Railroad News

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has released the draft environmental impact statement and environmental impact report for the proposed East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor.

The documents examine two bus rapid transit routes and two rail routes for the 9.2-mile corridor. Each alternative runs north from the Orange Line bus rapid transit route in Los Angeles' Van Nuys neighborhood to Metrolink's Sylmar/San Fernando Station.

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) yesterday visited Press-Seal Corp. in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to discuss public policy priorities for the rail and business communities.

During his visit, Banks toured Press-Seal's plant to learn about the company's freight-rail and transit products. The Railway Engineering-Maintenance and Suppliers Association (REMSA) — of which Press-Seal is a member — coordinated the event.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) has installed countdown clocks at all stations on the E and G rail lines to provide real-time arrival information.

The agency is using so-called "beacon technology" to power the clocks. The technology involves putting four low-energy Bluetooth beacons on each trainset and two receivers on each platform. LCD display screens at the stations then use that technology to provide real-time arrival information, NYCT officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit on Sept. 25 will add two new round-trip trains on the Sounder South Line service between Seattle and Lakewood, Washington.

The extra trains will bring the total number of daily round trips on the South Line to 13. The added service will help boost capacity and frequency during peak times, agency officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has completed its summer infrastructure renewal project at Penn Station, which will allow for normal schedules to return to the New York City station on Sept. 5, the railroad announced yesterday.

Amtrak engineering forces completed the two-month project a day early.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday issued safety recommendations that call for crash-resistant inward- and outward-facing cameras to be installed in all transit agency trains.

Issued to the Federal Transit Administration and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the recommendations call for recorders with a minimum 12-hour continuous recording capability that can verify crew actions and train operating conditions, NTSB officials said in a press release.

Freight and passenger railroads in the Houston area have begun restoring service in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

BNSF Railway Co. announced yesterday that service has resumed on its Houston Subdivision, as well as on a greater portion of its Galveston Subdivision.

Siemens and the International Society of Automation have partnered to raise awareness about industrial security needs and global standards. Both parties will share expertise in protecting the automation environment based on IEC 62443 cybersecurity standard. They'll also provide educational material and host events and webinars to boost cybersecurity awareness among owner-operators of industrial equipment, Siemens officials said in a press release. Recent global ransomware attacks have demonstrated the possible impacts of cybersecurity vulnerability, they added.

Americold broke ground on a 15.5-million-cubic-foot automated facility at its Rochelle, Illinois, campus. Expected to open in December 2018, the addition will increase automation capabilities, boost available capacity for the company's Chicago-area customers and provide an additional 57,600 pallet positions. Americold's Rochelle campus now is home to two conventional warehouse facilities. The company provides temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics services.

Metro Transit-St. Louis on Sept. 5 will ban smoking on all its properties.

Smoking already is prohibited on the agency's vehicles and on MetroLink light-rail station platforms. However, the new ban extends to all transit center locations, including parking lots and indoor and outdoor waiting areas.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is working with Masabi Ltd. to a provide mobile ticketing app for the agency's new commuter-rail service.

Available on the Google Play and Apple App store, Masabi's "SMART eTickets" app enables riders to buy tickets and plan trips. The technology also integrated with the "Transit" app, which provides real-time departure information and service-distruption notifications.

U.S. railroads moved 551,776 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Aug. 26, a 2.3 percent increase compared with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday.

U.S. roads posted 272,153 carloads, up 1 percent compared with the same week in 2016, and 279,623 containers and trailers, up 3.6 percent versus a year ago, according to an AAR press release.

Union Pacific Railroad announced its second-quarter progress in implementing positive train control (PTC) on its network.

The Class I's efforts during the quarter included preparing 27 additional track segments for PTC operations, bringing the total track segments to 104, or 56 percent completed. Those 27 segments are equipped with wayside devices and have defined GPS coordinates, which identify thousands of precise locations for systemwide PTC coordination, UP officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit has issued body cameras for every member of its 263-member police force.

The cameras are aimed at providing additional transparency when officers interact with the public, NJ Transit spokeswoman Lisa Torbic said in an email.

Union Pacific Railroad is using helicopters and drones to inspect by air its track, bridges and signals in areas east and west of Houston where road access is unavailable due to flooding and storm damage from Hurricane Harvey.

As weather and access to storm-damaged areas allow, UP is inspecting and repairing track, bridges and signals to return rail service as quickly as possible, the railroad said in yesterday's customer notice. As of yesterday, the majority of of areas east of Houston were still inaccessible.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Nancy Miller to serve on the California High Speed Rail Authority's (CHSRA) board.

Miller serves as senior counsel for Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP.

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is increasing light-rail, bus and ferry fares by 25 cents starting Oct. 1.

The cost of one-way fares on each mode of transit will rise from $1.75 to $2. The change is the second phase of a planned fare increase for the system; the first phase took place in October 2014, when one-way fares rose from $1.50 to $1.75.