Railroad News

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau last week authorized the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) to deploy an interoperable positive train control (PTC) system on its rail lines serving California’s Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Under a license modification, the FCC granted SCRRA permanent authority to operate 17 PTC wireless radio base stations, 546 PTC wireless radio wayside stations, and related mobile locomotive stations.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has recognized Meaghan Atkinson of CSX with the 2020 Professional Environmental Excellence Award.

As manager of environmental programs at CSX, Atkinson leads the railroad's effort to implement some of the most ambitious greenhouse gas targets in the transportation sector, AAR officials said in a press release. Those targets call for reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 37.3% per million gross ton-miles by 2029 from a 2014 base year.

Indiana officials yesterday signed a full funding grant agreement between the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Northern Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) that finalizes federal funding for a project to expand the South Shore Line commuter-rail service from the West Lake Corridor to Chicago.

The $354.6 million grant, provided through the FTA Capital Investment Grant program, will help fund a project that will "better connect northern Indiana residents to jobs, education and critical services," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release issued by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb's office.

As has been the case in recent weeks, intermodal volume gains helped lift traffic totals for U.S. freight railroads during the week ending Oct. 24 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads logged 522,653 carloads and intermodal units, a 1.9% percent increase compared with the same week in 2019. Total carloads for the week were 227,543 units, down 6.5%, while intermodal volume was 295,110 containers and trailers, up 9.4%.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced $291 million in Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program grants has been awarded for 11 intercity passenger-rail projects in nine states.

The grants will help fund upgrades in rail infrastructure and enhance railroad safety and reliability, Chao said in a press release. Of the funding total, $198 million was made available from the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 and $93,422,706 in remaining funds were made available through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019.

The North County Transit District (NCTD) ordered two additional Siemens Charger locomotives, for a total order of nine units. The new order will complete NCTD’s efforts to replace and convert its existing Coaster locomotive fleet to more efficient, lower-emission vehicles, NCTD officials said in a press release.  The new locomotives will expand the agency’s fleet size and enable NCTD to nearly double Coaster service frequency in San Diego County.

Trinity Industries Inc. reported third-quarter revenue of $459 million, down from $813.6 million in Q3 2019. Trinity attributed the decrease to lower deliveries and fewer rail cars sold from its lease fleet, according to Trinity’s financial report. Quarterly income from continuing operations was 21 cents per common diluted share. “Rail car loadings rebounded during the third quarter from the historical declines earlier in the year resulting from economic shutdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak,” Trinity officials said in a press release. “However, market uncertainty continues to cloud demand for rail cars as much of the economy remains under pressure.”

Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week voted to formalize and continue its BART police ambassador program, which deploys unarmed uniformed personnel to provide security on its rail system and perform a variety of police services. 

The police ambassadors now will be part of BART’s Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau. 

The Transportation Institute at the University of Denver (DTI) has named David Fisher as executive director. 

Fisher has more than 30 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics industry. Previously, he's held roles at Johns-Manville, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Danzas Corp. and others, DTI officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced it will begin a new COVID-19 screening program for its front-line employees in New York City. 

The MTA will offer free, voluntary COVID-19 testing to front-line New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad employees through November, MTA officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit yesterday named David Wright II as the agency’s first chief safety officer. 

The position was created earlier this year when Sound Transit implemented a new organizational structure that separated the safety and quality assurance departments, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

U.S. Department of Transportation State of Good Repair Program grants were announced yesterday to help pay for projects in Connecticut, New Jersey and California.

In Connecticut, about $145 million was awarded to help fund the replacement of the Walk Bridge in Norwalk and the Connecticut River Bridge between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook.

Norfolk Southern Railway today reported third-quarter 2020 net income of $569 million and diluted earnings per share of $2.22, compared with net income of $657 million and diluted earnings per share of $2.49 in the same quarter a year ago.

This year's Q3 results included a previously announced $99 million non-cash impairment charge. Excluding the charge, adjusted Q3 net income was $643 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.51, NS officials said in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) this fall began a two-year project to create and test solutions that will connect riders with transportation options that best fit their needs.

TriMet’s project will address expanding access and improving the function of contactless bank or payment cards, as well as virtual Hop Fastpass® cards. 

New Jersey Transit last week announced a plan to advance the agency’s NJ Transitgrid project to construct an electrical microgrid capable of supplying reliable power during storms or when the centralized power grid is compromised. 

NJ Transit's board approved up to $3 million in stipends to qualified project bidders, and committed to hiring a renewable energy consultant to assist in the project’s multistep design and feasibility process.

The next phase of a $109 million, berth reconstruction project at the Jacksonville Port Authority's (Jaxport) Blount Island Terminal in Florida is set to be completed in December, port officials announced yesterday.

Contractors are making "significant progress" on the project's latest phase to make berth enhancements at the existing SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island, Jaxport officials said in a press release. An additional 700 linear feet of newly rebuilt deepwater berthing space is set to be completed in December, while another 700 linear feet is expected to be finished by the end of 2021.

The Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) board last week approved CA$550 million for new fleet vehicles and transit system upgrades. 

TTC will use the funds to purchase 13 streetcars and start the process to purchase 80 subway trains for the TTC subway Lines 1 and 2. 

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco last week unveiled its seven-point plan to reduce costs annually to address anticipated short-term and long-term operating budget deficits created by reduced ridership and revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of mid-October, BART ridership hovered at 13% of pre-COVID levels. It might not exceed 40% by the end of fiscal-year 2021, agency officials said in a press release. About 70% of BART’s operating revenue comes from fares. Its current fiscal year funding gap is $33 million, BART officials said in a press release.

The Ports of Indiana has received a $4 million federal grant to convert a vacant gravel yard into a multimodal storage facility at Burns Harbor.

The grant will fund construction of an 84,000-square-foot warehouse on a 1.64-acre storage pad in the east harbor arm. Public bidding for the project is tentatively set for first-quarter 2022, with construction slated for spring 2022, port officials said in a press release.

New York City, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, officials last week filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its new policy of withholding federal funds from cities it claims to be "anarchist jurisdictions."

The three cities — which the Trump administration has determined are local governments that permit "anarchy, violence and destruction" — say the policy is an "unconstitutional scheme to strip the cities of federal funding."