Railroad News

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has activated the agency's emergency relief docket in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency announced late last week.

FRA Administrator Ronald Batory determined that the imminent threat and exposure to the disease constitutes an "emergency situation" as related to railroad operations.

Network Rail awarded Harsco Rail a three-year, $25 million contract to operate and maintain its fleet of eight mobile maintenance trains starting in April. The mobile maintenance trains enable the delivery of essential track-maintenance works throughout Network Rail’s rail system in the United Kingdom, Harsco officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority will complete deployment of the Wi-Tronix LLC’s Violet Edge IoT Platform on the agency’s diesel locomotive fleet. The deployment will equip the fleet with safety, fuel management, transportation, maintenance and video solutions, including in-cab mobile device detection and edge processing alerts, Wi-Tronix officials said in a press release.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Police Department (PAPD) yesterday reached record staff levels following the graduation of 120 officers to the force.

The PAPD now totals 2,232 officers and employees. The new recruits include 89 college graduates and 20 military veterans, with 53 having prior law enforce experience, PANYNJ officials said in a press release.

The Port of Savannah received three neopanamax ship-to-shore cranes on Tuesday, bringing the port's total to 36 — the most of any single terminal in North America, the Georgia Ports Authority announced yesterday.

Designed by Konecranes of Finland, the new cranes will immediately undergo a commissioning process. The first new crane will enter service in about 12 weeks; all three will be loading and unloading vessels by the end of June, port officials said in a press release.

GoTriangle’s board on Wednesday named Charles Lattuca president and chief executive of the transit agency, which serves North Carolina's research triangle. 

Lattuca will start his new role in mid-April, GoTriangle officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has closed on its purchase of Grand Central Terminal in New York City from Midtown Trackage Ventures LLC.

The acquisition includes MTA Metro-North Railroad's Harlem and Hudson lines. The purchase ends MTA's 280-year lease of Grand Central and gives Metro-North control of its operating environment.

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday provided its customers and supply chain partners an update on the Class I's efforts to address concerns about COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

NS's chief medical officer is closely monitoring guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health officials across the railroad's network, wrote Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Alan Shaw in a letter outlining the company's actions.

North American passenger-rail agencies continue to take precautions in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. 

As Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ridership in San Francisco continues to decline, BART officials yesterday assured riders the agency is not anticipating a service reduction, agency officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) yesterday announced the recipients of $248.5 million in grant funds under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program for state and local railroad infrastructure projects.

Administered by the Federal Railroad Administration, the grants will fund 32 projects in 27 states, USDOT officials said in a press release.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) yesterday approved the installation of lights and gates at five grade crossings in Ohio. 

The PUCO approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing Norfolk Southern Railway, Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) to make upgrades at crossings in Allen, Fulton and Lucas counties by Dec. 11.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) is considering restructuring fares to better serve the needs of low-income riders and promote efficient travel across all SEPTA transit modes.

Agency officials announced yesterday the proposed plan includes no changes to base cash fare or discounted rates. Fares for children between the ages of 5 and 11 will be reduced, the cost of weekly and monthly passes will increase by 6 percent, and the base fare on SEPTA’s Key reloadable fare card will increase by 50 cents.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) last month logged its highest February ever for cargo volumes and rail moves at inland ports. 

The SCPA moved 197,214 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) across the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals last month, SCPA officials said in a press release.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) yesterday issued 2019 industrial development results, which show the company's customers invested $1.1 billion in new projects in communities served by its U.S. freight railroads.

The developments supported commodities including grain, plastic pellets, lumber, paper, rock, and wind turbine components, G&W officials said in a press release.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced yesterday that this year it will induct three individuals into the organization's inaugural Short Line Industry Hall of Fame.

The new annual recognition program will honor short-line visionaries and stars who through their dedication, commitment and achievement best exemplify the qualities of innovation, entrepreneurialism, perseverance and service that have helped advance the short line industry, ASLRRA officials said in a press release.

Americans are switching their travel habits from public transit to either staying home or relying more on cars as a direct result of the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to a poll published yesterday by Northstar Research Partners. 

Of the 1,000 Americans surveyed, 48 percent indicated that they believe riding public transit poses a high health risk due to the virus, and 30 percent to 40 percent report they cut back their use of public transportation.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) this week proposed a rule of particular applicability (RPA) to establish safety standards for the Texas Central Railroad's Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail system.

The proposed standards would apply only to Texas Central's bullet-train plan for Texas, FRA officials said in a notice published March 10 in the Federal Register.

U.S. freight railroads logged 462,303 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending March 7, down 9.1 percent compared with the same week in 2019, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads moved 229,742 carloads during the week, down 3.5 percent, and 232,561 containers and trailers, down 14.1 percent.

Danella Rental Systems Inc. acquired Aspen Equipment Co.’s rental division. Danella provides hi-rail vehicles construction rental equipment and Aspen Equipment builds hi-rail vehicles. Aspen Equipment will remain in the industry, focusing its resources on production and service of new railroad truck equipment, Danella officials said in a press release.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. will implement PS Technology’s (PST) CrewPro Short Line™ railroad crew management and hours-of-service (HOS) system, and the QualPro™ qualification and training management solution across its rail network. CrewPro Short Line automates much of the crew calling process while simultaneously tracking HOS to prevent inadvertent violations of Federal Railroad Administration regulations, PST officials said in a press release. The QualPro tracks all employees’ qualifications and pushes that information to the CrewPro scheduling system ensuring only qualified employees are presented as options to select from.

The San Mateo County Transit District this week published a progress report of Caltrain’s service and projects in 2019.

The report outlines milestones met last year, including adoption of the 2040 Service Vision, which calls for Caltrain to operate more frequent service, add electrified service and prepare for future expansion.

Brightline, soon to be Virgin Trains USA, has been named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2020.

The list honors businesses making a profound impact on both industry and culture, Brightline officials said in a press release.