Railroad News

CN has hired Andrea Waldock Niethold to serve as the Class I's director of government affairs in Washington, D.C.

Waldock Niethold brings a wide range of transportation policy experience to her new role, CN officials said in a press release.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and ELERTS Corp. yesterday rolled out the SEPTA Transit Watch app, which enables riders to report security or safety issues to agency police.

Passengers can use the app to anonymously send photos or videos with GPS locations to alert police of potential criminal behavior, SEPTA officials said in a press release.

U.S. railroads logged 268,364 carloads for the week ending Aug. 12, a 0.3 percent increase compared with carload activity in the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Combined with intermodal volume, U.S. railroads posted 548,790 carloads, containers and trailers during the week, a 2.7 percent increase compared with a year ago. Intermodal volume rose 5.1 percent to 280,426 units for the week.

Metra's board has chosen James Derwinski as the Chicago commuter railroad's next executive director and chief executive officer.

He will succeed Don Orseno, who earlier this year announced plans to retire the end of 2017, Metra announced yesterday in a press release.

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Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) crews will rebuild track in downtown Oakland, California, over the Labor Day weekend.

Workers will replace rail and upgrade electrical systems, and perform other maintenance and repair work, BART officials said in a press release.

Pin Oak Terminals officials on Monday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company's new petroleum and liquid storage terminal at the Port of South Louisiana.

Announced in October 2015, the project involved a $600 million capital investment in storage terminals, docks and related infrastructure along the Mississippi River's east bank at Mount Airy, Louisiana.

Mattagami First Nation has filed a lawsuit against CN for damage caused by two train derailments near Gogoma, Ontario, in February and March 2015

The derailments spilled millions of liters of crude oil that damaged the local environment and watershed. The spills have had a "catastrophic" impact on the Mattagami First Nation's territory, First Nation officials said in a press release.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) late last week reminded transit agencies and railroads about ways to protect their systems from terrorist attacks.

The TSA's message followed the release of a recent video from terrorist group Al-Qaeda that focused on threats to U.S. rail systems by homegrown violent extremists, TSA officials said in an emailed statement.

President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order aimed at speeding up the federal permitting process for construction of transportation, water and other infrastructure projects while still protecting the environment.

The order also requires agencies to work together "more efficiently" by requiring one lead agency for each major infrastructure project, Trump said, according to a transcript of his comments. Agencies will be held accountable if they fail to streamline the permitting process.

The Metropolitan Council on Monday reached agreements with BNSF Railway Co. and the Twin Cities & Western Railroad to permit light-rail operations along the same corridor as freight operations.

The pacts will enable the council to begin seeking federal funding for its planned $1.9 billion Southwest light-rail project, the Star Tribune reported earlier this week.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has appointed Luis Manuel Ramirez general manager and chief executive officer, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack announced yesterday.

Ramirez will succeed interim General Manager Steve Poftak on Sept. 12. Ramirez most recently ran his own strategic and turnaround business consulting firm, Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials said in a press release.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Monday wrote its second letter to CSX President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison to express the agency's continued concern over the "widespread degradation of rail service" across the Class I's network.

Late last month, the STB wrote to Harrison about reported disruptions in rail service that resulted from changes to CSX's operating plan. Harrison began implementing the plan after taking over as CSX's leader earlier this year.

Matthew Walicki, 34

Job description: As practice lead for freight-rail facilities, Walicki oversees and manages the design of railroad buildings and support facilities, including administration offices, car repair shops, locomotive service buildings and secondary containment. Walicki also oversees all transportation work for AECOM's Norfolk Southern Railway account, including the railroad’s pipe and wire program. Walicki also performs design-related work for NS' bridges and structures.

Education: Bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and architectural engineering from Drexel University

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Bombardier Transportation has obtained two contracts to provide its driverless Innovia Monorail 300 system to two new rapid transit lines in Bangkok. The company will design and supply the mechanical and electrical elements for the lines and deliver a combined total of 72, four-car Innovia trains, which are equipped with the Cityflo 650 automatic train control technology for driverless operations. The new trains are expected to serve more than 400,000 daily passengers, according to a Bombardier press release. A Bombardier-Puzhen joint venture will manufacture the units in China.

Linfox Logistics has formed a consortium with Australian freight-rail operator Pacific National to purchase Aurizon's freight haulage and end-to-end freight forwarding assets on Queensland's northern line. The acquisition is aimed at enabling Linfox to improve the scale and scope of its own freight forwarding services, Linfox officials said in a press release. Pacific National will work with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to gain clearance for the acquisition of other assets of Aurizon Queensland Intermodal.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) over the weekend closed a portion of its Line 1 Yonge-University subway route to continue testing and emergency response training for a new automatic train control (ATC) system.

During the closure, crews tested the new ATC system between the Spadina and Wilson stations and performed other essential work for the opening of the Line 1 extension to Vaughan, Ontario, later this year.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Sept. 2 will begin installing positive train control (PTC) on the Needham commuter-rail line.

To facilitate the work, the agency will shut down the lines on weekends through Nov. 18. A public information meeting about the construction will be held Aug. 24.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), in partnership with grassroots advocacy organization GoRail, yesterday honored U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) with the Railroad Achievement Award.

DeFazio was recognized for his longstanding, bipartisan leadership on issues that affect freight and passenger railroads, AAR officials said in a press release.