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Jul
26

Rising Stars: Jeffrey Brauner, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Jeffrey Brauner, 27

Job description: Conducts operational and financial data analysis; develops and plans new initiatives; manages projects and grants; and coordinates marketing and support business development in support of New York New Jersey Rail LLC (NYNJR), a short line of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

Education: Bachelor of Arts in political science and Master of Public Administration, University at Albany, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

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Jul
26

CREATE update: Briefing, tour tout progress of effort to unclog Chicago’s rail network

(From left) CDOT's Scheinfeld, Cook County's Yonan and AAR's Thompson addressed aspects of CREATE during the briefing.Photo – Metro Strategies

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

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Jul
25

Rail supplier news from Dewberry, Railroad Software, Alstom and REMSA (July 25)

Rail News Home Railroading Supplier Spotlight 7/25/2018 Rail News: Railroading Supplier Spotlight
New Jersey Transit has awarded contracts to Dewberry for an environmental consulting task order and a stations services task order. Dewberry's scope of work for the environmental contract includes site investigation and remediation; environmental and historic documentation; and environmental permitting, compliance and project documentation. The firm also will provide underground and above ground storage tank system compliance reviews and design services, Dewberry officials said in a press release. Under the stations contract, Dewberry will provide specialized station facility design, multimodal access plans and Americans with Disabilities Act station improvement planning. Financial terms of the contracts weren't disclosed.The Federal Railroad Administration has approved Railroad Software's TrackAsset application for electronic capture of signal inspections. TrackAsset provides visibility for signal managers and maintenance-of-way employees to track upcoming inspections and generate work orders, company officials said in a press release. Currently, 12 short lines use TrackAsset for signal inspections, they added.Alstom signed a $70 million contract with Transport for Victoria in Australia to supply five additional X'Trapolis trainsets for Melbourne's suburban rail network. The order will expand the agency's fleet to 636 cars, all of which were delivered from Alstom's plant in Ballarat, Australia. The new trainsets are expected to enhance the network's capacity and increase reliability, Alstom officials said in a press release.The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) has named Jacob Carter government affairs manager. He'll oversee the association's grassroots program, which helps railroads and maintenance-of-way suppliers connect with members of Congress to advocate on behalf of the rail industry. Before joining REMSA, Carter served as government affairs analyst at Bockorny Group, where he researched Congress, legislation and policy. He also interned for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), according to a REMSA press release.

Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

More News from 7/25/2018


Jul
25

Sound Transit logged light-rail ridership record in May

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 7/25/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The May figure marked a 10.8 percent increase over average weekday ridership in the same month last year.Photo – Sound Transit's blog

In May, Sound Transit's Link light-rail system averaged 81,000 riders on weekdays, which marked the first time weekday ridership topped 80,000 boardings for an entire month.

The May figure also marked a 10.8 percent increase over average weekday ridership in the same month last year.

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Jul
25

Thermite weld failure caused CP derailment, agency says

A thermite weld failure resulted in a Canadian Pacific train derailment in Manitoba in August 2017, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced yesterday.

On Aug. 11, 2017, a CP unit train was heading north on the Emerson Subdivision when 22 covered hopper cars loaded with corn derailed while exiting a bridge over the Roseau River near Dominion City, Manitoba.

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Jul
25

LIRR launches accessibility program

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 7/25/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The effort is an expansion of LIRR's previous Call Ahead program, which required customers to call in for help three hours ahead of their rides.Photo – LIRR accessibility brochure

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) yesterday announced the launch of a program to assist riders with mobility issues.

Through the new LIRR Care program, the railroad will offer help to passengers who need assistance boarding or exiting trains. The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, LIRR officials said in a press release.

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Jul
25

Cleveland RTA exec Calabrese to step down sooner than expected

Rail News Home Railroading People 7/25/2018 Rail News: Railroading People
Joseph Calabrese has served as GM since 2000.Photo – GCRTA

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's (GCRTA) longtime Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Joseph Calabrese will move into to a senior advisory role in September.

The change comes as part a new agreement to accelerate the agency's executive leadership transition, GCRTA officials said in a press release. Calabrese is expected to serve as senior adviser for special projects and strategic innovation in a full-time capacity through February 2019.

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Jul
25

Operation Lifesaver, FRA announce rail-safety grant awards

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced $205,525 in federal grants will be awarded to 16 state Operation Lifesaver programs to fund rail-safety education projects.

Funded by the FRA, the grants will go to Operation Lifesaver organizations in Alabama, California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota.

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Jul
25

CN boosts financial outlook after posting strong Q2

CN yesterday raised its financial outlook for the second half of the year after reporting  strong second-quarter results.

Net income for the quarter rose 27 percent to CA$1.31 billion, or CA$1.77 per share, from CA$1.03 billion, or CA$1.36 per share, a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were CA$1.51, up from CA$1.34 last year.

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Jul
25

CN boosts financial outlook after posting strong Q2

CN yesterday raised its financial outlook for the second half of the year after reporting  strong second-quarter results.

Net income for the quarter rose 27 percent to CA$1.31 billion, or CA$1.77 per share, from CA$1.03 billion, or CA$1.36 per share, a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were CA$1.51, up from CA$1.34 last year.

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Jul
25

Norfolk Southern's Q2 results break records

Norfolk Southern Corp. today reported second-quarter results that included records for operating income, operating ratio, net income and earnings.

Second quarter net income rose 43 percent to $710 million, or $2.50 per share, compared with $497 million, or $1.71 per share a year ago. The company attributed the net income growth to an 18 percent increase in income from railway operations and a lower effective income tax rate.

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Jul
25

Norfolk Southern's Q2 results break records

Norfolk Southern Corp. today reported second-quarter results that included records for operating income, operating ratio, net income and earnings.

Second quarter net income rose 43 percent to $710 million, or $2.50 per share, compared with $497 million, or $1.71 per share a year ago. The company attributed the net income growth to an 18 percent increase in income from railway operations and a lower effective income tax rate.

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Jul
25

Rising Stars: Jeffrey Bennett, District Department of Transportation (DDOT)

Jeffrey Bennett, 35

Job description: Responsible for planning, operating and maintaining transit services throughout the District of Columbia's transportation system, which includes the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail service, as well as the DC Circulator, DC Streetcar, the Virginia Railway Express and Maryland Area Regional Commuter service. He previously served as assistant vice president of rail operations for the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA).

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree, Virginia Military Institute; Master of Business Administration, Texas A&M University-Commerce

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Jul
24

NYCT to boost accessibility at Brooklyn G Line station

Rail News Home Rail Industry Trends 7/24/2018 Rail News: Rail Industry Trends
The project marks the second subway elevator installation in Brooklyn to start this summer.Photo – Wikimedia user Harrison Leong (Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) will soon begin a project to expand passenger accessibility to the Greenpoint Avenue G Line station in Brooklyn.

Crews will install three elevators and add powered gates, Braille signage and sidewalk pedestrian ramps. The agent booth will be modified to a wheelchair-friendly height, NYCT officials said in a press release.

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Jul
24

Sound Transit wraps up Bellevue tunnel excavation

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 7/24/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The agency began the excavation in February 2017.Photo – Sound Transit / Glenn Landberg

Sound Transit's contractors late last week completed excavation of a light-rail tunnel in Bellevue, Washington, that will connect two stations on the East Link extension.

Using the sequential excavation method (SEM) process, crews completed the tunnel excavation in 15 months, which was five months quicker than forecasted, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

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Jul
24

North Carolina officials mark start of Charlotte Gateway Station project

North Carolina state and local officials gathered in Charlotte last week to mark the groundbreaking of the Charlotte Gateway Station project.

The project's first phase will include construction of 2,000 feet of track, signals, five new bridges and a rail platform, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) officials said in a press release.

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Jul
24

LA Metro unveils alternatives for Crenshaw/LAX northern extension

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 7/24/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
The cost of each proposed alternative exceeds current funding allocations, agency staff said.Photo – LA Metro

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has released a feasibility study examining five potential light-rail routes for the Crenshaw/LAX Line's northern extension.

Four alternatives would extend the line north to the Purple Line subway and then through West Hollywood to the Red Line. The other proposed route would extend the Crenshaw/LAX Line to the Red and Purple lines at Vermont Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard near LA's Koreatown neighborhood.

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Jul
24

ARCI: Rail-car orders increased in Q2

Rail-car orders in the second quarter totaled 23,788 units compared with 10,348 units in the first quarter and 17,665 units in second-quarter 2017, according to quarterly statistics released last week by the Railway Supply Institute's American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI).

Car deliveries in the second quarter declined to 13,071 units from 13,098 units in the first quarter, but were higher than the 10,625 units delivered in second-quarter 2017.

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Jul
24

APTA: Majority of Americans favor increased public transit funding

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 7/24/2018 Rail News: Passenger Rail
In a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents said Congress should increase public transit funding.Photo – Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

Seventy-four percent of Americans in a recent survey agreed that Congress should boost public transit funding, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reported yesterday.

Conducted by the Mineta Transportation Institute on APTA's behalf, the survey also showed that 80 percent of respondents support using tax dollars for creating, expanding and improving public transportation in their communities.

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Jul
24

T&I Chair Shuster introduces draft of infrastructure plan

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has introduced a draft of an infrastructure plan that would be funded in part by an increase fuel taxes.

The plan calls for significant federal investment in infrastructure projects and grant programs at least through 2021, as well as a plan to shore up the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

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