The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has presented this year's John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Norfolk Southern Railway's Andrew Paul, the association announced yesterday.
The AAR issues the award annually in honor of the late senator from Rhode Island. Chafee was a strong advocate for environmental causes and the eco-friendly benefits of rail transportation.
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Southern California transit agency Omnitrans has appointed Trischelle Baysden director of rail.
Omnitrans made the appointment as it prepares to launch the Arrow passenger-rail service between Redlands and San Bernardino, California. The route is slated to open in 2020.
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Valley Metro's Rail Board has approved Kiewit as the construction manager at-risk for the South Central, the agency's next light-rail extension.
Kiewit will partner with Valley Metro, the city of Phoenix, project designer AECOM, station artists and local community to build the extension, Valley Metro officials said in a press release.
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Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) yesterday announced the award of $217,000 in grants for rail safety education projects in 15 states.
The grants, funded by the Federal Railroad Association (FRA), will be distributed to Operation Lifesaver chapters in the states to pay for public education and awareness programs that promote rail-crossing safety and trespass prevention, OLI officials said in a press release.
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Minneapolis Metro Transit today will partially close its Blue and Green line light-rail routes to install new tracks.
The closure will continue through July 3.
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GE today announced that John Flannery has been named chief executive officer effective Aug. 1 and chairman effective Jan. 1, 2018.
As CEO, Flannery succeeds Jeff Immelt, who will remain chairman until his retirement from GE on Dec. 31. In addition, Jeff Bornstein, chief financial officer, has been promoted to vice chairman.
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6/12/2017
Rail News: Mechanical
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The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) yesterday marked the 125th anniversary of Chicago's "L" train system.
In 1892, trains began operating on a line between a terminal at 39th Street to Congress Street in Chicago. Those trains consisted of four wooden passenger cars pulled by a small coal-burning steam locomotive.
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The Port of Oakland is ready to move more cargo via rail, the port's Executive Director Chris Lytle told a meeting of railroad executives in San Francisco last week.
The port has two "outstanding partners" in Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Co., Lytle told the annual meeting of the North American Rail Shippers Association.
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U.S. railroads moved 548,103 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 27, a 6.7 percent increase compared with the same week in 2016, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
The railroads logged 266,564 carloads, up 8 percent, and 281,539 intermodal containers and trailers, up 5.4 percent, compared with the same week a year ago.
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Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) S-Line streetcar ridership grew 8 percent in 2017's first quarter compared with the same period last year.
Additionally, ridership in 2016 was up 15 percent year over year, UTA officials said in a press release.
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Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) announced yesterday it has completed its acquisition of Atlantic Western Transportation Inc., the parent of Heart of Georgia Railroad Inc. (HOG).
Founded in 1999, HOG operates across Georgia on 219 miles of track leased from the Georgia Department of Transportation. The railroad connects with G&W's Georgia Southwestern Railroad at Americus, Ga., and with G&W's Georgia Central Railway at Vidalia, Ga., according to a G&W press release.
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GO Transit last week marked its 50th anniversary.
The agency, which provides public transportation in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, began operating on May 23, 1967, as a 14-stop commuter-rail line from Hamilton to Pickering, Ontario.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation will announce some of its 2017 round of FASTLANE grants "soon," while other project applications will be re-solicited before more grants are issued, according to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
The AASHTO Journal cited comments by James Ray, the USDOT special adviser on infrastructure, who spoke last week at the association's spring meeting in Portland, Maine.
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Brightline, the privately funded passenger-rail venture in southeast Florida, yesterday offered a glimpse of its new station in downtown West Palm Beach.
The station, which is nearing completion, will serve as the northern terminus of the route, which will begin in Miami. The second phase of service will extend the line to Orlando, Fla.
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The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) will extend its governance of the agency by two years, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced yesterday.
Established in 2015, the board is continuing its leadership under an authorizing statute, according to a press release issued by Baker's office. The board's initial three-year term would have expired June 2018.
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5/16/2017
Rail News: Passenger Rail
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