Railroad News

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) last week launched a first- and last-mile solution to improve connections between the TRAX light-rail and FrontRunner commuter-rail system.

UTA on Demand by Via will offer riders in southern Salt Lake County an on-demand ride service that can be booked through the Via mobile application. The service area included in the program includes seven rail stations.

U.S. representatives and local officials last week marked the receipt of a $14.4 million federal grant to construct a new Metra commuter-rail station in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, the second busiest stop on the Union Pacific West line. 

In October, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the grant to the village through its Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, which funds transportation projects that improve traffic flow and decrease vehicle emissions. 

U.S. freight railroads logged 521,927 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Nov. 23, a 10.6 percent increased compared with the same week last year — which included the Thanksgiving holiday — according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week were 251,901 units, up 7.6 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 270,026 containers and trailers, up 13.5 percent.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced late last week that he intends to nominate Yassmin Gramian to serve as the state's next secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Gramian, who now serves as PennDOT's executive deputy secretary, will succeed Leslie Richards, who is leaving the department to become general manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in January. Gramian will assume the role of acting secretary as of Dec. 6.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) last week committed CA$40 million to Metrolinx to support the Eglinton Crosstown West light-rail extension from Renforth, Ontario, to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

The funding would help advance the technical work necessary to complete the extension and improve transit access to the airport, which the authority operates, GTAA officials said in a press release.

AECOM has been awarded a framework contract to provide technical support for the design and construction stages of the Lyon-to-Turin high-speed rail line, a key element of the Trans-European Transport network that will connect Italy and France. At the heart of the project is a twin bored base tunnel that will be the longest railway tunnel ever built, AECOM officials said in a press release. Working in an international joint venture, AECOM has been appointed as delivery partner to the Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin. The company will help with the design, procurement and construction of the civil works, rail systems and the environmental protection measures for the rail line.

The Northwest Rapid Transit Consortium extended its existing public private partnership contract with Sydney Metro to operate and maintain a 41-mile, 31-station line from Rouse Hill to Bankstown, Australia, by 2024. Under the $385 million contract, Alstom will be responsible for the project management, design, supply, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of 23 six-car fully automated Metropolis trains and the Urbalis 400 communication-based train control signaling system. Meanwhile, Alstom also signed a $473 million contract with Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence to develop, supply and install the operating system and equipment for automatic operation on the Marseille Metro in France. Alstom will commission 38 new trains and modernize passenger information inside the metro stations. The new trains are scheduled to enter service in early 2024.

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) partner representatives hosted U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.) on a project tour earlier this month.

CREATE officials escorted Garcia on visits to the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office; the location of the not-yet completed Harlem Avenue Grade Separation project; the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. 71st Street Grade Separation, which was completed in 2013; the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, which is in final design; and the P1 Englewood Flyover project along the Metra Rock Island District near State Street, completed in 2016.

The International Tunneling Association (ITA) last week recognized the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LA Metro) Regional Connector as the Project of the Year at the association's fifth annual Tunneling Awards event in Miami. 

The $1.2 billion project will extend LA Metro’s underground light-rail system 1.9 miles from Little Tokyo/Arts District Station to the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in Los Angeles. The extension will include construction of three stations, with one station to be built 120-feet below ground, the deepest station in Los Angeles.

Caltrain yesterday announced it's stepping up the manufacturing, assembly and testing activities for its electric trains at Stadler’s Salt Lake City plant in preparation for the rail system's electrification between San Francisco and San Jose, California, by 2020. 

Three rail cars are completely wired and undergoing electrical testing, while other structural and lifecycle testing continues on the cars' trucks at the Utah plant. In addition, endurance tests are wrapping up on propulsion gearboxes, Caltrain officials said in a project newsletter.

Iowa Northern Railway Co., Watco Cos. LLC, Union Pacific Railroad and Valor Victoria next month will launch an internationally focused intermodal service at the Butler Intermodal Terminal in Shell Rock, Iowa.

The service aims to provide an alternative to larger Midwest rail hubs by offering shippers a cost-competitive solution that reduces long-haul trucking miles, the companies' officials said in a joint press release.

Class Is as of mid-October employed 134,582 people, down 1.67 percent from mid-September's level and down 9.51 percent from October 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

All but one of six workforce categories posted month-to-month employment decreases: Executives, officials and staff assistants logged a 0.37 percent increase to 7,653 employees between mid-September to mid-October.

Metro Transit-St. Louis has partnered with Lyft to offer MetroLink rail riders discounted ride-hailing options to make connections between select streets, transit centers or bus stops.

Beginning in January 2020 and continuing on a three-month trial period, riders can use a promotional code on the Lyft mobile application to take eligible trips for $1. 

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will upgrade their mobile application later this month so that riders can track the location of trains in real time. 

The new app feature enables riders to see the type of train — new or legacy — that is arriving at a station and display canceled trips for each station to make it clear when a scheduled train has been removed from service, BART officials said in a press release.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) last week announced it will retire its legacy streetcars late next month to make way for 204 new, low-floor streetcars from Bombardier Inc.

To commemorate the legacy fleet, two streetcars will make a final run of service Dec. 29 between Bathurst Street and Greenwood Avenue in Toronto.

Steve Gedney, a longtime railroad executive who retired from the Gulf & Ohio Railway in June, died on Nov. 22, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced. He was 76.

Gedney began his transportation career with the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he was involved in long-range planning, systems management and the coordination of air, highway, port and rail facilities.

Canadian Pacific announced last week that it will establish a multi-commodity transload terminal at its Cote Saint-Luc yard in Montreal.

CP will collaborate with freight transportation provider TYT Group of Quebec to offer transload services and logistics solutions from the terminal to customers in major cities along the East Coast, CP officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has recognized MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) for its grade crossing safety program and recommended other railroads across the country consider making similar upgrades.

LIRR’s program has “dramatically improved” railroad safety through the use of delineators at railroad crossings and enhanced GPS alerts through a partnership with Google’s Waze navigation software application, LIRR officials said in a press release.