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Mar
28

Georgia ports, Kia mark decade of service

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and state government officials earlier this week recognized a decade of "partnership" with Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia.

Kia is one of the largest customers at the Port of Savannah, from which the automaker has shipped nearly 350,000 20-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) over the past 10 years, according to a GPA press release.

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Mar
28

APTA solicits applicants for leadership program

Rail News Home Railroading People 3/28/2019 Rail News: Railroading People
Leadership APTA is a year-long program designed to develop managers aspiring to hold senior and executive leadership positions.Photo – APTA

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is calling for applications to its professional development program through May 3. 

Leadership APTA is a year-long program designed to develop and support managers and leaders aspiring to hold senior and executive leadership positions in the public transportation industry.

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Mar
28

CN, CP to serve two new G3 grain elevators in Alberta

Canadian Pacific and CN will serve two new high-efficiency grain elevators that G3 Canada Ltd. has plans to build near Irricana and Stettler County, Alberta.

Both facilities will have a capacity of 42,000 metric tons and a railway loop track that can accommodate a 150-car unit train, according to a G3 press release.

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Mar
28

GoTriangle calls off Durham-Orange light-rail project

GoTriangle's board yesterday voted unanimously to discontinue the $2.7 billion Durham-Orange light-rail transit project, following Duke University's refusal last month to sign a cooperative agreement that would have allowed the project to proceed.

The project would have built a 17.7-mile light-rail system to connect Chapel Hill and eastern Durham, North Carolina. Acting on GoTriangle President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Mann's recommendation, the board voted to recommend that the cost-sharing partners in Durham and Orange counties and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization discontinue the project.

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Mar
28

U.S. carload volume tumbled, intermodal picked up in Week 12

U.S. railroads' carload traffic tumbled 10.9 percent to 236,817 units for the week ending March 23, but intermodal volume picked up 2.1 percent to 266,200 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2018, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total U.S. rail volume for the week dropped 4.5 percent to 503,017 carloads and intermodal units compared with last year's levels.

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Mar
27

Rail Supplier News from Trainyard Tech, FirstGroup, STV, Cubic and REMSA (March 27)

Trainyard Tech LLC obtained a purchase order from Norfolk Southern Railway to update its hump yard process control system at Lamberts Point coal dumping facility in Norfolk, Virginia. The upgrade includes new computers and process control systems software. Trainyard will add automatic equipment identifier radio frequency readers to monitor cars during the coal dumping process and a rail yard reporting tool that will help simplify troubleshooting.

FirstGroup ordered five new AT300 125 mph intercity electric trains from Hitachi Rail for an open access, high-speed train service linking London and Edinburgh, Scotland, that will begin in the fall of 2021, FirstGroup announced in a press release. The 100 million euro deal also includes ongoing maintenance. 

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Mar
27

NJ Transit holds open house for contractors, business owners

New Jersey Transit hosted contractors, small business owners and disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) earlier this week to showcase $800 million in contracting opportunities in capital construction projects available in the coming year.

It was the first such open house that NJ Transit has held in a decade. About 150 attendees heard from NJ Transit officials, who emphasized the state's commitment to rebuilding infrastructure, investing in state-of-good-repair projects and building capacity in the contracting pool, according to a NJ Transit press release.

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Mar
27

Metra schedules 59 safety 'blitzes'

Rail News Home Safety 3/27/2019 Rail News: Safety
During a safety blitz, Metra employees will distribute safety educational materials at stations throughout the Chicago area.Photo – Metra

Metra will conduct Operation Lifesaver "safety blitzes" at 59 of its 242 stations through the end of the year to raise public awareness of safe behavior around trains and tracks.

During a safety blitz, Metra employees will distribute safety educational materials at stations throughout the Chicago area. The materials will address train and grade crossing safety. The employees also will be available to answer commuters' questions and listening to their safety concerns, Metra officials said in a press release.

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Mar
27

PANYNJ selects underwriters for $8 billion bond issue

Rail News Home Intermodal 3/27/2019 Rail News: Intermodal
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) officials have selected a pool of underwriters to assist with fiscal decisions related to the issuance of $8 billion in bonds over the new three years. The bond proceeds will be used to help fund projects in the authority’s 10-year, $32 billion capital plan, according to a PANYNJ press release.“We believe the new underwriting pool provides us with top flight financial experts to assist agency staff in making the right decisions when dealing with the bond market," said PANYNJ Chair Kevin O’Toole.The underwriting team consists of three roles for senior managers, co-managers and selling group members. Selection of the underwriting pool began in November 2018. The new senior manager underwriting pool approved by the board consists of Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Citibank Global Markets Inc.; Goldman Sachs Co. LLC; Samuel A. Ramirez & Co. Inc.; Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. LLC; and UBS Financial Services Inc.The co-manager underwriting pool consists of Academy Securities Inc.; Blaylock Van LLC; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC; Jefferies LLC; Loop Capital Markets LLC; Oppenheimer & Co Inc.; and Rice Financial Products Co.The selling group consists of Drexel Hamilton LLC; FTN Financial Capital Markets; Mischler Financial Group Inc.; NW Capital Markets Inc.; Rockfleet Financial Services Inc.; Stern Brothers & Co.; Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. & Backstrom McCarley Berry Co.; and The Williams Capital Group.

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Mar
27

Amtrak names New York station in honor of late congresswoman

Amtrak has dedicated and renamed its train station in Rochester, New York, after the late U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), a longtime Amtrak supporter.

The station opened in October 2017, the result of a 15-year process of planning by several stakeholders including Slaughter, who secured a $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for the work, according to an Amtrak press release.

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Mar
27

Charah Solutions to open facility at Watco's Greens Port Industrial Terminal

Rail News Home Shippers 3/27/2019 Rail News: Shippers
It's anticipated the new facility will open at Greens Port in the third quarter.Photo – watcocompanies.com

Charah Solutions Inc. will open a facility at Watco Cos.' Greens Port Industrial Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel in Texas.

The facility will use new technologies for grinding blast furnace slag to create supplementary cementitious materials, according to a Charah press release.

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Mar
27

KCS to use crew management software for U.S. operations

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 3/27/2019 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
Kansas City Southern will expand its deployment of the CloudMoyo crew management (CCM) software solution to its U.S. operations, the Class I announced yesterday.The software is already in place at KCS' Mexico operations. The next generation global CCM is designed to leverage the scale of the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform, harness the power of advanced analytics, and use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to optimize crew assignments and reduce dwell time for trains and crew, according to a KCS press release.“KCS’ vision is to consistently be the fastest-growing, best-performing, most customer-focused transportation provider in North America. The planned expansion of the CCM solution from Mexico to the U.S. supports this growth vision while delivering a seamless user experience,” said KCS Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Brian Hancock.KCS officials anticipate the CCM solution will help the railroad bypass lengthy deployment schedules, they said. It will enable KCS crews in the United States and Mexico to work more effectively and securely across geographical locations, while still being flexible to operate independently on regional basis, they added.

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Mar
27

KCS to use crew management software for U.S. operations

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 3/27/2019 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
Kansas City Southern will expand its deployment of the CloudMoyo crew management (CCM) software solution to its U.S. operations, the Class I announced yesterday.The software is already in place at KCS' Mexico operations. The next generation global CCM is designed to leverage the scale of the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform, harness the power of advanced analytics, and use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to optimize crew assignments and reduce dwell time for trains and crew, according to a KCS press release.“KCS’ vision is to consistently be the fastest-growing, best-performing, most customer-focused transportation provider in North America. The planned expansion of the CCM solution from Mexico to the U.S. supports this growth vision while delivering a seamless user experience,” said KCS Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Brian Hancock.KCS officials anticipate the CCM solution will help the railroad bypass lengthy deployment schedules, they said. It will enable KCS crews in the United States and Mexico to work more effectively and securely across geographical locations, while still being flexible to operate independently on regional basis, they added.

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Mar
27

Norfolk Southern breaks ground on Atlanta HQ, names three new execs

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday broke ground on its new Atlanta headquarters and named three company officers to executive positions.

NS Chairman President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires was joined by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms at a groundbreaking ceremony held in Atlanta's Midtown area.

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Mar
27

Norfolk Southern breaks ground on Atlanta HQ, names three new execs

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday broke ground on its new Atlanta headquarters and named three company officers to executive positions.

NS Chairman President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires was joined by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms at a groundbreaking ceremony held in Atlanta's Midtown area.

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Mar
26

Western Carolina Railway taps Durham for community engagement role

Rail News Home Railroading People 3/26/2019 Rail News: Railroading People
Dolly DunhamPhoto – Dolly Dunham's LinkedIn page

The Western Carolina Railway Service Corp. (WCRS) has hired Dolly Durham as director of community engagement.

Durham has more than 25 years of nonprofit development experience, including in community involvement, event planning, grant writing and management of benevolent giving, according to a WCRS press release.

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Mar
26

CTA partners with Apple to add fare card to iPhone

Rail News Home Internet/Digital 3/26/2019 Rail News: Internet/Digital
Adding the Ventra fare card to Apple Pay allows passengers to scan an iPhone to board a bus or enter rail stations.Photo – Ventra

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Apple announced that later this year CTA transit riders can add a fare card to the Apple Pay iPhone app. 

The feature will enable passengers using the Ventra fare payment system to load card information onto their iPhone, then scan the phone to enter rail stations or board a bus.

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Mar
26

CN slates capex projects for Manitoba rail network

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 3/26/2019 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN will spend CA$120 million on capital projects this year to strengthen its infrastructure in Manitoba, the Class I announced yesterday.Expansion projects will include construction of a new train passing siding near Nourse, east of Winnipeg; and construction of 6.3 miles of double track near Exira, west of Portage la Prairie.Maintenance projects will include replacement of more than 35 miles of rail, installation of 59,000 new ties, the rebuild of 13 road crossing surfaces, and work on bridges, culverts, signals and other track infrastructure.The Manitoba projects are part of CN's 2019 record CA$3.9 billion in capital investments aimed at enabling growth from all commodity segments, according to a CN press release.

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Mar
25

KCS issues statement on Mexican competition panel's rail-service report

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 3/25/2019 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (COFECE) has issued a preliminary report that assesses freight-rail service for certain chemical and petrochemical products shipped on certain routes in the Mexican state of Veracruz, Kansas City Southern confirmed late last week.The preliminary report is limited to 31 routes with each route tied to a specific product. Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) serves limited portions of seven of the routes. Last year, KCS' revenue associated with those routes amounted to less than $3 million, company officials said in a press release.The report's issuance has no impact on KCSM's current business, operations or rights under the concession.KCSM officials plan to file a challenge to the preliminary report. If the COFECE panel confirms a "lack of effective competition" on any of the routes identified in the report, then Mexico's Railway Regulatory Agency would initiate remedies that could include mandatory trackage rights, service conditions and rates, KCS officials said.

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Mar
22

CN closes TransX deal, highlights MOW programs for two provinces

CN today announced it closed the acquisition of The TransX Group of Cos., one of Canada's largest and oldest transportation firms.

TransX provides various transportation and logistics services, including intermodal, truckload, less than truckload and specialized services. The company will continue to be based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and operate independently.

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