Railroad News

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U.S. Reps. John Carter (R-Texas) and Scott Tipton (R-Colo.), and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently visited rail industry suppliers' facilities to discuss various issues, including transportation infrastructure, the short-line tax credit and local job creation. The tours were coordinated by the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA).

Carter, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, toured Georgetown Railroad Equipment Co.'s (GREX) headquarters in Georgetown, Texas. The company provides railway maintenance equipment and technology solutions for track inspection and material handling applications.

New Jersey Transit earlier this week announced it will be conducting a survey to assess the needs of riders with limited English proficiency.

The online survey is intended to gather feedback from people who do not speak or read English well as to how they navigate NJ Transit’s current programs and services. The survey will also poll riders about NJ Transit’s language assistance tools and how those tools might be improved and refined, agency officials said in a press release.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) earlier this week presented five railroads with President's Awards to recognize their outstanding safety performance in 2018.

The awards were presented during ASLRRA's annual Eastern Region meeting, which was held Oct. 7-9 in Columbus, Ohio.

Paterson GlobalFoods (PGF) recently announced plans to build an oat processing facility in Rosser, Manitoba, near Winnipeg.

Construction is expected to start immediately on the mill, which will be served by BNSF Railway Co., CN and Canadian Pacific. To be located adjacent to PGF's existing inland grain terminal, the facility will process up to 250,000 metric tons of raw oats annually.

On Oct. 14, Metrolink will begin operating a new train schedule to improve frequency and connections between its commuter lines in California. 

The agency added more midday trains to its Orange County Line, which connects Orange County to Los Angeles, as well as added a westbound and eastbound train on its 91/Perris Valley Line between Perris and Los Angeles.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has selected Michael Jones as its new deputy general manager.  

Jones began his tenure at BART in 2017 as the assistant GM of administration. He was responsible for leading human resources, procurement and labor relations functions, as well as managing BART’s policies and procedures.

Last month, the League of Railway Women (LRW) named Pam Arpin, assistant vice president of customer and corporate services at Canadian Pacific, the winner of the organization’s “Railway Woman of the Year” award.

LRW President Tanis Peterson and Progressive Railroading Publisher Kirk Bastyr presented the award to Arpin at Railway Interchange in Minneapolis.

Sound Transit earlier this week completed a conceptual design for proposed parking and access improvements at the Sounder commuter rail station in Kent, Washington. 

Set for completion by 2024, the project calls for construction of a parking garage at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, as well as improvements to pedestrian, bicycle and bus connections, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) this month launched a community outreach program to help put together a potential transit-only funding measure that the board will consider in 2020.

As part of the Elevate SD 2020 campaign, SDMTS launched an online tool for the public to use to prioritize 17 potential transit projects. The tool will be available through Nov. 30.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) logged a 12.5 percent increase in cargo volume last month, which marked the authority's best September on record.

SCPA handled nearly 195,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals in September, which contributed to a strong start to fiscal-year 2020, authority officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced that 52 contracting firms graduated from the agency’s Small Business Development Program, which aims to help emerging businesses refine technical and business management skills.

The program offers minority-owned, women-owned and emerging firms access to capital, bonding, technical assistance, mentoring and in-the-field training in order to build a new generation of transportation and construction contractors, MTA officials said in a press release.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) board yesterday elected Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna as president and New Hampshire DOT Commissioner Victoria Sheehan as vice president.

As president, McKenna plans to emphasize the need for surface transportation reauthorization and to highlight transportation safety, AASHTO officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight-rail traffic volume remained soft during October's first week, with railroads logging a combined 515,061 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.1 percent compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week ending Oct. 5 were 247,028 units, down 8.5 percent, while intermodal volume was 268,033 containers and trailers, down 5.8 percent, AAR officials said in a press release.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) has renamed the 39th Street light-rail station in Sacramento, California, to the 39th Street/UC Davis Health Station, the transit agency announced this week.

UC Davis has been a SacRT partner for many years by providing free shuttle service to and from the 39th Street station to the UC Davis Medical Center and other clinics in the city, SacRT officials said in press release.