Railroad News

Jessica Mefford-Miller has been named executive director of Metro Transit-St. Louis, Bi-State Development President and Chief Executive Officer John Nations announced yesterday.

Mefford-Miller has been serving as interim executive director since July 1.

A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) trolley operator's repeated use of antihistamine medications likely played a role in two trolleys colliding with each other in January 2017, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

On Jan. 4, 2017, a SEPTA trolley traveling on Route 10 struck a stopped trolley unloading passengers on the same line. The striking trolley was moving at about 10 mph, NTSB investigators wrote in an accident brief.

Norfolk Southern Foundation will donate $100,000 toward Hurricane Florence recovery efforts in North Carolina.

The foundation will direct $50,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina relief efforts.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking vendors to operate and maintain new trains, stations and facilities along the planned Silver Line extension.

The RFP includes the maintenance of rail cars assigned to the Silver Line, track and infrastructure, the Dulles Rail Yard and administrative functions needed to support operations.

Brightline, the passenger-rail service operating in southeastern Florida, has agreed to acquire XpressWest, a proposed high-speed rail project with rights to develop a federally approved corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas.

The acquisition would mark Brightline's first project outside Florida, where the private company operates passenger trains between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Brightline has plans to expand service to Orlando International Airport in 2021 and, potentially, to Tampa.

Ballast Tools Equipment

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) in November will mark the 50th anniversary of its Red Line rail extension to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

When the extension opened in 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the Western Hemisphere to offer direct rail service between its central business district and an international airport, agency officials said in a news release.

The Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) board yesterday approved $92 million for the Mason Mega Rail Terminal project at the Port of Savannah.

The project will double the Port of Savannah's annual rail capacity to 1 million containers. Work approved yesterday includes 124,000 feet of new track, 88 automated switches and rail control devices, as well as the rail and power infrastructure to support the operation of rail-mounted gantry cranes, GPA officials said in a press release.

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Metra has finished installing positive train control (PTC) components on all its trains and all communications and signal systems, the railroad announced yesterday.

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) yesterday presented its 20th annual Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence to engineering and design firm Arup for its work as lead consultant on MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) Fulton Center in lower Manhattan.

The award was presented yesterday at AREMA's annual conference and exposition in Chicago. The award honors the memory of William Walter Hay, a longtime association contributor and professor of railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Union Pacific Railroad next month will launch a new operating plan that will implement precision scheduled railroading principles.

UP's "Unified Plan 2020" will launch Oct. 1 and will be rolled out in phases across the Class I's network. Resulting benefits are expected to help UP achieve its 60 percent operating ratio goal by 2020, on the way to achieving a 55 percent operating ratio, company officials said in a press release.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has announced its next president and chief executive officer will be Ian Jefferies, who currently serves as the organization's senior vice president of government affairs.

Jefferies will assume his new duties Jan. 1, following the retirement of current AAR President and CEO Edward Hamberger. Jefferies will continue to lead the organization's legislative efforts through the end of the year and coordinate with Hamberger to ensure a smooth transition, AAR officials said in a press release.

Compiled by Michael Popke

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) today will begin a project to revitalize MAX Blue Line light-rail track in downtown Hillsboro.

The project includes replacing sections of rail, upgrading the track bed, installing new switch machines and repairing roadway near the rails at three grade crossings.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) board has named Evelynn Tran general counsel.

Since 2006, she has served in law-related roles at the agency, including senior assistant counsel, deputy general counsel and acting general counsel.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) late last week announced plans to install security cameras at MTA Metro-North Railroad stations in Darien, Norwalk and Westport, Connecticut.

The department determined the need for the cameras following "security improvements and network infrastructure upgrades," CTDOT officials said in a press release.