Railroad News

3/29/2017    

Rail News: Rail Industry Trends

3/29/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

3/29/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

3/29/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

Rail News Home Passenger Rail March 2017 Rail News: Passenger Rail

University of Utah scientists have installed air quality monitors on two TRAX light-rail vehicles.Photo – Utah Transit Authority By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate EditorTransit agencies often tout the environmental advantages of taking public transportation. Fewer cars on local roads mean less greenhouse gas emissions, the line of thinking typically goes.The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is hoping an ongoing air quality study will help reinforce that idea. As part of the project, University of Utah researchers installed air quality monitors on two TRAX light-rail vehicles. As the rail cars move along the UTA's Red and Green lines, the monitors collect information about airborne pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter and greenhouse gases in the Salt Lake Valley, says University of Utah Postdoctoral Scholar Logan Mitchell. "The idea's been around for a long time to put these kind of instruments on public transit," he says.University scientists installed the first air quality monitor on a single TRAX car in 2014. Last year, a second car was equipped with a monitor. Since the trains are powered by electricity, they don't release emissions that could interfere with the air quality data. In addition, researchers are able to evaluate air quality across different altitudes and population densities throughout Salt Lake City."The Red Line ends up being really ideal from an atmospheric science standpoint because it draws a diagonal across the whole city," Mitchell says. "We're able to capture the dense urban center and much more rural areas, which ends up being really interesting."One finding of interest? Researchers learned that particulate matter is highest in the city center during the winter time, while ozone is higher on the edges of the city in the summer. In general, the project is helping helping university scientists understand the variation of air pollutants across the region, Mitchell says.While similar studies have been carried out in Europe, the TRAX project is a first in the United States. And the TRAX study is unique because most of the air quality data that's been gathered so far has come from a single stationary monitor set up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mitchell says. The monitor has been collecting data since the 1990s, he estimates."It's really valuable to have that long-term record of information, but you just can't see all the spatial patterns that you can see in the TRAX data," he says.UTA's role in the project is simply to provide the rail cars and schedule monthly preventative maintenance inspections of the monitoring equipment; the university takes care of the actual maintenance work.The agency also is responsible for ensuring that the trains are running on different lines to maximize coverage and data collection throughout the Salt Lake Valley, said UTA spokesman Remi Barron in an emailAlthough UTA's role is limited, the project could help locals learn about the environmental benefits of public transit, agency officials believe."UTA's hope is that not only will the study goals and objectives result in a greater understanding of the air quality challenges facing the Wasatch region, but it will also increase awareness of the green benefits of public transportation and encourage the next generation of UTA riders," Barron said.Eventually, University of Utah scientists hope to team up with health researchers to compare air pollutant data and local health impacts, Mitchell says."There's new research coming out that's showing that air quality can affect dementia. So there's some serious health impacts and a lot of premature mortality that goes along with air pollution," he says.The study also could be replicated in other cities with above-ground light-rail systems, such as Denver and Portland, Mitchell says.University researchers are looking for funding to keep the project going. At present, the university is funding the study with money borrowed from other projects, Mitchell says, but he's hopeful the air quality project will continue for decades to come."The longer it goes, the more valuable it gets," he says.
Keywords Browse articles on Utah Transit Authority UTA University of Utah air quality greenhouse gas emissions TRAX TRAX light rail UTA light rail Salt Lake City Salt Lake City transit Salt Lake Valley Logan Mitchell Remi Barron Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

3/29/2017    

Rail News: High-Speed Rail

3/29/2017    

Rail News: People

3/29/2017    

Rail News: CSX Transportation

3/29/2017    

Rail News: CSX Transportation

Rail News Home CSX Transportation 3/29/2017 Rail News: CSX Transportation
CSX is reducing operations at its Stanley Yard in Toledo, Ohio, which will result in the elimination of 34 union positions, the Class I said yesterday.CSX is closing the Stanley classification hump yard as part of the company's "ongoing efforts to be more efficient and reduce operating costs," CSX spokeswoman Gail Lobin said in an email."The decision to make these reductions follows a review of Toledo-area operations," said Lobin. "CSX has determined that by changing the way rail-cars are sorted at Stanley Yard, it will be able to process trains more efficiently, which will result in better service to our customers."The yard will continue to reassemble trains with switching locomotives, which will leave about 40 employees working in Stanley, according to The Toledo Blade.The company expects 360 CSX employees will remain in the Toledo region, Lobin said.The Stanley Yard layoffs come as E. Hunter Harrison settles in as CSX's new chief executive officer. Harrison has said that his goal at CSX will be to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 3/29/2017

Bruce McCuaig is stepping down as president and CEO of Metrolinx to accept a new federal role in the Privy Council Office as executive adviser (Infrastructure Bank) effective April 24, 2017 to support the launch of the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

"Bruce's decision is a big loss for Metrolinx but an equally big win for Canada's ambitions to finance and build infrastructure nationally for the 21st century. Bruce came to Metrolinx after 26 years in the Ontario public service‎ that culminated in his three years as Deputy Minister of Transportation" said Chairman of the Metrolinx Board of Directors J. Robert S. Prichard. "When he arrived at Metrolinx in 2010, he took the helm of an organization in its early days with a mandate to build a fully integrated organization able to deliver on our mission to champion, develop and implement an integrated transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area."

Ontario is partnering with Toronto Hydro to build a battery energy storage system for the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit (LRT) line, which will increase the reliability of the line, lower operating costs and reduce emissions.

The power system, which is equivalent to a large battery, will be capable of providing backup and emergency power to the LRT line for up to four hours in the event of a wide-spread power outage, and replaces previous plans for a natural gas facility.

3/29/2017    

Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation

An assessment released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) found that the impact of trade on the freight railroad industry is responsible for at least 42 percent of rail carloads and intermodal units, and more than 35 percent of annual rail revenue, are directly associated with international trade.

Approximately 50,000 domestic rail jobs, accounting for more than $5.5 billion in annual wages and benefits, depend directly on international trade, the analysis of 2014 data also found. If rail traffic indirectly associated with trade was included, the figures would be notably higher.

The American Public Transportation Association called on the Trump Administration to fully fund the FAST Act for fiscal 2017 and 2018 and public transit must be part of the administration's proposed $1 trillion infrastructure investment.

"The American economy and communities of all sizes would be losers if the proposed reductions in the FTA Capital Investment Grants, the TIGER [grant] program, and Amtrak are enacted," said APTA Acting President and Chief Executive Richard A. White. "As it stands now, America is already underinvesting in public transportation, as noted in the recently released American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report card. These proposed cuts would make the existing $90 billion of state of good repair gap even worse."

3/28/2017    

Rail News: Supplier Spotlight

3/28/2017    

Rail News: MOW

3/28/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail