Railroad News

HDR has been awarded a contract to lead the final design of a Class 1 swing bridge near Clinton, Iowa.

HDR says the its new design will replace the 108-year-old swing bridge that is roughly 7,000 feet and will provide continuous rail passage across the river while simultaneously accommodating barge traffic. It will support two mainline tracks and an access road that can be converted to a third main line if future capacity warrants. Currently, the existing movable bridge, completed in 1909, does not allow for rail and river traffic to pass simultaneously. Its open/close design allows only one or the other to pass at a time.

Pipeline Foods LLC yesterday announced it acquired two Canadian Pacific-served grain elevators in Wapella and Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.

The U.S.-based supply chain solutions company focuses on non-genetically modified organism and organic food and feed. Both facilities are certified as organic through Pro-Cert, which is accredited in both the United States and Canada.

Pipeline Foods LLC yesterday announced it acquired two Canadian Pacific-served grain elevators in Wapella and Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.

The U.S.-based supply chain solutions company focuses on non-genetically modified organism and organic food and feed. Both facilities are certified as organic through Pro-Cert, which is accredited in both the United States and Canada.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) today initiated a "safety stand-down" that resulted in a temporary suspension of mechanical inspections of the transit system's newest rail cars.

WMATA's action is in response to a safety concern raised by ATU Local 689, which represents the agency's operators, clerical and maintenance workers. The concern involved procedures for inspecting ground brushes, which are part of the train's undercarriage that return negative electrical current to the rails, WMATA officials said in a press release.

Atlanta City Council approved a statute on September 19 transferring all assets and operations of Atlanta Streetcar to Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Atlanta City Council approved a statute on September 19 transferring all assets and operations of Atlanta Streetcar to Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Atlanta City Council approved a statute on September 19 transferring all assets and operations of Atlanta Streetcar to Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. has acquired substructure maintenance company HyGround Engineering. The acquisition is aimed at enabling Loram to better record and diagnose issues with ballast, sub-ballast, subgrade and drainage. In addition, the acquisition will pair HyGround's expertise in track geotechnics with Loram's ballast maintenance equipment to provide customers effective substructure maintenance management programs, Loram officials said in a press release. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

HDR has acquired Maintenance Design Group (MDG). Founded in 1995, MDG has designed upper-level work platforms for light-rail facilities. The firm employs nearly 40 professionals at offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Houston, Baltimore and Nashville, Tennessee. For more than a decade, HDR and MDG have worked together to serve transit clients, including the Kansas City Streetcar, said HDR President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Keen in a press release. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has finished a series of accessibility improvements at Metrolink's Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station in California.

Working in partnership with Metrolink and the cities of Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo, OCTA designed and constructed two ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

New Jersey Transit employees have donated clothing and supplies to employees of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), the Houston transit agency that experienced ervice disruptions due to Hurricane Harvey earlier this month.

Collections took place at employee work locations last week, NJ Transit officials said in a press release. Members of the NJ Transit Police Department delivered the items to Houston METRO.

Southwest Gulf Railroad Co. (SGRR) officially broke ground on the Medina Line, which is designed to increase the short line's customers access to Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Co. lines in Texas and beyond.

The 9-mile line in Medina County, Texas, also will provide access to U.S. Route 90, railroad officials said in a press release.

Port Tampa Bay's board yesterday approved a public-private partnership agreement that will determine how to pay for a $60 million expansion of the Big Bend Channel.

The other partners involved in the agreement include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Transportation, Tampa Electric Co. and Mosaic Co., a global fertilizer company and one of the port's largest tenants, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 16, 2017.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has appointed John Bilich chief security officer, the agency announced yesterday.

A former commissioner of operations for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Bilich joined PANYNJ in March 2015 as first deputy chief security officer.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has written a preliminary report on the Aug. 22 collision between two Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) trains.

The incident occurred when a SEPTA electrically powered single-car train struck an unoccupied SEPTA single-car train that was stopped at a passenger platform at the 69th Street Transportation Center on the Norristown Line in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

In effort to evolve with its customer needs, Union Pacific announced plans to redesign its Marketing and Sales organization. The Class 1 plans to consolidate six major business units into four and four customer service center subsidiaries into one.

The four updated business units will be Agricultural Products, Energy, Industrial and Premium.

In effort to evolve with its customer needs, Union Pacific announced plans to redesign its Marketing and Sales organization. The Class 1 plans to consolidate six major business units into four and four customer service center subsidiaries into one.

The four updated business units will be Agricultural Products, Energy, Industrial and Premium.