Railroad News

CSX
2018 C&S budget: $44 million
2017 C&S budget: $56.5 million
Major C&S projects planned in 2018: C&S capital focuses on SRO obsolescence, signal reliability, communications upgrades, defect detectors and hump yard improvements.
Note: The budget doesn’t include $116 million expected to be spent on signal upgrades for positive train control (PTC) implementation this year.

Norfolk Southern Corp.
2018 C&S budget: $31 million
2017 C&S budget: $30.8 million
Major C&S projects planned in 2018: Replace process control system (PCS), centralized traffic control (CTC) and direct traffic control (DTC) system at Elkhart Yard, and replace PCS system at Enola Yard.

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

Canadian elected officials earlier this month gathered to install the final piece of light-rail track for the O-Train Confederation Line in Ottawa, Ontario.

On May 4, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and other leaders boarded a train at the Tremblay Station and traveled into the line's downtown tunnel, where officials hammered rail clips to secure the final piece of rail into position.

Sound Transit's Hilltop Tacoma Link light-rail extension received $75 million from the Federal Transit Administration through its Small Starts grant program. It's the piece of financing needed for the project.

Sound Transit says the grant was awarded "following tireless advocacy by members of Washington's congressional delegation." The transit agency noted key proponents of the project, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6), who repeatedly urged approval of the funds.

The Port of Québec will receive CA$15.5 million (US$12.1 million) from Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund to upgrade port infrastructure including rail.

Three projects at the port will benefit from the funding that officials say will "help local businesses compete by moving local goods to market and by making improvements to port infrastructure."

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association's (NRC) 15th Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction this year sold a total of 367 items and brought in $1.15 million from on-site and online bidders.

A draft agreement for a new rail service operator along the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line in California is now available for public view, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) announced late last week.

The commission will consider the draft agreement at a June 14 meeting in Watsonville, California.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) staff will recommend three options to be studied further for the northern alignment of the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor.

The 20-mile light-rail project will connect Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) and Artesia. LACMTA has identified a route for the light-rail project south DTLA, but has run into challenges identifying the northern alignment.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) will make structural repairs and station improvements at the 34 St-Penn Station subway complex starting May 20.

As TriMet's Providence Park MAX Improvements project moves into its final phase, the agency has announced that its MAX Blue and Red lines resumed regular service May 12.

New Jersey Transit's board has appointed William Viqueira chief financial officer and treasurer.

Viqueira has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance, including a decade as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch. He also worked at Lucent Technologies, where he served as treasurer and head of mergers and acquisitions.

Union Pacific Railroad has named Clark Ponthier senior vice president-supply chain and continuous improvement. He begins his new job May 29.

Ponthier has more than 30 years of experience in broad supply chain, manufacturing and engineering at Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, he served as Ingersoll Rand's VP of operations and integrated supply chain-residential HVAC and supply.

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

Brightline will launch passenger-rail service to Miami from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 19.

Trains will travel from an existing station in Fort Lauderdale into MiamiCentral, a new 11-acre intermodal development in downtown Miami. The railroad will provide eight northbound and eight southbound trips each day between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida.

The governments of Canada and Quebec have agreed in principle to jointly fund the Lac-Megantic rail bypass project, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late last week.

The government of Canada will fund 60 percent and Quebec the remaining 40 percent of the CA$133 million cost to build the nearly 8-mile bypass.

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

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

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) auctioned off 367 pieces of equipment for a total $1.15 million at NRC's annual equipment auction held last month in Lonoke, Arkansas. The association raised a record $72,027 for its safety and education program, which receives a percentage of the value of all consignments from contractors, suppliers and railroads. The program also nets all proceeds from items donated to the auction. Equipment sold this year ranged from tampers and grapple trucks to tie inserters, spikers and ballast regulators.

The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority has chosen Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. to manage construction of a new storage and maintenance facility for the Redlands passenger-rail project. The 15,000-square-foot facility and storage tracks will accommodate six diesel multiple units at a time, and will be equipped with an inspection pit, pedestal and maintenance tracks with portable jacking pads. As construction management consultant, LAN will provide schedule evaluation, construction project advertising, bid analysis and award, construction inspection, materials testing and inspection, contractor interface, and contract administration services, according to a company press release. The financial value of LAN's contract wasn't disclosed. The 9-mile project crosses through the cities of San Bernardino and Redlands, California.