Railroad News

The Portland Streetcar last month averaged 16,650 weekday riders, marking a new record.

The streetcar system also reported an 84 percent on-time performance rating for April, according to a Portland Streetcar press release.

The Virginia International Gateway (VIG) in Portsmouth last week completed the changeover of its terminal operating system to the Navis N4.

The switch began May 11 and was completed May 14, Virginia Port Authority officials said in a press release.

As of mid-April, U.S. Class Is employed 145,959 workers, up 0.59 percent since mid-March, but down 2.11 percent compared with April 2017, according to Surface Transportation Board data.

All but one employment category — professional and administrative — reflected slight increases in the workforce on a month-over month basis. Categories that logged increases since mid-March were executives, officials and staff assistants, up 0.07 percent to 8,298 workers; maintenance of way and structures, up 0.65 percent to 32,644; maintenance of equipment and stores up 0.22 percent to 26,647; transportation (other than train and engine), up 0.18 percent to 5,566; and transportation (train and engine), up 0.99 percent to 60,891.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs last week approved the nomination of Thelma Drake as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was the only committee member who voted against her nomination, the AASHTO Journal reported.

In a recent survey, U.S. port authorities identified more than $20 billion in multimodal port and rail-access needs over the next decade, with a third of those citing pressing rail projects that cost at least $50 million, according to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

In its "State of Freight III" report, the association examined the freight transportation needs at U.S. member port authorities, with an emphasis on rail access.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) last week awarded $703.6 million in gas-tax funds to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).

The funding comes from the state's Senate Bill 1, which increased the state's tax on gasoline to pay for transportation improvements. The California State Legislature approved the bill in April 2017.

General Electric Co. has agreed to merge its railroad business with Wabtec Corp. in a transaction valued at about $11.1 billion, the companies announced today.

The agreement has been approved by the boards of Wabtec and GE, with the transaction expected to close in early 2019, officials from both companies said in a press release.

Suppliers of special trackwork components know what railroads want from them. Products that are safe to install. Products that minimize the impact on the track and other trackwork components. Products that last longer.

New Jersey Transit yesterday announced a pilot program to test new fare collection technology on trains.

Launched this week, the program enables train crews to use handheld mobile devices to scan and validate tickets. Now, crews visually inspect all electronic tickets and paper passes, and use manual punches for paper tickets.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has released a draft of its $17.3 billion capital investment plan for fiscal years 2019-2023.

About 57 percent of the total amount will go toward improving the reliability of the state's "core transportation system," said MassDOT Secretary and Chief Executive Officer in the plan's introduction.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld yesterday ordered an independent contractor to assess the condition of concrete panels being used to build stations for the second phase of the Silver Line rail project.

The agency learned that defective concrete panels were installed at five new Silver Line stations, radio station WTOP reported.

On the one-year anniversary of an Amtrak conductor's shooting in Illinois, U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) introduced a bill aimed at improving public safety and discouraging violence on passenger trains.

The Passenger Rail Crew Protection Parity Act would provide passenger-rail crew members with the same federal protections provided to airline crew members. Under those protections, any assault or intimidation of a rail crew member — including engineers, conductors and on-board service personnel — would be charged under federal law, according to a press release issued by Duckworth's office.

CN has pleaded guilty to violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and will pay a CA$25,000 fine as well as a CA$1.1 million sum to promote environmental protection, according to a government press release.

The violation relates to CN importing a fuel that did not meet federal Renewable Fuels Regulations, government officials said in a press release. An investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada found that between July 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012, CN imported more than 224 million liters of diesel fuel.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has determined that the Metropolitan Council's proposed changes to the Southwest Green Line light-rail extension in the Minneapolis area meets federal environmental requirements.

The council had earlier determined that 10 design modifications to the project that were identified during the final design and permitting process would not have a significant impact on the environment, according to a press release issued by the Metropolitan Council.

The Canadian government this week announced federal funding for several projects at the Port of Vancouver and Ashcroft Terminal in British Columbia that include freight-rail infrastructure improvements.

Yesterday, Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced a CA$55.8 million investment for four projects led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, three of which will help improve rail service, according to Transport Canada press releases.

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

If the United States' $90 billion public transit repair backlog isn't addressed soon, it could result in a $340 billion loss to the country's economy over the next six years.

The city of Milwaukee earlier this week took delivery of its second streetcar vehicle from Brookville Equipment Corp.

Metro Transit's Southwest light-rail project has jumped in price by $145 million to more than $2 billion, Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff said Tuesday in a project update.

The cost increase is due to factors such as freight-rail negotiations, additional environmental analysis and the rebidding of the civil contracting, Tchourumoff wrote to the council's corridor management committee.