Railroad News

Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy earlier this month appointed former Alaska Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell to the Alaska Railroad Corp.'s board to serve in the business owner/manager seat.

Campbell’s appointment went into effect Sept. 11. He will be reappointed to the position Oct. 3 to serve a five-year term, according to a press release from Dunleavy’s office.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) earlier this week announced it will postpone the opening date of the N Line, a 18.5-mile commuter-rail line between Denver and Thorton, Colorado, until May or August of 2020.

The previous opening date for the N Line was projected in first-quarter 2020. 

South Carolina Ports Authority and the South Carolina Department of Health received a $2 million federal grant to upgrade the engines of 12 rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes, port officials announced yesterday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the grant through its Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program. The funding will equip the RTG cranes with hybrid battery/genset engine systems, replacing the existing hi-power diesel engines, port authority officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) board yesterday approved two contracts to assess how and where it would be possible to pilot congestion relief pricing in Los Angeles County.

LA Metro awarded WSP USA Inc. a more than $3 million contract to investigate the feasibility and framework for testing and implementing motorist pricing strategies, evaluate potential pricing models, identify a location to pilot the program and establish an implementation plan.

Attorneys general from 10 states have joined Montana and North Dakota in calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to overrule a Washington state law regarding the transportation of crude oil by rail.

This week, attorneys general from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia wrote to the department to support the position of the Montana and North Dakota attorneys general, who have petitioned the Trump administration to overturn Washington's law.

Union Pacific Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight will retire on Dec. 31, the Class I announced yesterday. Jennifer Hamann will succeed him effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Knight joined UP in 1980 and held numerous leadership positions prior to being named CFO in 2004. During his tenure as CFO, he led many initiatives that helped the company earn the highest market capitalization of any North American transportation company, UP officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight will retire on Dec. 31, the Class I announced yesterday. Jennifer Hamann will succeed him effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Knight joined UP in 1980 and held numerous leadership positions prior to being named CFO in 2004. During his tenure as CFO, he led many initiatives that helped the company earn the highest market capitalization of any North American transportation company, UP officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) yesterday announced it has completed all necessary Red Line signal repairs and restored regularly scheduled service on the line following a June rail-car derailment that caused significant infrastructure damage and service disruptions over the summer.

As of last week, all restoration work was completed with final repairs made to train control signals, track signals and electronic track switching controls. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) board yesterday approved the proposed capital plan that calls for $51.5 billion to be invested in New York City’s subways, railroads and buses over the next five years. 

The plan, which would increase infrastructure spending by 70 percent over current levels, calls for investing more than $37.3 billion in MTA New York City Transit’s subway, $5.7 billion in Long Island Rail Road's needs and $4.7 billion in Metro-North Railroad's needs, MTA officials said in a press release. 

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced a $75 million grant to Valley Metro for the Tempe Streetcar project in Arizona. 

FTA provided the grant for the $192.4 million project through the federal Capital Investment Grants Program, which provides funding for major transit infrastructure projects nationwide.

U.S. freight-rail traffic fell 6.8 percent to 528,670 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Sept. 21 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week declined 8 percent to 250,794 units, while intermodal volume fell 5.7 percent to 277,876 containers and trailers.