Railroad News

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has selected Michael Jones as its new deputy general manager.  

Jones began his tenure at BART in 2017 as the assistant GM of administration. He was responsible for leading human resources, procurement and labor relations functions, as well as managing BART’s policies and procedures.

Last month, the League of Railway Women (LRW) named Pam Arpin, assistant vice president of customer and corporate services at Canadian Pacific, the winner of the organization’s “Railway Woman of the Year” award.

LRW President Tanis Peterson and Progressive Railroading Publisher Kirk Bastyr presented the award to Arpin at Railway Interchange in Minneapolis.

Last month, the League of Railway Women (LRW) named Pam Arpin, assistant vice president of customer and corporate services at Canadian Pacific, the winner of the organization’s “Railway Woman of the Year” award.

LRW President Tanis Peterson and Progressive Railroading Publisher Kirk Bastyr presented the award to Arpin at Railway Interchange in Minneapolis.

Sound Transit earlier this week completed a conceptual design for proposed parking and access improvements at the Sounder commuter rail station in Kent, Washington. 

Set for completion by 2024, the project calls for construction of a parking garage at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, as well as improvements to pedestrian, bicycle and bus connections, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) this month launched a community outreach program to help put together a potential transit-only funding measure that the board will consider in 2020.

As part of the Elevate SD 2020 campaign, SDMTS launched an online tool for the public to use to prioritize 17 potential transit projects. The tool will be available through Nov. 30.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) logged a 12.5 percent increase in cargo volume last month, which marked the authority's best September on record.

SCPA handled nearly 195,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals in September, which contributed to a strong start to fiscal-year 2020, authority officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced that 52 contracting firms graduated from the agency’s Small Business Development Program, which aims to help emerging businesses refine technical and business management skills.

The program offers minority-owned, women-owned and emerging firms access to capital, bonding, technical assistance, mentoring and in-the-field training in order to build a new generation of transportation and construction contractors, MTA officials said in a press release.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) board yesterday elected Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna as president and New Hampshire DOT Commissioner Victoria Sheehan as vice president.

As president, McKenna plans to emphasize the need for surface transportation reauthorization and to highlight transportation safety, AASHTO officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight-rail traffic volume remained soft during October's first week, with railroads logging a combined 515,061 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.1 percent compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week ending Oct. 5 were 247,028 units, down 8.5 percent, while intermodal volume was 268,033 containers and trailers, down 5.8 percent, AAR officials said in a press release.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) has renamed the 39th Street light-rail station in Sacramento, California, to the 39th Street/UC Davis Health Station, the transit agency announced this week.

UC Davis has been a SacRT partner for many years by providing free shuttle service to and from the 39th Street station to the UC Davis Medical Center and other clinics in the city, SacRT officials said in press release.

Metrolink Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Campbell has been named CFO of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. 

Campbell received the award at a Sept. 26 ceremony celebrating financial officers throughout Southern California, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

A&R Logistics Inc. yesterday announced plans to build an export facility in the West Branch Commerce Park in Berkley County, South Carolina.

The plant will have up to 1 million square feet and contain four high-speed packing lines for plastic resin, according to a press release issued by A&R, a supply chain solutions company serving the chemical industry.

Caltrain tomorrow will host a community meeting to discuss the continued construction activities in Sunnyvale, California, as it prepares to electrify its rail corridor from the San Francisco Caltrain Station to the Tamien Station in San Jose by 2022. 

In the coming months, Caltrain crews will continue foundation installation and begin the installation of poles along the rail corridor in Sunnyvale. 

Subway train speeds on certain sections of track can be increased by as much as 50 percent, according to preliminary findings of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) Train Speed and Safety Task Force.

The task force initiated a study with engineering firm STV with the help of the Transport Workers Union. The study remains ongoing, but has already determined four core areas of focus that would lead to faster trains in New York City while prioritizing passenger and employee safety, MTA officials said in a press release.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced the creation of a new federal program designed to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure.

The Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative will analyze the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) discretionary funding and financing opportunities to ensure nationwide outcomes for rural areas' transportation infrastructure, USDOT officials said in a press release.