Railroad News

OmniTRAX Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Shuba has accepted a new role with the company's parent, The Broe Group.

Shuba has been OmniTRAX's CEO since 2013. After overseeing record-setting growth there, he will lead the development of a company-wide portfolio growth plan for The Broe Group, OmniTRAX officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday published a final rule that lays out the metrics and a minimum standard to measure service quality performance on Amtrak operations.

The metrics relate to on-time performance, train delays, customer service, financial and public benefits. The final rule requires Amtrak and its host railroads to certify Amtrak schedules, and sets an on-time performance minimum standard of 80% for any two consecutive calendar quarters. Other metrics defined by the rule address ridership, train delays, station performance and host running time.

Trinity Metro last week selected AECOM to conduct an environmental assessment and preliminary engineering work for the 2.1-mile TEXRail commuter-rail extension in Fort Worth, Texas.

Trinity Metro plans to extend the commuter-rail line south from downtown Fort Worth to a proposed station south of Mistletoe Boulevard in the Forth Worth Medical District. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) later this month will speed up major capital work on the Blue Line in Virginia, WMATA announced last week.

During construction — which will occur over 10 weekends beginning Nov. 27 and ending March 14, 2021 — WMATA crews will replace all major signal system components in the Alexandria Rail Yard, which connects to the Blue Line. Those components include switches, signals, track circuits and signal control rooms. 

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) board late last week elected Victoria Sheehan to serve as president and Shawn Wilson to serve as vice president for the 2020-2021 term.

Sheehan, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT), is the second woman to serve as AASHTO president in the association's 106-year history. Wilson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, is the first Black person to serve as vice president, AASHTO officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) board last week extended General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Parker's contract through June 2026.

Parker took the post in March 2018 with a contract set to expire in 2023.

Progress Rail will supply its new EMD® Joule battery electric locomotive for a demonstration project operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach under a new agreement with Pacific Harbor Line (PHL).

The new six-axle locomotive features the latest lithium-ion battery technology and battery management system, alongside AC traction and state-of-the-art electronics, Progress Rail officials said in a press release.

Metra’s board last week approved a $700 million operating budget and a $386.8 million capital spending plan for 2021. 

The operating budget assumes that the Chicago commuter railroad’s ridership will end 2020 at about 20% of its pre-COVID-19 levels and increase to 50% by the end of 2021. 

The San Angelo Development Corp. of San Angelo, Texas, has entered into a partnership with South Plains Lamesa Railroad Ltd. (SPLRR) for the development of a multicommodity rail port, through which bulk freight imports and exports will be delivered to the United States and Mexico.

The facility will be located on a 180-tract east of Schwertner Road between FM 2105 and 50th Street. It will connect to the Texas Pacifico Transportation Ltd. (TXPF) branch of the South Orient Rail Line, the portion of railroad that spans from Presidio, Mexico, up to San Angelo Junction in Texas' Coleman County.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) honored the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) with its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 14th consecutive year.

GFOA established the awards program to encourage state and local governments to prepare high quality budget documents that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA's best practices on budgeting.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) yesterday published an action plan for implementing rider recommendations into the agency’s Blue Line extension project, which would extend Montreal’s metro 3.6 miles northeast from Saint-Michel Station.

Following an analysis of recommendations and discussions earlier this year, STM prepared an action plan to address some of the main suggestions. They include plans for: 

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on Nov. 15 will begin replacing its overnight weekend rail service on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines with bus service to enable staff time to clean rail stations.

During the switch from rail to buses, full weekend overnight service will still be provided. SEPTA also increased the frequency of its bus routes and make stops at all stations along both rail lines. 

The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) today launched is first online program for hazardous materials training with five educational videos that provide an overview of hazardous materials regulations.

Dubbed "Fast Class," the videos range in length from four to seven minutes of viewing. The video library is an extension of the SLSI's hazardous materials training program offered at no cost to short lines, institute officials said in a press release.

The North County Transit District (NCTD) yesterday released a study outlining its plan to expand passenger- and freight-rail services along the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor in California.

The "San Diego Pathing Study" final report consolidates passenger- and freight-rail service needs into one operating plan. It helps identify and prioritize specific infrastructure improvements that would increase service capacity in the near-, mid- and long-term future, NCTD officials said in a press release. 

A&R Logistics Inc. yesterday officially opened its new export facility at the West Branch Commerce Park in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

Designated as a CSX Select Site, the 615,000-square-foot facility was developed in cooperation with the South Carolina Ports Authority and the state. A&R will use the facility to prepare for exporting and importing plastic resin and other products for large chemical companies.

Based on third-quarter reports, the commuter-rail industry is on track to complete full implementation of positive train control (PTC) by the federal government's Dec. 31 deadline, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced this week.

As of Sept. 30, 100 percent of commuter railroads are PTC certified by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) or are awaiting approval on submitted PTC safety plans, APTA officials said in a press release.

The Association Francaise de Normalisation certified Alstom’s training center in France with the Qualiopi certification, making Alstom the first in the rail sector to obtain the designation. The Qualiopi certification confirms the center is complying with professional training requirements, Alstom officials said in a press release. The center covers 40 training courses, including product training, special process training, and quality and safety training.

Huber+Suhner updated the range of its Sencity® Rail antennas to receive signals from the BeiDou, Galileo, GPS and GLONASS satellite systems. The update enables higher location accuracy for railway operators, offering improved safety and better operational, Huber+Suhner officials said in a press release.

The Ontario government earlier this week officially reopened the Cooksville GO Transit rail station in Mississauga after completing renovations earlier this fall.

The new GO Transit station building was redeveloped and now includes upgraded pedestrian tunnels to rail platforms, an east pavilion and an integrated six-level parking structure.