Railroad News

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) late last week received approval from the Kansas City Council to purchase two additional streetcars.

Transdev North America has named Yann Leriche chief executive officer. He will oversee all Transdev subsidiaries and operations in the United States and Canada, including contracts for streetcar, light-rail, bus and paratransit services. Leriche will remain head of global on-demand transportation business lines, as well as lead global development for autonomous vehicles. For the past three years, Leriche has served as the global chief performance officer for the Transdev Group. As CEO, he succeeds Mark Joseph, who was CEO for the past 16 years. Transdev's contracts include a $38 million agreement with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority to operate the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar system.

For The Greenbrier Cos. Inc.'s fiscal-year 2017 third quarter ended May 31, the company reported net earnings of $32.8 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, versus $35.3 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, during the same period last year. Greenbrier logged quarterly revenue of $439.2 million, a decrease from $612.9 million in third-quarter FY2016. The new rail-car backlog as of May 31 was 31,000 units with an estimated value of $3.1 billion. That marked growth from Feb. 28, when the company reported a backlog of 22,600 units estimated at $2.44 billion. Since the beginning of the year, Greenbrier's leaders have observed sustained and increasing rail-car loadings across commodity types, as well as decreasing rail velocity. Both are "positive indicators for the near-term demand environment," said Chairman and CEO William Furman in a press release. Meanwhile, Greenbrier announced that former Kansas City Southern CEO David Starling was elected as an independent director on the company's board. Wanda Felton also was elected to the board. Felton previously served as first vice president and vice chair of the Export Import Bank of the United States.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) project yesterday began a series of "preview rides" to offer locals a chance to try the new rail system.

The preview trips will continue July 1 and 4. On those days, SMART will offer three trips each.

U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) have introduced legislation aimed at improving security on transit rail and buses.

The lawmakers introduced the Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act to address "constantly evolving" security threats against transportation systems, they said in a jointly issued press release.

Kansas state and Watco Cos. LLC officials yesterday marked the opening of a new transload facility in Great Bend.

Great Bend was selected for the site in 2015 and construction began in July 2016. The facility is served by Watco Cos.' Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad.

City of Ottawa, Ontario, officials have signed a $349 million variation agreement with Rideau Transit Group Partnership (RTG) for the rolling stock and onboard equipment needed for extensions to the city's O-Train light-rail system.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has restructured the FASTLANE grant program to focus on freight-related infrastructure projects that use funds from the private sector or other non-federal sources.

The Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program was authorized under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to provide competitive grants or credit assistance to nationally and regionally significant freight and highway projects.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joseph Lhota yesterday announced he will conduct a top-to-bottom audit to overhaul MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) subway system.

The agency will work with transit experts and management consultants to perform the audit, which will examine NYCT's challenges and limitations to identify strategies for short- and long-term changes.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on July 10 will add a waterproof membrane to the exterior of Red Line tunnel walls to help prevent leaks and arcing insulator incidents.

A proprietary, polymer-based material will be installed along a 9-mile tunnel segment that runs from the Farragut North Station in Washington, D.C., to the Grosvenor Station in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Cando Rail Services obtained two contracts to provide rail switching services at Domtar pulp and paper mills in Wisconsin.

The new agreements call for rail switching service at mills in Rothschild and Nekoosa, Wisconsin. Cando has had a contract to provide rail switching service at Domtar's mill in Dryden, Ontario, according to a Cando press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has finished installing security cameras in all of its rail cars, the agency announced yesterday.

The new cameras are aimed at bolstering BART's existing security infrastructure network, which includes other cameras on platforms, inside and outside stations and on police officers themselves.

U.S. rail traffic continued its climb in Week 25, with railroads reporting an increase of 3.6 percent in carloads and intermodal units compared with traffic during the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced yesterday.

Total carloads for the week ending June 24 were 263,504 units, up 2.3 percent compared with the same week in 2016. Intermodal volume during the week rose 4.9 percent to 281,190 containers and trailers compared with last year's figure.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Alene Tchourumoff chair of the Twin Cities-area Metropolitan Council.

Tchourumoff has been serving as Minnesota's state rail director since May 2016. She has a decade of experience in infrastructure planning, transportation policy and finance, according to a press release issued by Dayton's office.

Brightline has formed a partnership with Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) to provide clean biodiesel to fuel the company's trains.

CN officials yesterday participated in a ground-breaking ceremony at Whirlpool Canada's distribution center now under construction at the railroad's Calgary Logistics Park in Rocky View County, Alberta.

The 425,000-square-foot building will serve as a distribution center for finished Whirlpool alliances coming to Alberta from across North America, CN officials said in a press release.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has presented this year's John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Norfolk Southern Railway's Andrew Paul, the association announced yesterday.

The AAR issues the award annually in honor of the late senator from Rhode Island. Chafee was a strong advocate for environmental causes and the eco-friendly benefits of rail transportation.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo today declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The move will allow the agency to speed up the purchase of material and equipment needed to repair tracks, signals, switches and other components, Cuomo said on Twitter.

Southern California transit agency Omnitrans has appointed Trischelle Baysden director of rail.

Omnitrans made the appointment as it prepares to launch the Arrow passenger-rail service between Redlands and San Bernardino, California. The route is slated to open in 2020.