Railroad News

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved moving the Durham-Orange light-rail project into the engineering phase of the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program.

The news means the $2.47 billion project is eligible for $1 billion in federal funds, according to a press release issued by GoTriangle, which oversees transit in Wake, Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) late last week launched a new workforce development program aimed at creating career opportunities in the transportation industry.

Known as Workforce Initiative Now-LA (WIN-LA), the program is designed to foster collaboration between Metro and institutions and organizations interested in helping job seekers, companies and local communities.

Early voting reports from local unions indicate that West Coast longshore workers at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington will approve a new bargaining agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), union officials announced late last week.

Tallies of the vote totals so far indicated that the contract extension will pass by 67 percent. The union's coast balloting committee will announced the official results on Aug. 4, according to a press release from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee late last week unanimously approved the $60 billion fiscal-year 2018 funding bill for transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies.

The proposal would continue providing federal funding for Amtrak's long-distance routes, as well as for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. In particular, the bill slots $1.6 for the national intercity passenger railroad, with $358.4 million dedicated for the Northeast Corridor and the remaining $1.24 billion for Amtrak's nationwide network.

Travis Kelly, 35

Job description: Kelly supports Texas Central’s local and state government relations, media relations, and digital and stakeholder outreach. The company is building a privately financed 240-mile high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies, Baylor University

Bombardier posted second-quarter revenue of $4.1 billion, down from $4.3 billion during the same period in 2016. The company's adjusted net income was $39 million versus an adjusted net loss of $83 million during the same period last year. The firm reported adjusted earnings per share of 2 cents versus a 6 cent adjusted loss per share in 2016. Bombardier Transportation — the company's rail segment — logged revenue of $1.98 billion compared with $1.96 billion. The news comes as the rail segment's "operational transformation and site specialization strategy" continues to gain traction, said Bombardier officials. The entire company is in the midst of executing a five-year plan to improve operating margins.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver has placed its second major contract for Protran Technology's Advance Warning and Collision Avoidance Systems. Protran's product portfolio includes the Protracker Train Device, which is mounted in the cab of a train or tied into the train's monitor. The train operator will receive audible and visual alerts of nearby personnel wearing the Protracker Personal Alert Device.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) on Tuesday unveiled a new website.

The site provides information on Canada's Class I, short line, intercity, commuter and tourist rail operators, as well as RAC's various services and initiatives.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released $14 million in funds from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program for the second phase of a rail improvement project in Springfield, Illinois.

The funds are from a TIGER grant to the city to construct new underpasses at Ash and Laurel streets as part of a project to improve rail and traffic safety, according to a press release issued by U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.).

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has chosen Arup to conduct a feasibility reassessment of a proposed commuter-rail connection between Boston's North and South stations.

Arup will evaluate design options and impacts of the project, as well as costs and benefits. The report is slated for completion in spring 2018, Arup officials said in a press release.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's (PANYNJ) cargo volumes set a record during the first six months of 2017, the authority announced this week.

Volumes through June 30 were 4.4 percent higher than during the same period in 2015, when the previous record of 3,093,789 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) was set, according to a PANYNJ press release.

GE Transportation intends to shift production of its diesel-electric locomotives and kits for international customers from the company's manufacturing plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, to its plant in Fort Worth, Texas, the company announced yesterday.

The proposed move is necessary to remain cost competitive across global markets, GE officials said in a prepared statement.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) board yesterday approved five-year contracts with all five of its transit labor unions.

The contracts provide average annual salary adjustments of 4.2 percent compounded annually for all five unions over the life of the agreements.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has expressed concern to CSX about "deteriorated service" as a result of the company's recent restructuring under new President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison.

In a letter sent to Harrison yesterday, the board said it has heard from CSX customers and industry stakeholders concerned about "increased transit times, unreliable switching operations, inefficient car routings, poor communications and coordination with CSX customer service, and acute disruption to customers' business operations," STB officials said in a press release.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., senior associate editor

Recruiting and retaining younger workers and developing them into future leaders was a frequent topic discussed at the 121st annual meeting of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents (AARS) earlier this week in St. Louis.

In the first half of 2017, TransLink's SkyTrain ridership soared nearly 12 percent to 74 million boardings compared to the same point last year.

Ridership across all the agency's transit modes grew 5.7 percent to 200 million boardings, TransLink officials said in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) has adopted the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to track reported crime on its system.

Under the new system, more types of reported offenses are captured, and all offenses associated with an incident are reported. The previous reporting system used a hierarchy to report only the most serious offense in an incident, TriMet officials said in a press release.

U.S. railroads' total carload traffic fell 2 percent to 256,863 units during the week ending July 22 compared with the same week in 2016, marking the first decline in carloads in several weeks, according to Association of American Railroads' (AAR) data.

U.S. intermodal volume rose 4.1 percent to 277,289 containers and trailers during the week compared with a year ago. Total U.S. weekly rail traffic increased 1.1 percent to
534,152 carloads and intermodal units compared with last year's weekly total.

Exhibit space for the Railway Interchange 2017 conference has sold out, event organizers announced this week.

The exhibition, the largest rail industry trade show in North America, will be held Sept. 17-19 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Technical and educational sessions will take place Sept. 18-20, according to a Railway Interchange 2017 press release.

Union Pacific Corp. announced yesterday that Bhavesh "Bob" Patel has been elected to the company's board.

Patel is chief executive officer and chairman of the management board of LyondellBasell Industries, one of the world's largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies.