark Penn Station facility, while the remainder are spread between the Journal Square, Hoboken, 33rd Street, Exchange Place and Newport stations.

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday began a series of public hearings on a draft environmental report for a proposed higher-speed rail line between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia.

Released last month, the draft report recommends infrastructure improvements that would allow for nine additional daily passenger-rail trips between the two cities.

Fly-ash supplier Charah LLC has opened a storage rail terminal in partnership with OmniTRAX Inc. in Kelim, Colorado.  

The new terminal is part of Charah's expanding network of sourcing locations across the county, which supply Class C and Class F fly ash for concrete producers.

California Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday signed into law a bill that enables Caltrain's board to ask voters to approve a sales tax measure that would increase the commuter-rail agency's funding.

Authored by California State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), the law gives the board the authority to place a sales tax of no more than one-eighth of a cent before voters in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday formally presented its 2017 awards during its annual meeting in Atlanta.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) won the association's 2017 outstanding public transportation achievement award. The third-largest public transit system in North America, the TTC moves 1.8 million customers each day on its bus, streetcar, light-rail, subway and paratransit systems.

Ranking Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee yesterday called on U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to take immediate action on a stalled rule-making that would add four prescription opioids to the drug-testing protocols of train operators and other safety-sensitive transportation workers.

The Democrats' request follows news that two Amtrak maintenance crew members were using opioids or cocaine when they were struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Chester, Pennsylvania, in April 2016.

GE Transportation Chief Executive Officer Jamie Miller has been appointed chief financial officer of GE, effective Nov. 1. She'll replace Jeffrey Bornstein, who will leave GE on Dec. 31 after 28 years of service. In October 2015, Miller became president and CEO of GE Transportation. She's credited with helping lead GE Transportation's "Brilliant Factory" initiative, the business's digital transformation effort. Miller also helped open global markets around the world, GE officials said in a press release. She joined GE in 2008 as vice president, controller and chief accounting officer. Pascal Schweitzer, GE Transportation's global services leader, will serve as acting CEO. A permanent CEO will be named in the coming weeks, company officials said.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) has chosen Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) to provide railroad engineering services for rail projects over the next three years. DCTA operates the 21-mile A-train commuter-rail line, which connects with Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Green Line in Carrollton, Texas. LAN will handle projects aimed at improving the existing transit network, such as A-train expansions to the Cotton Belt and North Denton regions. LAN's services will include rail system guideway design, signal system design, rail bridge engineering and inspection, station design, schedule modeling and emergency railroad engineering. The firm also will evaluate future rail expansions to other corridors.

Amtrak late last week opened a new $44.3 million intermodal station in Rochester, New York.

The station is designed to speed up travel with expanded track service, streamline operations with a modern concourse and baggage handling system.

A $67 million grade separation project in Bensenville, Illinois, has been completed as part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced last week.

The project involved an intersection improvement at Irving Park Road (Illinois Highway 19) and York Road, an effort that followed a railroad overpass companion project built on Irving Park Road, department officials said in a press release.

President Donald Trump has nominated former U.S. Rep. Leon "Lynn" Westmoreland of Georgia to serve a five-year term on Amtrak's board. 

A Republican, Westmoreland served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years. He completed that service in January.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday kicked off its EXPO trade show in Atlanta.

APTA officials say 12,000 public transit leaders from more than 75 countries are attending the show, which they've described as the world's largest showcase for the public transportation industry.

Union Pacific Railroad late last week announced appointments to its finance department, as well as the retirement of Vice President and Treasurer Mary Jones and Vice President-Tax Pat O'Malley.

The Class I has named Jon Panzer vice president and treasurer; Jennifer Hamann vice president-planning and analysis; and Bryan Clark, vice president-tax, according to a UP press release.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority's (CHRSA) staff has recommended that DB Engineering and Consulting USA serve as an early train operator for the agency's Central Valley-to-Silicon Valley segment.

The firm's parent is Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany's state-owned rail company. As early train operator, DB Engineering and Consulting would help design and operate the segment in its beginning phases.