Railroad News

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced Monday that work has begun on the first phase of its $33 million Safe and Secure initiative.

The agency will begin the initiative by upgrading more than 600 security cameras on the Red and Blue subway lines, along the Blue Line O'Hare branch and at the Clark/Lake Station in the Chicago Loop.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host a webinar next month for applicants interested in recently announced federal grant dollars to help pay for positive train control (PTC) deployment.

Last week, the FRA issued a notice of funding opportunity for $250 million in grants to help fund PTC implementation on freight, intercity passenger and commuter railroads.

Trinity Metro and other local officials yesterday held a grand-opening ceremony for a new equipment maintenance facility that will house TEXRail trains in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 53,000-square-foot building includes three maintenance pits and a train washing area. All eight TEXRail train sets will be housed and maintained at the facility, which also includes offices, a parts warehouse and dispatch operations, Trinity Metro officials said in a press release.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for eight DHS preparedness grant programs, totaling $1.6 billion.

There are a total of $198 million in grants available in three categories related to rail activities. These include:

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host a webinar on June 4 aimed at helping those seeking funding for the recently announced positive train control (PTC) grants.

The administration will award $250 million of its available PTC grant funding with applications for the grants due by July 2. The funding under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program was authorized by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and funded through the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is halfway finished constructing the $1.75 billion Regional Connector rail line in downtown Los Angeles.

The agency marked the milestone at a May 19 public event, which included construction site tours, according to a Metro press release.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced May 22 the launch of the next two major Blue Line station improvement projects, as part of the $492 million Your New Blue program.

iChurchill Inc. is stepping away from its plan to acquire the flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, the private company announced yesterday.

Earlier this month, a group of Manitoba First Nations and iChurchill announced they had reached an agreement to buy the rail line, port and associated assets, which are owned by OmniTRAX Inc.

Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. announced yesterday that its Huron Central Railway (HCRY) will halt service on its 176-mile line from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Sudbury, Ontario, by year's end.

The announcement follows the "recent refusal of support" from Transport Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund, according to a G&W Canada press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has announced LIRR Forward, a new initiative through which the railroad intends to revamp its operations and efficiency.

Miner Enterprises has acquired Texas-based DFW Grating, a manufacturer of metal grating products.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) announced that Ron Trees has been named to the authority's board.

Trees will represent the town of Little Elm, Texas, on the board. He is a semi-retired military operations research analyst who is on the adjunct staff for the Rand Corp., according to a DCTA press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on May 26 will begin positive train control (PTC) installation along the Worcester Line.

To give crews space to carry out the work, the agency will halt weekend train service between the Worcester and Framingham stations from May 26 through June 17.

The Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has appointed Brian Sager to its board to represent McHenry County, Illinois.

Since 2005, Sager has served as mayor of Woodstock, Illinois. He has been on the Woodstock City Council since 1989.

The Center for LNG has become the newest sponsor of TRANSCAER®, which provides hazardous materials education and training to first responders.

The center represents the full liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain, including producers, shippers, terminal operators and developers.

Operations will cease by the end of 2018 along the Huron Central Railway (HCRY), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., which cites a lack of provincial funding needed to maintain service.

HCRY operates a 175.8-mile Northern Ontario route between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. The shortline was established under a 1997 lease agreement with Canadian Pacific. Genesee & Wyoming Canada notes that the railway serves major employers in the region, including Domtar, Algoma Steel and Eacom, which together ship approximately 13,000 annual carloads of freight.

A consortium that expressed interest in purchasing the flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), the Port of Churchill and associated assets, has halted negotiations and cites the government of Canada's "unwillingness to engage in meaningful dialogue."

"We are disappointed to have put so much time, effort and money into what would have been a timely solution for the people of Churchill and the economy of western Canada, but we have apparently run up against politics," said iChurchill CEO Louis Dufresne. "We finally met last week with the government of Canada's negotiator on the file, Wayne Wouters, and he made it clear that the government is willing to deal only with one specific company, a Toronto-based financial firm. We can't understand why this is, given that our partnership meets all of the government's stated criteria to support the restoration of rail service to Churchill."

Amtrak last week announced a $4 million plan to update the interiors of the entire Acela Express fleet operating on the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

The 14-month program will rehab the interiors of 20 trainsets, which include 100 Amtrak cars.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has announced that the agency will add more than 600 new high-definition (HD) security cameras to its rail system as part of its Safe and Secure program.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) President Phil Eng yesterday announced plans to repair faulty infrastructure and boost operating efficiency following a year of poor on-time performance.

In 2017, the railroad logged its worst on-time performance history in nearly two decades, Newsday reported last month.