Railroad News

BNSF Railway Co. has awarded its "Certified Site" designation to three properties, the Class I announced yesterday.

The sites — which are located in North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma — feature hundreds of acres that are ready for new industrial facility development.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) is issuing a request for qualifications to identify teams interested in developing a high-speed rail service from downtown to O'Hare International Airport.

The RFQ is the next step in Emanuel's interest in creating an express train that will transport passengers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare in 20 minutes or less, reducing the current travel time by more than 50 percent, according to a CIT press release.

The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has rebranded itself as the Rail Passengers Association.

The organization unveiled the new name at its annual conference earlier this month. The brand switch, which coincides with the association's 50th anniversary, will herald "a new age for advocacy for rail passengers in North America," Rail Passengers Association officials said in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) on Dec. 3 will begin renovating the East 122nd Avenue MAX light-rail station in Portland.

Like the Gresham City Hall station upgrades completed over the summer, the new project includes the installation of updated lighting and digital "TransitTracker" displays.

Passenger rail service providers now have until Dec. 4, 2018 to develop and implement a system safety program (SSP) according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

FRA issued a notice of the stay of rule 49 CFR part 270, its fifth, in the Nov. 30 edition of the Federal Register citing multiple requests from state and labor partners.

Passenger rail service providers now have until Dec. 4, 2018 to develop and implement a system safety program (SSP) according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

FRA issued a notice of the stay of rule 49 CFR part 270, its fifth, in the Nov. 30 edition of the Federal Register citing multiple requests from state and labor partners.

Passenger rail service providers now have until Dec. 4, 2018 to develop and implement a system safety program (SSP) according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

FRA issued a notice of the stay of rule 49 CFR part 270, its fifth, in the Nov. 30 edition of the Federal Register citing multiple requests from state and labor partners.

The city of Chicago is moving ahead with a plan to offer express train service between the Loop and O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

The city, in coordination the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT), issued a Request for Qualifications to design, build, finance, operate and maintain an O'Hare Express operating system through a public-private agreement with the city.

The city of Chicago is moving ahead with a plan to offer express train service between the Loop and O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

The city, in coordination the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT), issued a Request for Qualifications to design, build, finance, operate and maintain an O'Hare Express operating system through a public-private agreement with the city.

The city of Chicago is moving ahead with a plan to offer express train service between the Loop and O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

The city, in coordination the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT), issued a Request for Qualifications to design, build, finance, operate and maintain an O'Hare Express operating system through a public-private agreement with the city.

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is gearing up to conduct switch installation work near its Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn as part of its Vanderbilt Yard Reconfiguration project.

Part of the Atlantic Yards Project, the planned work is expected to boost efficiency by allowing trains to access the yard directly from Atlantic Terminal.

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is gearing up to conduct switch installation work near its Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn as part of its Vanderbilt Yard Reconfiguration project.

Part of the Atlantic Yards Project, the planned work is expected to boost efficiency by allowing trains to access the yard directly from Atlantic Terminal.

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is gearing up to conduct switch installation work near its Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn as part of its Vanderbilt Yard Reconfiguration project.

Part of the Atlantic Yards Project, the planned work is expected to boost efficiency by allowing trains to access the yard directly from Atlantic Terminal.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) today will begin offering tours of a prototype of its newest class of subway cars.

The Miami Metrorail team celebrated the launch of new train into service Nov. 30 for the first time in more than three decades.

The Miami Metrorail team celebrated the launch of new train into service Nov. 30 for the first time in more than three decades.

The Miami Metrorail team celebrated the launch of new train into service Nov. 30 for the first time in more than three decades.

U.S. railroads' carload and intermodal traffic activity rose in the week ending Nov. 25, according to the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) data.

Total reported U.S. rail traffic climbed 2.4 percent to 463,602 carloads and intermodal units compared with the same period in 2016, according to an AAR press release.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) is now the second union to ratify the national mediated collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG).

The BRS represents more than 8,000 members affected by the new agreement and is one of six labor organizations represented by the CBG.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) has introduced a bill aimed at bolstering security on the nation's mass transit systems, including passenger railroads.

The proposed Surface Transportation and Public Area Security Act (H.R. 4474) calls for additional funding and other resources to programs "aimed at critical soft targets, such as railroads, buses and the public area of airports," according to a press release issued by Watson Coleman's office.