Railroad News

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards yesterday announced the commitment of state capital outlay funds to complete a $20 million rail project at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge.

The state funding commitment will be used to complete a second critical project bringing four rail tracks deeper into port property to serve the Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) Port Allen Elevator facility, one of the largest grain elevators on the Mississippi River, according to a press release issued by Edwards' office.

Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) has promoted Jeremy Kramer to vice president.

In his new role, Kramer will be responsible for railroad transportation processes including train operations, dispatching, locomotive maintenance and Clagg Bridge operations, according to an LIRC press release.

Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) yesterday announced it will invest up to CA$2 billion in financing to expand GO Transit in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area of Ontario.

The expansion will create a two-way, all-day rapid transit service on core segments of the GO Rail network. 

TransLink last week announced that 85 percent of residents in Surrey and Langley, British Columbia, who responded to a survey support a proposed SkyTrain line extension from the King George Station in Surrey to Langley. 

Last month, TransLink collected 21,267 survey responses, with nearly 17,000 from residents in Surrey and Langley, according to a TransLink press release. 

The Port of Savannah and the St. Louis Regional Freightway have forged a partnership to create a new connection between the St. Louis region and the largest single-terminal container facility in the Western Hemisphere.

The port is investing $3 billion to increase its containerized cargo capacity from 5 million to 8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2028. An important component of the plan is a new $220 million rail terminal that will be the largest on-terminal rail facility in North America by 2020. The port's investment is aimed at accelerating the nation's third busiest container gateway to better support retailers and manufacturers in distributing more goods to and from the Midwest.

Effective June 1, CSX will increase the authorized speed of freight trains by 15 mph at multiple locations on its line from Montgomery, Alabama, to Waygross, Georgia. 

The increase from 25 mph to a maximum 40 mph will help reduce wait times for motorists at highway-rail intersections and improve the efficiency of rail operations, CSX officials said in a press release. 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) yesterday announced that the southern section of the Blue Line between the Compton and Downtown Long Beach stations will reopen on June 1. 

The opening follows the completion of upgrades to the line’s tracks, overhead power lines and train control, as well as the addition of switches. Upgrades also included the installation of new digital customer information screens and signage at stations. 

U.S. rail traffic volume dropped 6.7 percent to 527,966 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 25 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week slipped 5 percent to 259,953 units, while intermodal volume fell 8.3 percent to 268,013 containers and trailers.

Amtrak earlier this week revealed details of a $72.5 million initiative to make customer-focused train station improvements across its network this year. 

The fiscal-year 2019 program includes $21.5 million in large-scale work at 23 stations in 17 states, and $51 million at 30 locations in 18 states to comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to an Amtrak press release. 

A BNSF Railway Co. project designed to eliminate train delays in the Chicago region was completed this month as part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), the Class I and other program partners announced yesterday.

Known as WA4, the project involved adding new tracks and creating a new direct connection between BNSF's Corwith and Cicero yards. The project also provided new connections between the CN Freeport Subdivision and the Western Avenue Corridor along which BNSF, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX and Union Pacific Railroad operate, according to a CREATE press release.

Allied Track Services and Tron Construction and Mining formed a joint venture to provide full-service railroad, industrial and civil construction service to Canada's rail industry. Tron-Allied JV will offer increased training, employment and economic opportunities for indigenous people in Canada, according to a joint press release. Tron is a First Nations-owned company and has a working partnership with other First Nation entities. 

Alstom has delivered the first train of 30 destined for automatic circulation on the Lyon Metro in France. The train will start dynamic night-time tests on the Lyon network at the end of May, according to an Alstom press release. In a separate announcement, Alstom officials said they have entered into a contract to supply 27 fuel cell trains to RMV’s subsidiary fahma by 2022.

The California Transportation Foundation named the San Gabriel trench as the Project of the Year out of more than 60 nominations at its 30th Annual Transportation Awards.

The $293.7 million project resulted in the lowering of a 1.4-mile section of railroad track in a 30-foot-deep, 65-foot-wide trench through San Gabriel, California. Roadway bridges were constructed at four hazardous at-grade crossings and railroad bridges were built over two storm channels, according to a San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) announced this week it welcomes Transport Canada's publication of proposed regulations specifying technical requirements for rail companies to install video and voice recording devices in locomotives.

"Canada's railways have long advocated for the implementation of locomotive voice and video recorders on trains," said RAC President and Chief Executive Officer Marc Brazeau in a press release. "Allowing railways to use on-board voice and video recordings in the context of proactive safety management will be instrumental in the rail industry’s efforts towards accident prevention."

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police this week began an anti-theft outreach campaign to help riders keep cellphones and other electronics safe. 

From Jan. 1 through April, 402 electronic item thefts within the BART system were reported. In April alone, 105 items were stolen, according to a BART press release. 

U.S. Class Is employed 144,223 people in mid-April, down 0.5 percent since mid-March and down 1.19 percent compared with April 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

On a month-over-month basis, four out of six employment categories posted decreases. They were: executives, officials and staff assistants, down 1.24 percent to 7,830 employees; professional and administrative, down 0.73 percent to 11,341; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 0.85 percent to 26,254; and transportation (train and engine), down 0.87 percent to 61,139.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) last week began renewing stretches of track along the Green Line as part of the FastTracks program, a multiyear $179 million investment in track and electrical improvements.

The track work will require 14 weekend service disruptions scheduled to take place through the summer into fall on the south branch of the Green Line and along the shared Green and Pink Line tracks between the Loop and Ashland Avenue in downtown Chicago, according to a CTA press release. 

The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) yesterday announced the signing of a long-term commercial agreement with Hutchison Ports and CN to build and operate a new container terminal known as project Laurentia.

The CA$775 million project will be financed through the joint investment of all three partners. In addition, the QPA is in discussions with federal and provincial governments to complete the financing, according to a QPA press release.

TransLink last week unveiled its first touch-screen commuter information kiosks at Surrey Central Station in Surrey, British Columbia. 

More than 50 of kiosks are set to be installed around TransLink’s network, including SkyTrain stations on the Expo and Millennium lines, West Coast Express stations and park and ride locations, according to a TransLink press release.