Railroad News

TransLink has announced British Columbia Rapid Transit Co. (BCRTC) President and General Manager Vivienne King will step down May 16 to return to her native Australia.

BCRTC operates and maintains two of the three SkyTrain lines in Vancouver: the Expo Line and the Millennium Line. The company also operates the West Coast Express commuter-rail system.

Union Pacific Railroad announced last week it has established a $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation (NPF) to help encourage younger generations to explore the national parks via the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement.

"Union Pacific transported early park-goers to adventures out west," said Scott Moore, UP's senior vice president of corporate relations and chief administrative officer, in a press release. "Today, we deliver the goods Americans use every day to our nation's busiest cities and quietest towns, passing through rugged, beautiful landscapes. We traverse America's backyard, and we want the next generation to explore it."

Union Pacific Railroad announced last week it has established a $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation (NPF) to help encourage younger generations to explore the national parks via the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement.

"Union Pacific transported early park-goers to adventures out west," said Scott Moore, UP's senior vice president of corporate relations and chief administrative officer, in a press release. "Today, we deliver the goods Americans use every day to our nation's busiest cities and quietest towns, passing through rugged, beautiful landscapes. We traverse America's backyard, and we want the next generation to explore it."

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on MTA Metro-North Railroad to speed up its positive train control (PTC) implementation after a Federal Railroad Administration letter cast doubt on the railroad's ability to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology.

In a letter obtained by The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News, FRA Administrator Ron Batory noted that Metro-North had installed 63 percent of the hardware needed for its PTC system. Batory also expressed concern about Metro-North's progress toward fully implementing PTC.

Union Pacific remains the safest U.S. Class 1 railroad in employee safety for the third consecutive year.

The top-performing railroad had a 0.79 reportable injury rate in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. A railroad's reportable injury rate represents total number of injuries reported per 200,000 employee work hours. The reportable injury rate in 2017 is up slightly from the 0.78 reportable injury rate in 2016, but remains much lower than the 0.88 reportable injury rate in 2015.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded $2.6 billion in Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grants to 28 recipients. CalSTA is also providing additional funding for seven projects through multi-year funding agreements, bringing the total awarded to more than $4.3 billion.

TIRCP funding is provided through Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) and from the proceeds of the Cap and Trade program. The program provides major benefits towards meeting the State's climate and air quality goals, with a total reduction of more than 32 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) and CloudMoyo (CM), an information technology and services company, announced a partnership April 30 to modernize KCS' railroad operating system.

Watco Supply Chain Services LLC (WSCS) has purchased an interest in MID-SHIP Group LLC (MSG), which operates under three divisions: Marine, Logistics, and Kinder Morgan Logistics (KML).

Watco and MSG have had a long business relationship, particularly among MSG's logistics and KML business units and Watco's WSCS and Terminal and Port Services assets and operations. The new investment "further deepens that relationship and extends the companies' cooperation into marine chartering and international market expansion," Watco officials said in a press release.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) late last week awarded more than $2.6 billion in grants for rail and transit projects throughout the state.

In Southern California, grants were awarded to projects that are critical to preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles.

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) late last week toured Aaron Enterprises Inc.'s facility in York, Pennsylvania.

He was joined by representatives from Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and other York-based businesses, according to a press release issued by the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA), which coordinated the event.

The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission has awarded Siemens a contract to build four diesel-electric Charger locomotives, with an option to purchase four additional units. The contract, which includes additional services and equipment, is valued at about $30 million, Siemens spokeswoman Elizabeth Cho said in an email. The locomotives will operate on the Altamont Corridor Express, a commuter-rail service that runs between Stockton and San Jose, California. Delivery of the units is slated to begin in December 2019. The 4,400-horsepower Charger locomotives will meet the Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 4 emissions standard, Siemens officials said in a press release. The locomotives are currently in use in other parts of California, as well as in Illinois, Maryland and Washington.

TRAC Intermodal has announced that it's doubling the size of its mobile service unit (MSU) truck fleet to help accelerate chassis repairs and increase intermodal shipment velocity at key rail ramps across the United States. The company established its MSU program in 2016 to ensure that chassis are readily available for customers. The program provides needed repair capacity in select markets and has been expanded each year since it was launched, TRAC Intermodal officials said in a press release. The MSUs are staffed by TRAC mechanics trained in repairing chassis brakes, lights, tires and other equipment at rail ramp locations.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) board earlier this week passed a capital plan amendment to provide additional funding for accessibility improvements at subway stations.

The amendment includes $300 million to undertake critical station improvements such as adding elevators and redesigning stairs, mezzanines and platforms.

The California Transportation Commission has recommended awarding $78 million in grant funding for two grade separations along the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) freight-rail corridor in eastern Los Angeles County, the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority announced yesterday.

The proposed grants are among a statewide list of projects recommended for funding through California's new Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, which is administered by the commission.

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday provided an update on its positive train control (PTC) implementation effort through the first quarter.

As of March 31, the Class I had prepared eight additional track segments for PTC operations in the quarter, boosting the total number of segments to 176, or 97 percent completion.

Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, has announced the appointment of Paolo Covoni as managing director of ECM S.p.A., an international signaling company it recently acquired. Covoni's new role is effective immediately.

Charles Bailey, director of design and construction Engineering for CSX Transportation, has been awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).