Railroad News

The Metropolitan Council yesterday announced it will explore alternative routes for the planned Blue Line light-rail extension in Minneapolis after failing to reach an agreement with BNSF Railway Co. to use the Class I’s right of way. 

After years of discussions, Met Council, Hennepin County and other elected officials could not reach an agreement regarding collocation of light rail and freight rail in the Bottineau Corridor. 

Francisco Fabila, 34
General manager
Ferrovalle

Nominator’s quote: “Francisco is the consummate professional and it shows in all his interactions and relationships and as evidenced through his nomination to his current position at Ferrovalle. He is able to easily collaborate with peers, customers, executives and varying levels within the government and is able to skillfully gain collaboration from stakeholders regardless of party affiliation, ideologies or agendas.” — Jose Zozaya Delano, KCSM

The Transportation Communications International Union (TCU)/International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) National President Robert Scardelletti retired July 31 after 29 years as president and after more than 53 years as a TCU/IAM member. 

Scardelletti was TCU’s longest serving president, union officials said in a press release.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) in Florida late last week welcomed the Siem Confucius, the world's first vehicle carrier of its size operated by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The vessel arrived at Jaxport from Veracruz, Mexico, and unloaded factory-new Volkswagen Group of America cars and SUVs at the port's Blount Island Marine Terminal. It was the vessel's maiden voyage to the United States, Jaxport officials said in a press release.

VIA Rail Canada Inc. last week announced on Aug. 14 it will temporarily lay off 30 management and other professional employees due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The layoffs are in addition to retirements and vacant positions that will not be filled. In total, 80 VIA Rail positions will be affected.

The California Department of Transportation last week awarded the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) $3.75 million in Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) funding to assist with mobility improvement projects, including light-rail modernization. 

The funding will help support the purchase of additional low-floor light-rail vehicles, and the continued operations of expanded evening light-rail service along the Gold Line in Folsom, California. Funding will also support SacRT bus operation improvements.

CSX last week published its 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, which highlights the railroad's sustainability actions on safety, environment, people, communities and governance.

The report addresses CSX's "record-setting" safety performance, achieving 2020 emissions reduction targets ahead of schedule, and CSX becoming the first Class I to operate at a fuel efficiency rate of less than one gallon of fuel per 1,000 gross ton miles for a quarter.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's (SDMTS) security officers this week will begin testing a new use-of-force policy. 

The new policy bans officers from using carotid restraints and chokeholds, including the prohibition of using knee pressure on a person's neck, throat or head. The policy also requires use of force to be proportional to the seriousness of the subject’s alleged offense; instructs officers to intervene if witnessing excessive force by another employee; and requires officers to give a warning to an individual prior to use of force.

President Donald Trump has approved a permit to allow Kansas City Southern to build an additional, parallel bridge span next to its existing international rail bridge in Laredo, Texas.

The Class I applied for the permit with the U.S. Department of State in March.

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Progressive Railroading and RailTrends® have named CSX President and Chief Executive Officer James Foote the 2020 recipient of the Railroad Innovator Award, which recognizes an individual's outstanding achievement in the rail industry.

Marcelo Estrada, 35
General manager, intermodal operations
CSX Corp.

Nominator’s quote: “As general manager of CSX Intermodal Terminals, Marcelo oversaw the transformation of Fairburn Terminal outside of Atlanta into one of the most advanced intermodal operations in the industry.” — Jamie Boychuk, CSX

Progress Rail has developed a battery-powered switcher locomotive. The EMD® Joule locomotive includes smart lithium-ion battery technology and provides zero-emission, zero-idle and low noise operations, Progress Rail officials said in a press release. The EMD Joule will go into a pilot phase this year. Soon thereafter, the locomotive will support Vale’s Tubarao yard operations in Brazil. Progress Rail anticipates global availability of the new switcher locomotive in early 2021.

The government of British Columbia awarded the ACCIONA-Ghella consortium a $2 billion contract to design and construct the Broadway Subway Project, a 4-mile extension of the Millennium rail line in Metro Vancouver. The extension will include underground tunnels and six new stations. Construction will begin this year and the system will open in 2025.

Maywood, Illinois, village officials recently adopted an updated transit-oriented development (TOD) plan to help guide downtown redevelopment and identify potential transit improvements.

The updated plan — which was supported by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Community Planning program — includes recommendations for the area surrounding the Maywood Metra commuter-rail station, with a focus along the 5th Avenue and Lake Street downtown business corridors within a quarter mile of the station. 

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), GoTriangle and the Regional Transportation Alliance business coalition have released the preliminary findings of a cooperative study aimed at accelerating a regional network of transit routes to better connect the state's Triangle area.

The proposed Freeway and Street-based Transit (FAST) network concept calls for transforming roadways into multimodal corridors. Consulting firm VHB is leading the FAST study with team members Stantec and Catalyst Design.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) earlier this week approved installations of lights and other upgrades at three grade crossings in Ohio.

PUCO approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) directing Norfolk Southern Railway to install lights and gates at the Monroe Street/County Road 39 crossing in Huron County. 

Completion of a two-year project to modernize the CSX DeWitt Rail Yard in Syracuse, New York, offers the potential for the Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to advance its goal of moving more freight through its $600 million ExpressRail on-dock rail system, port officials said yesterday.

The port has handled a "significant" increase in the share of rail cargo to 17 percent of overall volumes as a result of the ExpressRail network expansion, including four operational facilities. The DeWit project is designed to lower shipping costs and make the region's commodities more competitive, PANYNJ officials said in the port's Breaking Waves blog.

CN yesterday unveiled its 2020-21 grain plan, and announced it set a new record by moving more than 30 million metric tons (MMT) of grain across Canada during the 2019-20 crop year.

In addition, CN announced that it is prepared to move up to 7,600 bulk and processed hopper cars per week outside of winter, and up to 6,100 per week during winter in the upcoming crop year.

Second-quarter 2020 intermodal volumes dropped 11.9 percent to 4,016,899 units compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Intermodal Association of North America's (IANA) Intermodal Quarterly report.

Year over year, international intermodal volume fell 15.4 percent to 2,014,179 containers, while domestic volume declined 7 percent to 1,742,968 containers. Trailers decreased 14 percent to 259,752 units.