Railroad News

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) has outlined additional precautions to support social distancing and cleanliness on its commuter trains as the Washington, D.C., region enters its first phase of reopening and ridership is expected to grow.

This month, VRE will install platform decals, onboard graphics and window decals to indicate to riders where they should stand and sit to ensure proper distancing.

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau yesterday provided an update on recent developments in the 8-mile rail bypass project near Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

Despite many challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project is "progressing well," Garneau said in a prepared statement issued by Transport Canada. A number of steps have been reached in recent months or soon will be, he said.

Sound Transit leaders yesterday informed the agency's board members that some projects should be delayed or canceled in order to preserve tax money to expand its system in the future.

Sound Transit Chief Financial Officer Tracy Butler predicted that Sound Transit could lose $7.8 billion to $12 billion through 2041 depending on the severity of the recession to come, according to the board workshop presentation document.

U.S. freight railroads moved 1,653,093 carloads and intermodal units during May, a 20.2 percent decrease compared with May 2019, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR).

The railroads logged 740,171 carloads, down 27.7 percent, and 912,922 intermodal containers and trailers, down 13 percent, from the same month last year, AAR officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) late last week released the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for private company Texas Central's proposal to build a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston, bringing the project one major step closer to fruition.

Released on May 29, the FEIS is available for public review and comment through June 29, FRA officials said in a statement.

Metra today began work to replace and resurface a grade crossing at 95th Street and Vincennes Avenue on the Rock Island Line in Chicago.

The work will require closure of the crossing to vehicle traffic until June 12.

A project to deepen the  harbor at the Port of Savannah in Georgia set a new precedent with four dredges working simultaneously, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced earlier this week.

The Savannah harbor expansion project includes two dredges keeping the channel at its current authorized depth of 42 feet followed by two dredges taking the channel to a new depth of 47 feet. The dredges work without disrupting the flow of commercial traffic to or from the Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal and other facilities along the river, Army Corps of Engineers officials said in a press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in July will begin a three-month project to replace and rebuild a nearly 50-year-old interlocking and other track components south of the agency's station in Hayward, California.  

The scope of the project includes replacing four track switches, 700 worn wooden ties with concrete ones, 1,000 tons of rock ballast and 1,400 feet of electric third rail.

Construction is advancing on a rail connector and industrial access project involving BNSF Railway Co. in Willmar, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) reported this week.

Known as Willmar Wye, the project is a public-private partnership between BNSF, MnDOT, Kandiyohi County and the city of Willmar to build a new rail line bypass on the city's west side.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday issued a letter to New York City officials outlining the agency’s requests as the city’s industries reopen next week.

The city is expected to enter the first phase of reopening on June 8. Phase 1 includes reopening construction, agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale trade and retail operating with curbside or in-store pickup, according to a local news report.

Amtrak last month experienced a data breach that led to the exposure of personal information of some of its Guest Rewards members, according to notices the national intercity railroad sent May 29 to customers whose accounts were accessed without authorization.

On April 16, Amtrak determined an unknown third party gained unauthorized access to the accounts, according to the notice from Vicky Radke, senior director of the Amtrak Guest Rewards program. Those receiving the notice included the California Office of the Attorney General.

The Federal Transit Administration awarded Bi-State Development a $142.4 million grant to fund Metro Transit-St. Louis’ light-rail and bus service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant — awarded as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — will support Metro Transit-St. Louis' operational costs, enhanced cleaning of vehicles and stations, and purchase of personal protective equipment.

Brown Rail, a division of Brown Industries LLC, manufactured its first vehicle — a grapple truck — out of its new facility in Minneapolis, Kansas. Brown Industries recently expanded its manufacturing capacity by adding the location. Brown Rail provides a variety of trucks to Class I and short line railroads. 

Bombardier Transportation signed two contracts for 28 BiLevel commuter rail cars with two transportation authorities on the U.S. West Coast. The procurement is being led by Sound Transit in Seattle. Under the contracts, Bombardier will manufacture eight cab cars and 20 coaches. The agreements include an option for 33 additional rail cars. The contracts have a combined value worth $108 million. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fourth-quarter 2021.

A new report revealed that 64 percent of Americans won’t use public transportation as restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are loosened, according to a survey conducted by Ford Mobility’s Smart Transit branch TransLoc. 

The survey polled 1,000 Americans' opinions on whether they would use public transportation after communities' stay-at-home orders are lifted. 

Braskem USA, a leading producer of biopolymers, announced today it has selected Charleston, South Carolina, as the location for its new Global Export Hub to serve the company's international customers.

Expected to be completed by the third quarter, the new hub will have a capacity to support shipments of up to 450 million pounds of polypropylene and specialty polymers annually to customers worldwide, Braskem officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LA Metro) board last week released an updated draft of its 2020 Long Range Transportation Plan, a $400-billion, 30-year transportation blueprint for Los Angeles County. 

The plan outlines what LA Metro is doing currently to address transportation challenges, and what the agency must do over the next 30 years to plan, build, manage and maintain the region’s transportation system.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) last week introduced legislation that would authorize a $5 billion annual investment over a five-year period to fund intercity passenger-rail service. 

The Building Rail Across Intercity Networks To Ride Around Interior of the Nation (BRAIN TRAIN) Act would allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to implement a competitive grant program that would fund up to $25 billion for high-performance rail projects over five years.