Railroad News

Port Manatee handled a record 9.3 million tons of cargo in fiscal-year 2018, a 19.1 percent increase from the previous year, port officials announced last week.

The increase for FY2018, which ended Sept. 30, follows a 13.4 percent tonnage rise in FY2017 compared with FY2016 at the Florida port.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) late last week unveiled a pilot project to test technology aimed at reducing peak energy consumption for the New York City subway system.

The "value stack approach" uses electricity produced by subway trains' regenerative braking systems, agency officials said in a press release. The technology also would generate revenue through participation in both the Con Edison and New York Independent System Operator demand-response programs.

San Pedro and Southwestern Railroad has been sold to Ironhorse Resources Inc.

The Arizona-based railroad will be renamed San Pedro Valley Railroad, according to RR Mergers & Acquisitions, which specializes in the sale of rail sector companies.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) last week announced it will add rail service during the 53rd Super Bowl, which will be held in February 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

During the weekend of Feb. 3, 2019, the agency will provide rail service 24 hours a day and enhance key bus routes to move riders through the city safely, MARTA Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Parker announced on Twitter late last week.

As of mid-September, U.S. Class Is employed a total 148,171 workers, up 0.02 percent compared with mid-August and up 1.02 percent compared with the same month in 2017, according to Surface Transportation Board data.

Four of six employment categories reflected decreases on a month-over-month basis. Categories that logged decreases since mid-August were executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.54 percent to 8,414 employees; professional and administrative, down 1.04 percent to 11,852; maintenance of way and structures, down 0.36 percent to 32,493; and transportation (other than train and engine), down 0.67 percent to 5,662.

American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARI) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with a subsidiary of ITE Rail Fund LP in a transaction valued at $1.75 billion.

The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter. ITE Rail Fund is managed by ITE Management LP.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has unveiled a draft environmental impact statement for a proposed passenger-rail service between Portland and the Eugene-Springfield region.

The document outlines two alternatives for the 125-mile service: One would follow the existing Amtrak Cascades route; the other would include a new route between Springfield and Oregon City along Interstate 5.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) late last week proposed a five-year $2.9 billion capital budget and a one-year $1.55 billion operating budget that maintains existing service levels without raising fares.

The proposed operating budget for 2019 calls for maintaining existing service levels without raising fares. It invests in modernizing the CTA's system and improving the rider experience, agency officials said in a press release.

Three rail suppliers in three states hosted business tours this month for U.S. Senate and House representatives.

Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. welcomed U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) for a visit to the company's manufacturing plant and warehouse in Medina, Minnesota. The Oct. 16 visit included a town hall session and discussion between Emmer and Loram employees about the need for skilled laborers, Loram officials said in a press release.

Las Vegas Railway Express Inc. announced yesterday it is changing its name to United Rail Inc.

The Las Vegas company — owner of the X Train brand and brand licensor — acquired United Rail in January.

TEXRail this week tested its new Stadler trains at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The units — Stadler's Fast Light Intercity- and Regional Train (FLIRT) model — passed dynamic testing on Oct. 10, which puts TEXRail one step closer to launching rail service, Stadler and TEXRail officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. has designated Kiamichi Railroad Co. as the Class I's 2018 Short Line of the Year for its commitment to "safety, service, growth, investment and velocity."

A subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., Kiamichi is a Class III serving Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, interchanging with BNSF in Madill, Oklahoma.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) yesterday allocated $91.2 million to Metrolink to advance projects aimed at boosting rail safety and service ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant will go toward the first projects in the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) program, a $10 billion plan to build infrastructure enabling at least 30-minute service frequency in the region.

Kansas City Southern today reported record revenue of $699 million for the third quarter, a 6 percent increase over the same period in 2017.

Third-quarter net income rose to $174 million, or $1.70 per diluted share, from $129 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, a year ago.

Canadian Pacific yesterday reported third-quarter net income of CA$622 million and revenue of CA$1.9 billion, up from net income of CA$510 million and revenue of CA$1.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

This year's third-quarter revenue marked the company's highest revenue ever for any quarter, according to a CP press release.

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

MTA Metro-North Railroad crews on Oct. 9 installed 1,161 ties along the Waterbury Branch, marking the railroad's largest number of ties installed in a single day.

The figure surpassed by two ties the previous record set in 1984 between Brewster and Dover Plains on the Harlem Line.

Sound Transit has appointed Tracy Butler chief financial officer.

She joined the agency as treasurer in 2007 and most recently served as interim CFO. In 2016, Butler negotiated Sound Transit's $2 billion master credit agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, agency officials said in a news release.

U.S. railroads logged a 1.7 percent increase in carload and intermodal traffic for the week ending Oct. 13 compared with traffic a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

U.S. carload traffic rose 0.4 percent to 263,787 carloads for the week, while intermodal volume increased 3 percent to 285,970 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2017, according to an AAR press release.