Railroad News

CN's Wisconsin Central Ltd. cannot unilaterally designate the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago's (BRC) Clearing Yard as the location where it will receive traffic in interchange with Canadian Pacific's Soo Line Railroad Co., the Surface Transportation Board ruled last week.

In April, CN/Wisconsin Central petitioned the STB for a declaratory order on a long-running disagreement with CP/Soo Line concerning interchange operations in the Chicago area. CN asked the board to determine whether CN had the right to designate the Clearing Yard, which BRC owns, as the point where the railroads may interchange and who should pay for the interchange costs.

Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Rail STS SpA and Mitsubishi Corp. have signed an $883 million contract with HPH Consortium, the prime contractor for Panama Metro’s Line 3 in Panama City. Under the contract, Hitachi and Hitachi Rail will provide 28 six-car vehicles (168 cars), the signaling systems, telecommunication systems, power systems, control center, platform screen doors and depot equipment for the monorail. Mitsubishi will manage the project's administration. Line 3 is a 15.5-mile, elevated double-track system that will cross over the Panama Canal. It will include 14 stations and open in 2025, Hitachi officials said in a press release.

Hatch completed its merger with LTK. The integration of Hatch and LTK will allow Hatch to broaden its U.S. capabilities and deliver solutions to clients globally, Hatch officials said in a press release. LTK’s focus on rail and rail systems combined with Hatch’s integrated, multidisciplinary transportation expertise will provide clients with comprehensive options across the entire supply chain and lifecycle of their operations, officials said. AEC Advisors initiated the merger transaction and served as the financial advisor to Hatch.

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, SunRail’s advisory board, last week voted to begin work to extend the commuter-rail system 12 miles into DeLand in Volusia County, Florida.

The vote passed narrowly by 3-2, with some officials saying the $100 million project wouldn’t payoff and that it would put a burden on county taxpayers, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) last week released its Watchlist 2020 list of eight key safety risks that require government or industry attention, including the risk of unplanned or uncontrolled movements of railway equipment.

The list is compiled as a result of hundreds of investigations, compelling findings, data and active TSB recommendations, board officials said in a press release. The list evolves each year, with the TSB removing some risks and adding new ones as they arise.

As of Oct. 30, CN was on track to exceed the 3 million metric tons (MMT) mark of Canadian grain hauled during October, which would break the Class I's previous record of 2.88 MMT moved in October 2019.

The "unprecedented" Canadian grain haul follows seven record months of performance from March through September, CN officials said last week in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) President and Executive Director Gary Thomas last week announced his intention to retire after serving as the agency's leader for nearly 20 years. 

DART’s board will initiate a search for Thomas’ successor.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has endorsed the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) recent changes to the federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Funding (RRIF) Express program, saying the reforms will make it easier for short lines to access government loans to help fund infrastructure upgrades.

Changes to the RRIF Express program — unveiled as RRIF Express 2.0 — include extending the filing time for applications; increasing the size of eligible loans to $150 million; expanding the scope of eligible projects to include nearly everything under the traditional program; increasing the option for a loan used for refinancing to up to 75 percent; and increasing the potential amount of Credit Risk Premium subsidy to a maximum of 10% of loan size.

Texan by Nature named Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) an honoree of the second annual TxN 20, a ranking of Texas companies that have demonstrated a commitment to conservation.

The second annual TxN 20 recognizes 20 Texas-based businesses and operations across 12 industries that are forging new, beneficial paths in conservation, DART officials said in a press release.

The Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners this week introduced Stephen Edwards as the next leader of the Port of Virginia.

Edwards succeeds John Reinhart as chief executive officer and executive director on Jan. 19, 2021. In May, Reinhart announced plans to retire.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) moved 2,016,797 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the third quarter, a 2.5% increase from the same period last year.

In September, the port logged 720,969 TEUs, a 15.4% year over year increase.

The Reading & Northern Railroad announced yesterday that it delivered the the first rail cars to IRIS USA Inc., the regional's newest customer in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. 

The industrial park is the Japan-based plastics producer's first location on the U.S. East Coast. The railroad helped IRIS locate at the site starting in March 2017, Reading & Northern officials said in a press release. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday formally launched a new initiative that will allow subway riders to communicate with New York City Transit (NYCT) representatives in real time using the messaging platform WhatsApp. 

WhatsApp will expand the number of customer service channels available to the system's riders, and is expected to improve NYCT’s communication with riders who don't speak English, MTA officials said in a press release.

Wabtec Corp. appointed Nicole Theophilus as executive vice president and chief human resources officer. She will be responsible for leading Wabtec’s global human resources organization. Theophilus succeeds Scott Wahlstrom, who will retire after nearly 30 years at Wabtec. Meanwhile, the company released its 2020 Sustainability Report, which highlights recent efforts to develop the FLXdrive™ battery electric locomotive. The locomotive includes 20,000 battery cells that can reduce train fuel usage and emissions by 10% to 30%. The report also cites the installation of the Trip Optimizer™ cruise control system on 11,000 locomotives that helped save 400 million gallons of fuel.

Stadler US Inc. awarded Astronics Test Systems (ATS) an approximately $30 million contract to develop and supply consolidated test systems to Stadler US Inc. ATS will work collaboratively with Stadler and its major systems suppliers to design and deploy automatic testers and diagnostics that ensure passenger safety by verifying that critical rail-car systems remain in a state of good repair. ATS will supply post-delivery maintenance support equipment for metro cars being delivered by Stadler to the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). The cars are scheduled to be delivered to MARTA starting in 2024. 

Brightline Holdings, the developer of the proposed high-speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas, has launched a new website with details on the project's construction. 

The site reports that early works construction on "Brightline West" is expected to break ground late this year on the High Desert segment, which will connect Victor Valley and Las Vegas. 

The New Jersey Transit Police Department yesterday announced it will expand its community outreach unit from two to five officers.

The community outreach unit is a community-based policing approach that helps bridge the gap between law enforcement and social services to improve the health and well-being of those in need who frequent mass transit facilities, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) yesterday announced it has completed construction of the Poso Creek Viaduct in Kern County, the first completed structure in the 22-mile segment of high-speed rail from the Tulare-Kern county line to Poplar Avenue in Kern County. 

The more than 240-foot-long viaduct, which will allow high-speed trains to cross over Poso Creek, is the fourth high-speed rail structure completed in California’s Central Valley since August.