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Jun
12

Union Pacific allots $55 million for track, $10 million for bridge maintenance in Iowa this year

Union Pacific plans to spend $68 million in Iowa rail this year to improve its infrastructure. The state-spending plan is part of the Class 1's $3.1-billion 2017 capital program.

 $55 million of the Iowa budget will go toward maintaining track, while $10 million will to toward bridge maintenance. UP plans to spend $5 million investment in the rail line between Garden City and Bradford to replace 25 miles of rail. Another $10 million investment will replace the bridge over Abbe Creek in Bertram.

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Jun
12

GE names Flannery to succeed Immelt as CEO, chair

GE today announced that John Flannery has been named chief executive officer effective Aug. 1 and chairman effective Jan. 1, 2018.

As CEO, Flannery succeeds Jeff Immelt, who will remain chairman until his retirement from GE on Dec. 31. In addition, Jeff Bornstein, chief financial officer, has been promoted to vice chairman.

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Jun
12

CTA seeks design, build firms for RPM

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is seeking qualified firms to begin the first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization Program (RPM).

The firms will design and build the first phase of the project, which CTA says "will significantly modernize, improve and increase rail service in Chicago for decades to come."

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Jun
12

CTA seeks design, build firms for RPM

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is seeking qualified firms to begin the first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization Program (RPM).

The firms will design and build the first phase of the project, which CTA says "will significantly modernize, improve and increase rail service in Chicago for decades to come."

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Jun
12

LACMTA awards consulting firm ICF $26 million contract

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has selected ICF for a new contract to provide on-call environmental compliance services to support the county's transportation system.

ICF is a consulting and technology services provider with government and commercial clients. ICF was awarded the contract in the first quarter. The contract has a maximum value of $25.6 million and a term of five years including one three-year base and two one-year options.

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Jun
12

Metrolink tests Tier 4 locomotives

6/12/2017    

Rail News: Mechanical

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Jun
12

CTA issues RFQ for Red, Purple modernization project

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 6/12/2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail
A rendering showing the Red-Purple bypass (at right), along with potential redevelopment concepts.Photo – Chicago Transit Authority

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) late last week issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the first phase of its Red and Purple line modernization program.

The initial phase involves rebuilding four the oldest Red Line stations and making them accessible to people with disabilities. The initial phase also includes the construction of a rail bypass at a century-old junction where Red, Purple and Brown line trains intersect.

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Jun
12

Port of New Orleans to acquire Public Belt Railroad

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals 6/12/2017 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
The Public Belt Railroad will continue to serve the port under a new agreement announced last week.Photo – New Orleans Public Belt Railroad

The Port of New Orleans will take over the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, while in exchange the railroad will transfer the Governor Nicholls Street and Esplanade Avenue wharves to the city of New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced last week.

The arrangement is designed to stimulate economic growth of the port and local industries. The Public Belt will continue to serve the port, city and port officials said in a press release.

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Jun
12

From the editor: G&W's Jack Hellmann to receive 2017 Railroad Innovator Award

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals June 2017 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals

— By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., EditorOn June 1, we announced that Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) President, Chairman and CEO Jack Hellmann is the 2017 recipient of our Railroad Innovator Award, which recognizes an individual’s outstanding achievement in the rail industry.
And I couldn’t be happier to reiterate the news, and to wax a bit about Jack, in this space.He joined G&W as the short-line holding company’s chief financial officer in 2000, and I first talked with him that year. Jack was new to rail (he’d worked in corporate finance) and he called, wondering if I had a few minutes to talk. He asked big-picture questions and nuanced ones. Politely, Jack also nudged me back on track when I got a little too parenthetical (as I tend to get) in my responses. Jack listened. Really listened. That stuck with me. So did his subsequent ascent at G&W.Jack Hellmann

In 2005, Jack was promoted to president; in 2007, G&W added “CEO” to his title. On May 24, he was named chairman, succeeding Mortimer Fuller III, who retired. Fuller had been G&W’s CEO for 30 years and chairman for 40.

During Jack’s 17 years with G&W, the company has grown from 21 railroads to 122, and from a market capitalization of $45 million to $4 billion. G&W’s eight North American regions serve 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. G&W’s Australia Region provides freight-rail services in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia, and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line. The U.K./Europe Region is led by Freightliner Group Ltd., the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight-rail company.

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Jun
09

Rail supplier news from ARI, Railserve, Hub Group, HNTB and RailPros (June 9)

American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARI) announced that it has begun managing its rail-car leasing business in-house. The news follows the sale of its former lease fleet manager, American Railcar Leasing LLC, to SMBC Rail Services LLC. ARI now will be able to serve customers with a "complete suite of products and services," company officials said in a press release. The firm's offerings include ARI-built rail cars for direct sale and lease, in-house lease fleet management, rail-car and industrial components and rail-car repair services. To prepare for the endeavor, ARI added staff to internally manage its own lease fleet and increased sales and marketing staff. Additionally, the company hired John O'Bryan as chief commercial officer to lead the team.

Railserve's first Tier 4-compliant Dual Leaf® gen-set locomotive has been placed into service for an undisclosed customer. The unit is designed to cut particulate emissions by 99 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by 92 percent, company officials said in a press release. The locomotive is expected to improve fuel economy because it operates at lower revolutions per minute in low-notch and idle phases, which are the typical settings for most switching operations. Railserve produces the Dual Leaf units at a manufacturing facility in Longview, Texas.

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Jun
09

ASLRRA honors GE's Griswell for distinguished service

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has presented Gary Griswell with the Thomas L. Schlosser Distinguished Service Award for "long-term, significant service" to the association.

Griswell, customer success team manager-rail with GE Digital, is the first associate member to receive the award, which was presented at ASLRRA's 2017 CONNECTIONS Convention in Grapevine, Texas, according to an ASLRRA press release.

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Jun
09

Metro-North gears up for Waterbury Branch track improvements

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 6/9/2017 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
Metro-North crews at work in 2015Photo – Metro-North's 'Mileposts' newsletter

MTA Metro-North Railroad's crews today will begin an $800,000 track improvement project on the Waterbury Branch.

Workers will renew the Farrel's Road crossing in Ansonia, Conn., and the Eagle Street Crossing in Waterbury, Conn. Elsewhere along the tracks, crews will cut brush and weld rail joints, Metro-North officials said in a press release.

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Jun
09

UP schedules $24 million in capex plans for Arizona

In its latest state-to-state announcements of capital expenditure plans, Union Pacific Railroad revealed yesterday it will invest $24 million in projects to improve its infrastructure in Arizona.

The Class I's plans will include $21 million worth of track projects and $2 million worth of bridge projects.

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Jun
09

UP schedules $24 million in capex plans for Arizona

In its latest state-to-state announcements of capital expenditure plans, Union Pacific Railroad revealed yesterday it will invest $24 million in projects to improve its infrastructure in Arizona.

The Class I's plans will include $21 million worth of track projects and $2 million worth of bridge projects.

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Jun
09

Hampton Roads Transit mulls light-rail extension to Norfolk naval base

Rail News Home Passenger Rail 6/9/2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail
A light-rail train at the Newton Road station in Norfolk, Va.Photo – Hampton Roads Transit

Hampton Road Transit (HRT) next week will hold a public meeting to discuss a potential light-rail expansion to the U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, Va.

Naval Station Norfolk (NSN) is the region's largest employment center. Of the 60,000 to 70,000 people working at NSN and nearby facilities, more than 30 percent live in Norfolk, HRT officials said in a press release.

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Jun
09

Belt Railway Co. of Chicago contracts with Wabtec for PTC

Wabtec Corp. obtained a contract worth $22 million to design, install and commission a positive train control (PTC) system for the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago.

Under the contract, Wabtec will provide its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS®) equipment for five locomotives, a back-office server, office hosting, wayside and communications design, a track database, construction, training and system integration, according to a Wabtec press release.

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Jun
09

Sacramento transit agency moves security in-house

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) has hired 30 in-house security agents for its light-rail system.

The in-house team now has 63 full-time transit agents supported by 28 sworn officers representing various law enforcement agencies throughout the Sacramento region.

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Jun
09

U.S., Canadian railroads post traffic gains in Week 22

U.S. rail traffic rose 9.8 percent to 500,192 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending June 3 compared with traffic during the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Railroads moved 252,853 carloads, up 12.7 percent compared with the same week in 2016, and 247,339 intermodal containers and trailers, up 7 percent compared to 2016.

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Jun
09

UTA to purchase rail simulator with federal PTC grant

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will use a portion of the funds awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration for its positive train control (PTC) efforts to purchase a rail simulator.

 

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Jun
09

UTA to purchase rail simulator with federal PTC grant

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will use a portion of the funds awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration for its positive train control (PTC) efforts to purchase a rail simulator.

 

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