Railroad News

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) will oppose proposals that call for cutting public transportation and intercity passenger-rail programs to fund a national infrastructure initiative, the association announced last week.

APTA President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Skoutelas issued a statement last week after a White House representative outlined a plan at the U.S. Conference of Mayors that called for cutting existing funding for public transit infrastructure to pay for a national infrastructure program.

Valley Metro late last week announced two additions to its management team.

The agency named Brad Cummings chief procurement officer and Phil Ozlin manager of information technology (IT).

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has unveiled a new program that provides refunds for late trains and buses.

Known as the Rush Hour Promise, the program will credit riders' SmarTrip cards for future travel if a trains or buses are more than 15 minutes late.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) board late last week adopted the recommended locally preferred alternative from the King of Prussia rail project's draft environmental impact statement.

The board made the selection after evaluating more than 30 alternatives for a new rail connection between the existing Norristown High Speed Line and destinations in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Cindy Sanborn, the first woman to hold a senior operating executive role at a Class I railroad, and who was unceremoniously axed by the late E. Hunter Harrison in a messy management purge at CSX, has joined Union Pacific as Regional Vice President Transportation-Western Region, effective Feb. 16, 2018.

Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) aims to expand business opportunities under a lease of 5 miles of track from CN in Gary, Indiana.

Effective last week, the lease of track is designed to improve the interchange between CSS and CN, as well as provide shipping options for customers through a higher frequency of service, CSS owner Anacostia Rail Holdings announced in a press release.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) last week announced its preferred alignment for the proposed Red Line rail extension, which calls for extending the route from 95th Street to 130th Street.

The chosen route would begin at 95th Street and run along the west side of Union Pacific Railroad tracks from Interstate 57 to 109th Street. Then, the route would cross UP tracks and run along their east side until crossing the Metra Electric tracks near 119th Street.

New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA), a subsidiary of Anacostia Rail Holdings, began a program Jan. 23 to screen employees for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Union Pacific Railroad has hired former CSX executive Cindy Sanborn as UP's regional vice president of transportation for the West.

Sanborn, who will begin her new job on Feb. 16, will succeed Richard Castagna, who will retire after nearly 25 years of service, UP officials said in a press release.

The 60-kilometer new line crosses 88 bridges and passes through four tunnels to connect 10 municipalities, with a new station at Køge Nord and new platforms at Ny Ellebjerg Station for regional and long-distance connections.

Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) has set out to expand its business opportunities in Gary, Ind., with the lease of five miles of track from Canadian National Railway (CN).

Trade Press Media Group Inc., a 100-plus-year-old Milwaukee-based business media company, has been acquired by Forum Media Group, headquartered in Merching, Germany.

Founded in 1915, Trade Press Media Group is a business-to-business media company serving the rail industry with Progressive Railroading magazine, Progressive Railroading.com, the Car & Locomotive Yearbook, the Track Yearbooks, RailTrends Conference and the Secure Rail Conference.

The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) will again host the USA Pavilion at the upcoming InnoTrans 2018 show in Berlin, Germany. The pavilion offers a "turnkey service" to help exhibitors simplify exhibiting at the international trade show, which will be held Sept. 18-21. The layout includes a common exhibit area with internet, refreshments, seating and meeting space, as well as booth space for each exhibition company. The pavilion also will include translators. Held biennially, InnoTrans attracts more than 120,000 visitors from more than 100 countries, REMSA officials said in a press release.

Drapeau Rail and Neotec last month delivered a hi-rail truck to contractors working on Ottawa's Confederation Line. The truck is designed to maintain overhead catenary systems. Equipped with a scissor lift deck, the unit features a 180-degree turret module, Drapeau officials said in a press release.

Keolis Commuter Services earlier this week graduated 27 new assistant conductors for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) commuter-rail network.

The group, which completed the training program in Somerville, Massachusetts, was the largest class to graduate in the commuter-rail system's history, Keolis officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) board yesterday approved a new policy to incentivize companies bidding on contracts to create and retain U.S. jobs.

Under the policy, the agency will apply a "U.S. Employment Plan" to all train, bus and equipment purchases above $100 million. The plan was developed by advocacy group Jobs to Move America, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, the Brookings Institution, the University of Southern California and the University of Massachusetts.

Union Pacific will target a 2018 capital plan of approximately $3.3 billion, pending final approval from its Board of Directors.

Union Pacific will target a 2018 capital plan of approximately $3.3 billion, pending final approval from its Board of Directors.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Jan. 29 will begin a series of 10 public hearings on its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed bullet train project in Texas.

The first public hearing will be held in Dallas County. Others will be held in locations along the proposed route, which would extend from North Texas to Houston.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will adopt the recommended Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) as presented in the King of Prussia Rail (KOP Rail) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) with the North/South design option following Board approval. 

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will adopt the recommended Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) as presented in the King of Prussia Rail (KOP Rail) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) with the North/South design option following Board approval.