Railroad News

Collins Aerospace has been awarded a $68 million contract by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to serve as the prime contractor for MTA New York City Transit's information management modernization project, according to a Collins Aerospace press release. This multiphase project includes an upgrade of the existing manual system to an intelligence-based computer system designed to provide consistent data regarding train locations and real-time status information. The company will also provide data analytics and management tools to monitor and analyze route operations. 

Trainyard Tech LLC has received a purchase order from Conrail to install the Classmaster hump yard process control system at Oak Island Yard in Newark, New Jersey. The system will include a rail yard reporting tool called TyT Reporter that will be customizable by all levels of Conrail users to simplify troubleshooting, analyze yard trends and review historical performance. Oak Island Yard has 30 classification tracks with three leads that may be routed to feed one master retarder, three intermediate retarders and five group retarders. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) temporarily closed Urban Avenue in New Cassel, New York, today to rebuild a railroad crossing as a two-way grade separated underpass with a sidewalk, MTA officials said in a press release. 

The crossing reconstruction, which is set to be completed in the fall, is part of the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s main line expansion project, which calls for eliminating seven street-level grade crossings from Floral Park to Hicksville. 

The city of Phoenix has named Markus Coleman as its new light-rail administrator. 

Coleman has 23 years of experience with the city, working on development projects and in transportation, according to a press release. Prior to his new role, he was an engineering technician, plan review coordinator, project manager and had a previous rotation of acting deputy public transit director over transit operations.  

U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) earlier this week introduced a bill to require California to return $3.5 billion in federal funds the state received for its high-speed rail program.

H.R. 1515, the High-Speed Refund Act, would direct the U.S. Department of Transportation to retrieve discretionary grant funds provided to California for high-speed rail development and return the money to the federal government for use toward "nationally significant freight and highway projects," according to the legislation.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is seeking approval from its board to select The Boring Co. (TBC) to design, construct and operate autonomous electric passenger vehicles in underground express-route tunnels around the Las Vegas Convention Center, the authority announced in a press release earlier this week.

Upon approval from the board on March 12, the project would have the potential to connect the Las Vegas Convention Center, downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor and McCarran International Airport. Following approval, specific plans and contracts would be negotiated in a meeting to be held by June.

Rail industry representatives are reacting to the news of former Amtrak leader Joseph Boardman's death, which the railroad announced yesterday.

Boardman, 70, died this week after suffering a stroke while on vacation with his wife and family in Florida, the Rome Sentinel reported. He led Amtrak from 2008 until 2016, when he retired. He also served as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) from 2005 to 2008 during President George W. Bush's administration.

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced executive appointments for Jon Panzer, Jennifer Hamann and Gary Grosz.

The appointments take effect April 1, according to a UP press release.

To help shape the agenda for this year’s edition of our Secure Rail conference, members of the Secure Rail Advisory Board discussed a range of issues and trends. Among the topics of conversation: the impact of autonomous technologies on railroads, collaboration between local and federal agencies in support of emergency response initiatives, and the increasingly blurred line between cyber and physical security.

As a result of these discussions, the programming for Secure Rail 2019 — which will be held May 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando — features a greater emphasis on the topics of risk, legal issues, future trends and regulatory updates. Session topics at our fifth annual conference include:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), state and local officials yesterday marked the opening of the new Blue Hill Avenue commuter-rail station Boston.

Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh joined MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak in cutting the ribbon on the nearly $17 million station yesterday. Construction began in 2017. The station has been open to passengers since Feb. 26.

Amtrak added a second daily roundtrip service to Norfolk, Virginia, as part of the passenger railroad's Northeast Regional service, on March 4. 

The service connects the commonwealth to the Northeast, offering passengers a same-seat trip to and from 17 Virginia stations to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. 

A House Ways and Means subcommittee will hold a hearing March 12 on a proposed tax extenders package, which includes the 45G short-line tax credit.

The Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee hearing follows the legislation's introduction last week.

On Feb. 11 and after an almost 5-year absence, Norfolk Southern hosted an investor conference in its soon-to-be headquarters city of Atlanta, and NS management gave us what the audience and I were seeking: 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has found that a broken axle on a freight car led to the January 2018 derailment of a CN train near New Hazelton, British Columbia.

The incident occurred when a CN train moving west at 29 mph experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application near New Hazelton. A subsequent inspection determined that 27 gondola cars loaded with coal derailed, with some of the product spilling into a nearby waterway.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday rolled out more of its state-by-state capital expenditure plans for 2019, announcing $445 million worth of projects slated for Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

In Kansas, the Class I will invest $165 million to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast. The maintenance program will include 560 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 30 miles of rail and 120,000 ties. In addition, BNSF plans to begin a multiyear project to install double track on portions of the Emporia Subdivision, which operates between Wellington and Kansas City.