Railroad News

The engineer of the Amtrak Cascades train missed seeing a speed-limit sign before the train derailed from an overpass in Washington state last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday.

NTSB investigators interviewed the train's engineer and a conductor the week of Jan. 15, about a month after the fatal derailment killed three passengers and injured dozens of others. The engineer and conductor, who were in the lead locomotive during the Dec. 16 accident, were unable to be interviewed until recently because of their injuries.

Rail-car orders in fourth-quarter 2017 totaled 8,501 units compared with 8,671 units in the third quarter and 4,866 units in fourth-quarter 2016, according to quarterly statistics released this week by the Railway Supply Institute's American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI).

Car deliveries in Q4 2017 rose to 13,404 units from 11,015 units in Q3. Deliveries for Q2 and Q1 came in at 10,625 and 10,042 units, respectively.

Total U.S. railroad traffic declined 2.9 percent to 508,239 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 20 compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Total carloads for the week fell 7.6 percent to 241,258 units, but intermodal volume ticked up 1.8 percent to 266,981 containers and trailers compared with the third week of 2017, AAR reported in a press release.

Norfolk Southern plans a capital program of $1.845 billion in 2018, continuing what the railroad calls a balanced deployment of capital.

Norfolk Southern plans a capital program of $1.845 billion in 2018, continuing what the railroad calls a balanced deployment of capital.

Construction began early this month on Brazos Yard in Robertson County, Texas. Union Pacific says the $550-million yard is the largest capital investment in a single facility in its history.

UP says Brazos Yard is the first classification yard to be built in more than a generation and will showcase best practices in operating efficiency, technology and innovation. The yard is scheduled to be completed in 2020 and will have the capacity to switch up to 1,300 rail cars per day, making it one of the highest capacity yards on Union Pacific's 23-state network.

Construction began early this month on Brazos Yard in Robertson County, Texas. Union Pacific says the $550-million yard is the largest capital investment in a single facility in its history.

UP says Brazos Yard is the first classification yard to be built in more than a generation and will showcase best practices in operating efficiency, technology and innovation. The yard is scheduled to be completed in 2020 and will have the capacity to switch up to 1,300 rail cars per day, making it one of the highest capacity yards on Union Pacific's 23-state network.

Bergmann, a national engineering firm, has named George Kevgas, PE, as its new vice president of infrastructure for the firm's Atlantic region.

Bergmann, a national engineering firm, has named George Kevgas, PE, as its new vice president of infrastructure for the firm's Atlantic region.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has granted The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) a three-month extension to complete the Federal New Starts funding program's project development phase.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has granted The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) a three-month extension to complete the Federal New Starts funding program's project development phase.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate Editor

The Ontario government on Tuesday confirmed that Metrolinx was the victim of a cyberattack by North Korea.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) received approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to extend the New Starts project development phase for the 6-mile Bay Area Rapid Transit extension to Silicon Valley.

The deadline to complete the phase has been moved from March to June. VTA made the request so it could refine design considerations for two tunneling methods for the 5-mile segment into downtown San Jose, California, agency officials said in a press release.

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:10 p.m. CST.]

Union Pacific Corp. today reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income rose 5 percent to $1.2 billion, or $1.53 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the same period a year ago.

Including the impact of the recently passed federal corporate tax reform, UP posted net income of $7.3 billion, or $9.25 per diluted share for Q4 2017, according to a UP press release.

Union Pacific Corp. today reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income rose 5 percent to $1.2 billion, or $1.53 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the same period a year ago.

Including the impact of the recently passed federal corporate tax reform, UP posted net income of $7.3 billion, or $9.25 per diluted share for Q4 2017, according to a UP press release.

Stadler has acquired Knorr-Bremse subsidiary Swedtrac, which specializes in train modernization. The move is aimed at enabling Stadler to strengthen its presence in the Nordic countries, company officials said in a press release. Swedtrac will join Stadler in the first quarter. In the long term, Stadler aims to transform Swedtrac's site in Tillberga, Sweden, into a major service cente. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Harsco Rail has promoted Allen Branham to vice president of North America sales and global contracting services. He has more than two decades of experience with the company and most recently served as director of U.S. East sales. Branham also has held positions in product management, engineering and project management.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday approved the construction of Pier B on-dock rail support facility at the Port of Long Beach, California.

The facility would provide track space to join together sections of trains assembled at terminals. The ability to build long trains now is limited due to lack of adequate yard tracks and the configuration of mainline tracks, port officials said in a press release.