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Oct
01

AAR 'pleased' with new North American trade pact

Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 10/1/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) endorsed yesterday's news that Canada has agreed to sign on to a trade deal with the United States and Mexico.Canadian officials announced late last night that they agreed to the pact, which the United States and Mexico had reached last month. The new treaty will preserve the three-nation format of the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).In a prepared statement issued this morning, AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger said the private freight railroad industry is pleased with the new deal."The free flow of goods across North America without burdensome tariffs is a net positive for U.S. workers, bedrock industries and the economy," said Hamberger. "Our industry knows this firsthand due to the massive amounts of goods we move – such as automobiles, agricultural yields and energy products – as part of a sophisticated supply chain that was shaped in large part by free trade."President Trump and his counterparts in Mexico and Canada are expected to sign the agreement during the next 60 days. Congress will likely act on the pact next year, according to national news reports."We encourage Congress to address this new agreement in a very deliberate yet urgent manner to provide much-needed certainty for commerce across this continent," Hamberger said.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

More News from 10/1/2018


Sep
28

Rail supplier news from C2K, Teleste, Janam, Conduent, HNTB and Bourque (Sept. 28)

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) has chosen an LTK Engineering Services-Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. joint venture known as C2K Partners to provide post-award consulting services for the new R211 subway cars. C2K will provide technical and program management support to NYCT during the design, manufacturing, delivery, testing and acceptance of the new cars, which will feature expanded doors aimed at reducing delays and speeding the boarding process. The R211 cars also will be equipped with monitoring systems that will transmit information about performance to the wayside, which will help crews examine trains before equipment failure, according to a C2K press release. The contract's value was not disclosed in the press release. In January, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's board approved a $1.4 billion contract with Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. for 535 of the R211 units.

Spanish rail-car maker CAF has selected Teleste Corp.'s on-board solutions for metro projects in the Philippines and Italy. The order includes 30 metro units for Manila and 12 units for Naples. Deliveries are slated to start in 2019, Teleste officials said in a press release. The deployment will include a passenger information system and Ethernet network for Manila metro trains, and a passenger information system and closed-circuit television systems with an Ethernet network in Naples.

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Sep
28

TNW's locomotives get a makeover

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals 9/28/2018 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
TNW executives, left to right: Jeff Davis, chief operating officer; Wade Hoffmann, vice president marketing and sales; Robert Murchison, owner; Paul Treangen, chief executive officer; and Burk Murchison, owner.Photo – TNW Corp.

TNW Corp. this week unveiled a new design for the short-line and logistics company's locomotive fleet.

The new design features the railroad's classic red, black and gray colors divided by a wavy line of white and black. Because Texas Rock Crusher Railway (TXR) is part of the community in Brownwood, Texas, the city's logo was painted on the locomotive, company officials said in a press release.

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Sep
28

CTA starts Jefferson Park station rehab project

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 9/28/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The $25 million project includes new bus and rail station canopies, along with new LED lighting and additional security cameras.Photo – transitchicago.com

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter Jr. yesterday announced the start of construction to modernize the nearly 50-year-old Jefferson Park Blue Line Transit Center Terminal.

The $25 million rehabilitation project includes new bus and rail station canopies, new LED lighting and additional security cameras. Crews also will repair and refinish all station and platform surfaces, CTA officials said in a press release.

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Sep
28

RTA: Tie production, purchases rose in August

In August, tie production jumped 20.2 percent to 1,695,000 units and purchases rose 16.8 percent to 2,247,000 units compared with July levels, according to the Railway Tie Association's (RTA) latest market report.

On a year-over-year basis, production fell 15.2 percent and purchases dropped 10.7 percent.

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Sep
28

Gulf Inland Logistics Park signs two chemical firms

Gulf Inland Logistics Park, a 1,050-acre industrial and commercial development near Dayton, Texas, has signed initial user land sales with two global chemical companies.

BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad serve the park, which eventually will include more than 10 million square feet of rail-served industrial facilities and storage for more than 1,850 rail cars.

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Sep
28

Phoenix OKs South Central light-rail extension

The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday voted to build Valley Metro's two-lane South Central light-rail extension as planned.

The city approved the 5.5-mile project in spite of resistance from a grassroots group known as "4 Lanes or No Train," which formed earlier this year to stop the project, The Arizona Republic reported.

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Sep
28

Contractor selected for Willmar Rail Connector project

The Hoffman Team has been selected as the design-build "best value proposer" for the road portion of the Willmar Rail Connector and Industrial Access Project, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) announced this week.

Known as Willmar Wye, the project is a public-private partnership between BNSF Railway Co., MnDOT, Kandiyohi County and the city of Willmar to build a new rail line bypass on the city's west side.

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Sep
28

Contractor selected for Willmar Rail Connector project

The Hoffman Team has been selected as the design-build "best value proposer" for the road portion of the Willmar Rail Connector and Industrial Access Project, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) announced this week.

Known as Willmar Wye, the project is a public-private partnership between BNSF Railway Co., MnDOT, Kandiyohi County and the city of Willmar to build a new rail line bypass on the city's west side.

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Sep
28

Sound Transit picks alignment for Redmond light-rail extension

Sound Transit's board yesterday selected an elevated light-rail alignment for its Link light-rail extension in downtown Redmond, Washington.

The move brings the Redmond Link extension one step closer to the start of construction in 2019, with service slated to start in 2024, agency officials said in a press release.

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Sep
27

Metro-North taps Skanska-ECCO for Croton-Harmon Shops project

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has approved a contract with Skanska-ECCO for the final phase of rebuilding MTA Metro-North Railroad's Croton-Harmon Shops and Yard complex in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

The final stage involves completing demolition and replacement of the main shop, where Metro-North previously performed most of its train maintenance. Slated to wrap up in 2022, the work will make room for a new electric car shop and support shop facility.

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Sep
27

U.S. railroads report 4.9 percent traffic growth in Week 38

The growth in U.S. rail traffic continued unabated for the week ending Sept. 22, with railroads moving 567,078 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.9 percent increase compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

For the week ending Sept. 22, U.S. railroads moved 272,615 carloads, up 4.2 percent compared with the same week in 2017, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 294,463 containers and trailers, up 5.7 percent compared to 2017, according to an AAR press release.

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Sep
27

Connecticut DOT opens second track along Hartford Line

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has completed and opened a second track on the CTrail Hartford Line between Hartford and Windsor.

The work marks the completion of 4 miles of track construction as part of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) rail program, although some follow-up construction activity will occur through mid-November.

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Sep
27

Honda recognizes BNSF for transportation excellence

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 9/27/2018 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF was recognized for "efficient and reliable railway transport of finished vehicles."Photo – bnsf.com

American Honda Motor Co. recently honored BNSF Railway Co. with the auto manufacturer's Premier Partner Award for excellence in transportation.

The Class I was among 15 of Honda's suppliers to receive the award. BNSF was recognized for "efficient and reliable railway transport of finished vehicles," according to a BNSF press release.

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Sep
27

Honda recognizes BNSF for transportation excellence

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 9/27/2018 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF was recognized for "efficient and reliable railway transport of finished vehicles."Photo – bnsf.com

American Honda Motor Co. recently honored BNSF Railway Co. with the auto manufacturer's Premier Partner Award for excellence in transportation.

The Class I was among 15 of Honda's suppliers to receive the award. BNSF was recognized for "efficient and reliable railway transport of finished vehicles," according to a BNSF press release.

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Sep
27

FTA demands Honolulu transit agency to address funding shortfalls

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 9/27/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The FTA's cost estimate for Honolulu's passenger-rail system is $134 million above the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's estimate.Photo – Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has asked the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to submit an updated recovery plan that addresses funding shortfalls for its more than $8 billion passenger-rail project.

In late June, the FTA sent a report to HART noting that the project is estimated to cost nearly $8.3 billion, which is $134 million above HART's own cost estimate.

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Sep
27

San Diego commuter railroad to fully implement PTC by Dec. 31

The North County Transit District (NCTD) of San Diego announced yesterday that it's on track to fully implement its positive train control (PTC) system by the Dec. 31 deadline.

Late last week, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) gave conditional approval to the NCTD's PTC safety plan.

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Sep
27

RailTrends adds presenters to 2018 conference agenda

RailTrends® organizers have added three prominent rail industry leaders — Ronald Batory, Marc Brazeau and Peter Gilbertson — to the presenters lineup for this year's conference to be held Nov. 29-30 in New York City.

Batory is administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration; Brazeau is president and chief executive officer of the Railway Association of Canada (RAC); and Gilbertson is president and CEO of Anacostia Rail Holdings Co.

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Sep
27

Cenovus inks crude-by-rail pacts with CP, CN

Cenovus Energy Inc. announced yesterday it has signed three-year pacts with Canadian Pacific and CN to move crude oil by rail from terminals in Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The agreements call for the transport of 100,000 barrels of heavy crude per day. CN will transport oil from the Cenovus Bruderheim Energy Terminal starting in the fourth quarter. CP will transport oil through USD Partners' terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, starting in second-quarter next year, with both ramping up through 2019.

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Sep
26

Rail supplier news from RailWorks, Pyrotek, dFuzion, ENSCO, RATP Dev and WSP (Sept. 26)

RailWorks Corp. has finalized an agreement to acquire steel-tie manufacturer NARSTCO, which employs about 90 people at its U.S. facilities. NARSTCO will continue to operate independently and work with its current customer base, which includes end users, contractors and engineering firms. In addition, Anthony Musa will continue to serve as NARSTCO's chief executive officer, RailWorks officials said in a press release. The acquisition's financial terms were not disclosed.

Pyrotek is adding equipment and ramping up production of acoustic thermal products at its plant in Cortland, New York. The effort is aimed at complementing the company's global manufacturing footprint and providing value-add services for rail, marine and industrial customers in the Americas, said Kevin Bacon, manager of Pyrotek's U.S. acoustic and thermal sales team, in a news release. Pyrotek's offerings include vibration damping and isolation products, as well as sound absorbers, noise barriers and condensation control solutions.

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