Railroad News

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week launched a test of a new contactless fare payment system.

Known as OMNY, the fare payment system will allow MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) subway and bus riders to enter the system by tapping contactless credit, debit and reloadable prepaid cards, mobile phones and smart watches against a OMNY reader. By early 2021, the technology is expected to be enabled at Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad stations.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has selected Omaha Track Inc. to operate part of the state-owned Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) rail system.

WSDOT selected Omaha Track through a competitive evaluation process following a request for proposals to operate the railroad's P&L branch. After an agreement is signed this summer, the Omaha-based contractor will operate the branch line that runs between the Idaho state line near Pullman and Marshall, just south of Spokane, WSDOT officials said in a press release.

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Progressive Railroading and RailTrends® have named Kansas City Southern President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Ottensmeyer the 2019 recipient of the Railroad Innovator Award, which recognizes an individual's outstanding achievement in the rail industry.

 
KCS’s president since 2015 and CEO since 2016, Ottensmeyer has helmed the railroad during a pivotal stretch in its history.

Alstom was awarded a 15-year maintenance contract for Sydney Metro’s North West Metro. The company will maintain the trains, signaling, depot operations and equipment, as well as apply Alstom’s HealthHub predictive maintenance tools, according to an Alstom press release. Under a contract awarded by Northwest Rapid Transit in 2014, Alstom has been responsible for the project management, design, supply, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of the metro’s Metropolis trains and Urbalis 400 communications-based train control signaling systems.

WPA USA completed engineering work on Denver Regional Transportation District’s newly opened southeast light-rail extension project. As a subcontractor, WPA provided civil engineering and rail system engineering design and support for the 2.3-mile extension from Lincoln Station to RidgeGate Parkway in Lone Tree, Colorado, according to a WPA press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) earlier this week announced it installed a new digital communications and advertising network on the Blue Line's southern portion. 

The communication network includes interactive touch screens, which allow riders to view train and bus arrival times, service alerts and system maps. 

Union Pacific Railroad's latest annual report on sustainability includes for the first time cybersecurity efforts taken to protect the Class I's infrastructure and assets.

UP yesterday released its 2018 "Building America Report," the company's 10th annual sustainability report detailing progress toward its social, economic and environmental initiatives. The report highlights corporate strategy changes and impact on UP's customers, investors, employees and communities.

Valley Metro hired Jim Hillyard to lead and coordinate administration and operations functions as chief administrative officer.

Hillyard has more than 20 years of public sector executive experience leading the financial, information technology, business and operations departments of organizations of up to 10,000 employees, according to a Valley Metro press release.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards yesterday announced the commitment of state capital outlay funds to complete a $20 million rail project at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge.

The state funding commitment will be used to complete a second critical project bringing four rail tracks deeper into port property to serve the Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) Port Allen Elevator facility, one of the largest grain elevators on the Mississippi River, according to a press release issued by Edwards' office.

Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) has promoted Jeremy Kramer to vice president.

In his new role, Kramer will be responsible for railroad transportation processes including train operations, dispatching, locomotive maintenance and Clagg Bridge operations, according to an LIRC press release.

Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) yesterday announced it will invest up to CA$2 billion in financing to expand GO Transit in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area of Ontario.

The expansion will create a two-way, all-day rapid transit service on core segments of the GO Rail network. 

TransLink last week announced that 85 percent of residents in Surrey and Langley, British Columbia, who responded to a survey support a proposed SkyTrain line extension from the King George Station in Surrey to Langley. 

Last month, TransLink collected 21,267 survey responses, with nearly 17,000 from residents in Surrey and Langley, according to a TransLink press release. 

The Port of Savannah and the St. Louis Regional Freightway have forged a partnership to create a new connection between the St. Louis region and the largest single-terminal container facility in the Western Hemisphere.

The port is investing $3 billion to increase its containerized cargo capacity from 5 million to 8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2028. An important component of the plan is a new $220 million rail terminal that will be the largest on-terminal rail facility in North America by 2020. The port's investment is aimed at accelerating the nation's third busiest container gateway to better support retailers and manufacturers in distributing more goods to and from the Midwest.

Effective June 1, CSX will increase the authorized speed of freight trains by 15 mph at multiple locations on its line from Montgomery, Alabama, to Waygross, Georgia. 

The increase from 25 mph to a maximum 40 mph will help reduce wait times for motorists at highway-rail intersections and improve the efficiency of rail operations, CSX officials said in a press release. 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) yesterday announced that the southern section of the Blue Line between the Compton and Downtown Long Beach stations will reopen on June 1. 

The opening follows the completion of upgrades to the line’s tracks, overhead power lines and train control, as well as the addition of switches. Upgrades also included the installation of new digital customer information screens and signage at stations. 

U.S. rail traffic volume dropped 6.7 percent to 527,966 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 25 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week slipped 5 percent to 259,953 units, while intermodal volume fell 8.3 percent to 268,013 containers and trailers.

Amtrak earlier this week revealed details of a $72.5 million initiative to make customer-focused train station improvements across its network this year. 

The fiscal-year 2019 program includes $21.5 million in large-scale work at 23 stations in 17 states, and $51 million at 30 locations in 18 states to comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to an Amtrak press release. 

A BNSF Railway Co. project designed to eliminate train delays in the Chicago region was completed this month as part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), the Class I and other program partners announced yesterday.

Known as WA4, the project involved adding new tracks and creating a new direct connection between BNSF's Corwith and Cicero yards. The project also provided new connections between the CN Freeport Subdivision and the Western Avenue Corridor along which BNSF, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX and Union Pacific Railroad operate, according to a CREATE press release.

As of March 31, positive train control (PTC) systems were in operation on 48,050 of the nearly 58,000 route miles subject to the federal mandate, which is a 3 percent increase from where railroads were in their implementation status as of 2018's end, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced yesterday.

In addition, railroads are conducting advanced field testing, known as revenue service demonstration (RSD), on another 341 route miles, FRA officials said in a quarterly report on PTC implementations.