Railroad News

Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. (IAIS) Vice Chairman Dennis "Denny" Miller announced he will retire Sept. 30, after serving the railroad industry for 47 years.

Miller held various positions during his years at IAIS, including vice president of customer services, VP of operations, executive VP-chief executive officer, president and, most recently, vice chairman, IAIS officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight railroads hauled 521,956 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Sept. 19, a 1.3 percent decrease compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads moved fewer carloads during the week — 226,687 units, down 9.6 percent versus the same week in 2019. However, they posted an increase in intermodal volume, which rose 6.3 percent to 295,269 containers and trailers.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday released its full list of 50 projects in 29 states granted funding under the fiscal-year 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. 

The $320.6 million worth of projects selected include a wide variety of railroad investments that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of freight and intercity passenger service, FRA officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) earlier this week partnered with social network Nextdoor to share agency construction updates, major service issues and other announcements to residents near MARTA service lines and stations.

Nextdoor is social network for neighborhoods where users verify their residence and communicate privately and exclusively with other residents in their neighborhood. The site has users in nearly 2,5000 neighborhoods in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties and Atlanta. 

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday announced the winners of the 2020 Bus and Rail Safety and Security Excellence Awards, which recognize “innovative and proactive” safety and security programs. 

“These awards help to build the industry by benchmarking successful programs so other systems can implement and fine-tune their programs based on the findings of their peers,” APTA officials said in a press release.

Class Is employed 117,764 workers in mid-August, up 0.46 percent from July's employment level but down 15.45 percent year over year, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

Five of six employment categories logged decreases from mid-July to mid-August. They were: maintenance of equipment and stores, down 1.97 percent to 19,165 employees; maintenance of way and structures, down 1.66 percent to 29,433; executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.4 percent to 7,491; professionals and administrative, down 0.27 percent to 10,353; and transportation (other than train and engine), down 0.12 percent to 5,069.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) last week identified four rail station access improvement projects to receive a combined total of $3.5 million in Measure RR funding.

The projects are part of the agency’s Safe Routes to BART program, which focuses on improving bike and pedestrian connections to BART stations. Grants include:

Ten Massachusetts lawmakers are calling on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to purchase Pan Am Railways' assets and freight rights along the Route 2 Rail Corridor to secure the area for future passenger-rail service.

In a letter to MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack, the lawmakers noted that under Massachusetts law, the state has the first right of refusal in the sale of any railroad right of way or related facilities within the state. The lawmakers encouraged Pollack to take action in relation to the potential sale of Pan Am Railways.

A protestors' blockade has obstructed rail tracks between Caltzontzin and La Vinata, Mexico, which has affected Kansas City Southern de Mexico's rail traffic for the past three weeks, MexicoNewsDaily.com reported.

More than 70 teachers and teachers in training have been blocking the tracks in Michoacan, Mexico, halting the movement of freight to and from the Port of Lazaro Cardenas. The KCSM traffic mainly consists of steel, petroleum and automotive products, the news site reported.

Senators and congressmen from four states this week announced the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded millions of dollars in fiscal-year 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants to railroads in their states.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) announced in a press release a $13.67 million CRISI grant was issued to a project to install over 70 miles of rail and other infrastructure upgrades on the Buckingham Branch Railroad North Mountain Subdivision line between Charlottesville and Clifton Forge, Virginia.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) partnered with Mobilitie to create a new digital network that provides BART riders with 5G wireless connectivity. Mobilitie will install an underground wireless system in rail tunnels in San Francisco, add wayside wireless communications and small cells along the rail line, enable Wi-Fi connectivity across stations and trains, and deploy a fiber plant installed along the entire rail right-of-way. BART is expected to bring connectivity to its entire fleet by 2023, Mobilitie officials said in a press release.

The Webuild Group and its U.S. subsidiary and joint-venture partner Lane Construction are a step closer to starting work on a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston now that the Federal Railroad Administration issued a Rule of Particular Applicability and a Record of Decision to Texas Central Railroad LLC. The two decisions are a crucial milestone for the start of work on the $20 billion project.

Sound Transit on Sept. 18 marked the 20-year anniversary of its Sounder commuter-rail service in Seattle. 

Sounder began operating two south line round-trip trains in 2000, with stops in Tacoma, Sumner, Auburn and Seattle. Service to Puyallup and Kent was added in February 2001, to Tukwila a month later, and to South Tacoma and Lakewood in 2012. North line service to Edmonds and Everett began in 2003 and to Mukilteo in 2008.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) on Oct. 4 will recall 132 additional train and bus operators of the 450 employees laid off in April as part of the agency's efforts to reduce costs as it faces revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The 132 employees being recalled are in addition to the 150 operators that returned to work earlier this month to provide service as ridership rebounds and students go back to school.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) later today is hosting a virtual meeting and public forum to gather input on the agency’s strategic plan to manage and help its stakeholders improve the movement of goods through railways, ports, airports and freeways in Los Angeles County. 

Los Angeles County is one of the nation’s top gateways for both domestic and international trade, handling over 30 percent of the nation’s containerized trade volume, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $47.6 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant to help the North Carolina Department of Transportation purchase and preserve the rail corridor between Raleigh and Ridgeway for future passenger service.

The 10-mile section of rail line serves as a "missing link" to the Southeast Corridor, said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in a press release issued by the office of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The grant will be used to purchase the inactive freight-rail line from CSX.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Foye last week sent letters to the New York authority's 11 largest suppliers, warning that without an immediate injection of $12 billion in federal aid all current and future contracts with companies that have U.S. operations are in jeopardy.

The letters come as the agency — which operates New York City's subway, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad — faces a crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the MTA is experiencing $200 million in revenue losses every week — an unprecedented crisis that eclipses the Great Depression's impact on ridership and finances, MTA officials said in a press release.