Railroad News

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners last week approved a $1.17 billion budget for the Port of Los Angeles in fiscal-year 2018.

The budget includes funding for ongoing rail projects at the port, where cargo volumes are expected to grow by 5.6 percent over the adopted FY2017 budget, according to the board's press release.

6/8/2017    

Rail News: Mechanical

U.S. rail traffic surged 6.4 percent to 2,625,492 carloads and intermodal units last month compared with volumes in May 2016, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday.

U.S. railroads originated 1,286,075 carloads in May, up 8.4 percent over the same month last year. Intermodal container and trailer volume rose 4.6 percent to 1,339,417 units during May compared with a year ago.

Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) has received approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to resume testing on the G Line commuter-rail route, local media reported yesterday.

RTD temporarily halted testing on the line last fall due to issues with grade crossing software. However, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) early last month gave its approval to continue limited testing on the line.

IPS Cranes has agreed to acquire American & Ohio Locomotive Crane Co. (AOLCrane™). The merger will create the "broadest and deepest range of crane manufacturing, services and resources," said IPS Cranes President and Chief Executive Officer Jackie O'Connell in a press release. The transaction will enable IPS Cranes to provide customers with a greater range of services, including line boring services related to locomotive crane repairs and builds.

The Association of American Railroads' (AAR) Intermodal Operations Committee has approved CakeBoxx Technologies' newest 53-foot intermodal container for use on North American freight-rail networks. Known as Model 732, the container features the company's two-piece "deck and lid" design and is available in both WTP and ISO configurations. The AAR certification will "further boost domestic sales" of the containers, CakeBoxx officials said in a press release.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit's (BART) police department has begun sharing crime data with website CrimeMapping.com as part of a transparency initiative.

The site processes BART's crime data with an advanced mapping engine to show where crimes have occurred on the agency's system. The public can access the site for free.

Union Pacific Railroad announced capital expenditure plans for rail infrastructure in Idaho and Colorado this year.

In Colorado, UP will spend $36 million on track and bridge work.

Mississippi Export Railroad (MSE) has named Kate Luce president and chief executive officer.

At 29, Luce is believed to be the youngest female CEO in the railroad industry, according to an MSE press release.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) will begin two New Haven Line projects in October instead of July as originally planned.

The delay is needed to align the planned activities for the projects with other active projects in the area, department officials said in a press release.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed a bill that addresses regulations affecting short lines that transport agricultural and food-grade oils.

House Bill 1136 separates emergency planning requirements for short lines hauling cooking oil, vegetable oil, canola oil and small quantities of other low-volatile oils from directives that apply to Bakken crude and other petroleum-based oils.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) yesterday marked the 125th anniversary of Chicago's "L" train system.

In 1892, trains began operating on a line between a terminal at 39th Street to Congress Street in Chicago. Those trains consisted of four wooden passenger cars pulled by a small coal-burning steam locomotive.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) late last week wrapped up a major capital project to replace six escalators at the Woodley Park Station in Washington, D.C.

As part of the project, crews replaced the three longest escalators in the District of Columbia, WMATA officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) yesterday broke ground on the Blue Hill Avenue Station on the Fairmount commuter-rail line.

Located in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood, the station will feature a center-island platform and two covered pedestrian ramps.

The Port of Oakland is ready to move more cargo via rail, the port's Executive Director Chris Lytle told a meeting of railroad executives in San Francisco last week.

The port has two "outstanding partners" in Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Co., Lytle told the annual meeting of the North American Rail Shippers Association.

Former rail labor leader Edgar Watson died May 31, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced yesterday.

Watson served as international vice president for the labor organization from 1979 through 1993, when it was known as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE). The BLE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and became the BLET in January 2004.

USD Partners LP has acquired a crude-oil terminal in Stroud, Okla., for $25 million, the company announced yesterday.

The terminal will be used for rail-to-pipeline shipments of crude oil from USD Partners' Hardisty terminal in western Canada to the oil hub in Cushing, Okla., according to a company press release.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is providing nearly $115 million for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Regional Connector rail project.

The funds come from Proposition 1A bonds, which California voters approved in 2008. California Senate Bill 1029, which was signed into law in 2012, allocated the funds for the Metro project, CHSRA spokeswoman Adeline Yee said in an email.

CSX Corp. shareholders attending the company's annual meeting yesterday approved an $84 million compensation package for E. Hunter Harrison to serve as chief executive officer. 

The payment package was associated with Harrison's decision to join the company as its top executive earlier this year. Harrison had said he would not serve if shareholders did not approve the payment package.