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Rail News Home Security April 2017 Rail News: Security

More than 100 people attended this year's Secure Rail Conference.Photo – Secure Rail's Twitter account By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.At Progressive Railroading's third annual Secure Rail Conference, held April 5-6 in Orlando, Fla., attendees listened to 20 presentations on topics that addressed how railroads can improve the security of assets, passengers and employees.Starting with the event's first session, it became clear that cybersecurity risks and threats would be a primary topic addressed this year. The day opened with a panel discussion of "Railroad Cyber Risk Management," featuring speakers Nick Chodorow, chief information officer of the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago; J. Alex Lang, CIO at Carload Express Inc.; and Biff Myre, director, solutions, at OnX Managed Services Inc. Ron Schlecht, managing partner of BTB Security, served as moderator. Good morning from Orlando! We're just about ready to kick off our @SecureRail Conference. Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day. pic.twitter.com/T2UDKcZ7gI — Progressive Railroad (@rail_pro_mag) April 5, 2017The conversation began with Schlecht's observation that the application of cyber technology has spread quickly through the rail industry. Although physical vulnerabilities to rail systems remain, the greatest security risk to the industry right now may be found online rather than onboard.The industry's installation of positive train control (PTC) has led to "massive projects" to upgrade technology, Schlecht noted. The Belt Railway's entire IT footprint has expanded exponentially since the railroad began installing PTC technology along its 28 miles of mainline track in Chicago, Chodorow said."Now everything is IT connected," Chodorow said. "My team doesn't understand what that entirely means to be an IT-based network, so we're bringing in vendors to help us understand where our [security] vulnerabilities are and where someone might be able to get into our network. Those are things my peers would not have thought about in the past. They would have thought about things like, 'What happens if someone steals copper?' For me, I'm thinking, 'What if they get into our wireless network?' With that comes a lot of other risks."Myre advised that railroads eager to use Internet of Things (IoT) principles to drive efficiencies also pay close attention to protecting their data, not just how to use it."Also, if you're dealing with a lot of industrial manufacturers, you have to ask yourself how much have they been thinking about the security of their products," he said. "Build trusted networks and [use] password protection. Otherwise, you will have to rely on every manufacturer doing it right and you need to assume it is not being done right."Carload Express' Lang gave the short-line's perspective on cybersecurity concerns."For a lot of us, technology is still fairly new," said Lang. "We're crusty operations people used to doing things a certain way. The biggest cybersecurity threat for us is still the fairly broad malware and cyber attacks that take encrypted data and hold it for ransom."Railroads should have a management response prepared for a potential data breach, Myre said."You have to assume that someone will get into your [data], and how you will detect it and mitigate it," he added.Day 1 morning sessionsOther morning sessions presented during Day 1 of the conference included Jeff Watts, director of cybersecurity at RPI Group Inc., who addressed how to apply Department of Defense risk management and asset experience to the transportation sector; and Scott Carns, vice president-operations at Duos Technologies Inc., who discussed the use of multisensor technologies such as LIDAR and video analytics for detecting track safety and security at transit agencies.The morning wrapped up with a presentation by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspectors Hans Hayes, Edison Velez and Ed Malinowicz, who described the purpose of the TSA Office of Security Surface Outreach, which offers railroads and transit agencies programs such as a voluntary "Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancements" (BASE). Using the assessment, the TSA will conduct a comprehensive review of an agency's overall security posture, then offer a report on how it compares with others in the industry.During the conference lunch breaks, attendees were free to visit and network in the Product Showcase Room, which featured new products, services and technologies from Strukton Rail North America Inc., Railhead Corp., Safety Vision, Frauscher Sensor Technology USA Inc., Parsons, DPS Telecom, RPI Group, BTB Security, Pacific Star Communications Inc. (PacStar) and Rockwell Collins Inc. Pausing for lunch in the exhibitors' room. #SecureRail17 pic.twitter.com/jBJWsMAHYx — Progressive Railroad (@rail_pro_mag) April 5, 2017After lunch, attendees returned to hear from Pamela McCombe, technical manager of transit and rail systems at WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, who works with SunRail. McCombe talked about the process of assessing security risks at transit agencies, and noted that each agency may have a different view of what level of risk is acceptable."Some may find certain circumstances acceptable and some do not," she said. "Risk management is identifying threats and vulnerabilities and then prioritizing the allocation of resources."Security solutions for freight, passenger railroadsLater that afternoon, sessions featured Jim Lubcke, manager of systems solutions integration at CSX, and Steve Bowen, senior commercial business development manager at PacStar, who discussed the case study of a new, small form factor deployable network monitoring and analysis solution used to analyze CSX's wayside PTC network; and Northeast Logistics Systems LLC President Richard Flynn, who talked about the state of rail security post-9/11.Lubcke, Bowen and Flynn were followed by Steven Polunsky, a research scientist at Texas A&M Transportation Institute, who described a study of the homeland security implications of the proposed bullet train operation between Dallas and Houston. "If you don't have a plan to manage risk, you end up with chaos," says @CanadianPacific's Laird Pitz. #SecureRail17 pic.twitter.com/qoWQR4fRMw — Progressive Railroad (@rail_pro_mag) April 5, 2017Also speaking that afternoon were Canadian Pacific Vice President and Chief Risk Officer Laird Pitz, who offered his perspective on the importance of having a corporate strategy for managing risk; and Wi-Tronix President Larry Jordan, who discussed the concept of file-less data and asset security systems of the future.Metra Police Department Paul Riggio closed Day 1 by describing a critical response training program that his department created for Metra engineers and conductors. The program addressed how the railroad's staff should respond to an active shooter situation.Another full day of sessionsDay 2 began with DPS Telecom's Marketing Director Andrew Erickson, who described ways to remotely monitor and control mission-critical trackside and telecom facilities. He was followed by Immanuel Triea's presentation on how to leverage internal control and audits to address cyber threats and risks. Triea is senior director of information security at Gannett Fleming Inc.Next was Jim McKenney, who last week moved to a new position with NCC Group's transportation practice after spending the past two years as a solutions architect at CSX. McKenney's session, titled “How to Hack a Train Safely,” explored how to pick a methodology for cybersecurity testing, as well as how to share the results with a railroad's executive leadership team and the rank and file.Ellen Linnenkamp, managing director of Strukton Rail North America, and Lex van der Poel, director at Dual Inventive, followed with their presentation on transit-rail security. They traveled from the Netherlands to give a session on how remote-controlled shunts, monitoring systems, predictive algorithms and a secured cloud system have been used to secure Amsterdam Central Station. .@UMassLowell's Gary Gordon and @PSUHarrisburg's Richard Young assess risks for maritime-to-rail intermodal service #SecureRail17 pic.twitter.com/cGQyaO1dQ6 — Progressive Railroad (@rail_pro_mag) April 6, 2017The remaining sessions featured:
• Nick Percoco, chief information security officer at Uptake, who spoke on the importance of building a security system that protects a railroad's specific needs, rather than adapting to a system that was designed for another organization;
• Gary Gordon, adjunct faculty member in security studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Richard Young, professor of supply chain management at The Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, who co-presented on identifying the risk factors involved with ocean containers arriving at U.S. ports, then how to develop a strategy for addressing those risks as part of intermodal service;
• Mark Kraeling, product architect at GE Transportation, who discussed security fundamentals and methods that can be applied to locomotives;
• CheeYee Tang, electronics engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), who described the cybersecurity testbed that NIST is developing for rail transportation systems; and
• Stewart Skomra, president and chief technology officer of TeMeDa LLC, who addressed the importance of IoT in the rail and intermodal transportation corridor, as well as establishing and maintaining trust as part of doing business in those realms. .@GETRANSPORT's Mark Kraeling talks onboard locomotive security. #SecureRail17 pic.twitter.com/KVHzd07hZK — Progressive Railroad (@rail_pro_mag) April 6, 2017The 2017 Secure Rail Conference wrapped up with Progressive Railroading Publisher Kirk Bastyr thanking the event's sponsors: Parsons and RPI Group (platinum); Frauscher Sensor Technology, Railhead Corp. and Safety Vision (gold); and BTB Security, DPS Telecom, PacStar, Rockwell Collins and Strukton North America (silver).Secure Rail 2017
Keywords Browse articles on Secure Rail Secure Rail Conference cybersecurity Nick Chodorow Alex Lang Carload Express Inc. BTB Security positive train control PTC Internet of Things IoT Transportation Security Administration Pamela McCombe CSX Laird Pitz Canadian Pacific Parsons RPI Group Frauscher Sensor Technology Railhead Corp. Safety Vision DPS Telecom PacStar Rockwell Collins Strukton North America Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

Rail News Home Rail Industry Trends April 2017 Rail News: Rail Industry Trends

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
It's early March as I write this and we are — hopefully — exiting winter. We've already entered the spring conference season. And a good thing, too, because now that Warren Buffett Inc. has reported, we have a full set of rail earnings to make comparisons and see what, if any, key questions have been answered. Of course, we know that Warren et al. have been busy, given the Kraft Heinz Co.-Unilever Plc merger attempt. For rail intermodal, Unilever is an enlightened example of a great customer, so maybe gains at Warren's rail subsidiary BNSF Railway Co. will ease the Oracle’s pain.Railroads' 2017 previews still have validity, of course, but recent Class I management teams' comments at a few investor conferences were more positive than the cautious ones we heard in late January. Perhaps it’s the early thaw. But the rails experienced a solid end to 2016. Will we see volume and earnings improvements this year?Class I earnings in fourth-quarter 2016 essentially were in line with Street expectations. The final score was 4 wins, 3 (slight) losses, plus BNSF owner Berkshire Hathaway. That the railroads performed better than their truckload partners/competitors (they were down 30 percent) and worse than their intermodal marketing company partners is of some consequence when considering the future.The improvement in volumes over the course of Q4 continued into January: up 4.3 percent, according to Intermodal Association of North America data.During the earnings conferences, the top four critical issues I highlighted in my Q4 preview all were addressed, to varying degrees:• Strategic planning, in light of the secular mix changes and coming technological challenges, was not fully addressed ... although one could argue that the news out of CSX Corp. and related to CSX — the headcount reductions/changed leadership/probable future changes in top leadership — constitute an ongoing strategic discussion and one that, in due course, will bring accelerated change discussions to Norfolk Southern Corp.• Pricing appears to have troughed in the fall and will pretty clearly be above the rail inflation bar again in 2017 (+2 percent to +2.5 percent). And it'll accelerate over the course of the year to about a +3 percent run rate by Q4. Union Pacific Railroad did keep its promise and gave a fuller explanation of its pricing in terms of results, strategy and competitive response, while BNSF’s results didn’t show significant recent share changes in the West.• Capex will be down in 2017, and a tad more than I expected. All Class I carriers except Canadian Pacific (!) and (in the core) CSX will show varying degrees of reduction and will be in the 16 percent to 17 percent of revenues range — save for UP, which is slightly and inexplicably targeting around 15 percent. Interestingly, share buybacks have passed their peak usage, it seems. After bucking the capex trend for the entire 21st century, could railroads succumb to short-termism and re-direct cash to shareholders just as the rest of the corporate world moves in the opposite direction? I don’t think so, but it does bear watching.• Visibility and sentiment (given the coal stabilization): After an initial consensus guidance of “cautious optimism” that was more cautious than optimistic, the outlook over the course of the winter has clearly improved along with freight volumes — notably, the return to growth of intermodal. But direction and targets remain unaggressive.Tony Hatch is an independent transportation analyst and consultant, and a program consultant for Progressive Railroading’s RailTrends® conference. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Keywords Browse articles on Tony Hatch Warren Buffett intermodal BNSF CSX Norfolk Southern Union Pacific Canadian Pacific Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Supplier Spotlight

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Intermodal

4/11/2017    

Rail News: MOW

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway

4/11/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

Rail News Home MOW April 2017 Part 1 : 2017 MOW Spending Report Part 2 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Class Is Part 3 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Regionals/Short Lines Part 4 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Passenger Railroads Rail News: MOW

More subway infrastructure work is on tap for MTA New York City Transit this year, including the reconstruction of 1.3 track miles on the agency’s Concourse Line.Photo – MTA New York City Transit
Chicago Transit Authority2017 MOW capital budget: $1.13 billion
2016 MOW capital budget: $366.37 million
Reasons for increase: The higher capital budget reflects a variety of projects, including ongoing work associated with the $492 million Your New Blue O’Hare branch modernization project and, most notably, the receipt of matching federal funds for phase 1 of the Red Purple Modernization (RPM) project that’s estimated at $2.1 billion. Funding of $113.7 million previously was allocated for RPM phase 1 and an additional $1.7 billion is programmed in the current 5-year (2017-2021) capital improvement plan.
Significant rail/track projects: RPM — the largest capital improvement project in CTA’s history — calls for completely rebuilding the nearly century-old North Red Line from Belmont to Howard, and the Purple Line from Belmont to Linden in Wilmette, Ill. First phase improvements include the construction of a Red-Purple bypass in Belmont to address capacity constraints; the rebuilding of 1.3 miles of track, support structures, bridges and viaducts from Leland Ave. to near Ardmore Ave.; and the reconstruction of 4 Red Line stations. Work might begin in late 2017.
Ties: Install a number of creosote-soaked wood ties and concrete half-ties.
Stations/facilities: Ongoing work on 95th Street Terminal, $240 million, involves new terminal buildings, additional escalators and elevators, and expanded platforms, began in fall 2014 and is slated to conclude in late 2018; ongoing work to replace Wilson Station on the Red Line that was built in 1923, $203 million, involves reconstructing 2,200 feet of century-old elevated tracks, began in late 2014 and is expected to conclude in fall 2017; ongoing construction of the new Washington/Wabash Station to combine 2 century-old elevated stations on the Loop, $75 million, began in March 2015 and slated to finish in June 2017; ongoing rehab of Illinois Medical District Station, $23 million, includes upgrades to all 3 station entrances, began in September 2016 and slated for completion in late 2017; and Quincy Station accessibility improvements, $15.7 million, involves the addition of 2 new elevators, to begin in spring 2017.
Electrical/mechanical work: Upgrades to East Lake, Milwaukee and Illinois substations, which date back to 1910, $42.9 million, begin in spring 2017 and complete in spring 2020; and upgrade Ravenswood Connector signal, $32.6 million, involves replacement of 40-year-old signal system, began in late 2016 and slated for completion in late 2018.Amtrak2017 MOW capital budget: $1 billion
2016 MOW capital budget: $980 million
Reasons for increase: Allows for the implementation of full-year major track programs that include mechanized Track Laying Machine (TLM) replacement of concrete ties and the undercutter full ballast replacement on the Northeast Corridor (NEC); continues a high-speed rail project between Trenton and New Brunswick, N.J.; provides funding to continue the Springfield double-track project in Connecticut; helps advance the design of major structures and facilities; and provides for finalization of construction activities for Hudson Yard concrete encasement project in New York and advancement of preliminary design for the Hudson Tunnel from Secaucus, N.J., to Manhattan, N.Y.
Rail: Install 62 rail miles of new continuous-welded rail (CWR) and 13 miles of new track.
Significant rail/track projects: Install 22 miles of new CWR on Michigan Line; 30 rail miles of new CWR via TLM at various locations in the Mid-Atlantic and New York divisions; 6 miles of new CWR between the Dock and Erie interlockings in New Jersey; 3 miles of new track on Albany Line in New York; and 10 miles of new track on Springfield Line in Connecticut. Also, 19 miles of undercutting on Mid-Atlantic Division in Maryland.
Ties: Install 97,000 wood and 47,000 concrete ties.
Switches/turnouts/interlockings: Install
33 turnouts in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey; also additional turnouts to be installed by divisions in the NEC and at various yards systemwide.
Bridge work: Continue preliminary design, which is nearing completion for new B&P Tunnel and replacement of Susquehanna River Bridge in Maryland, $22 million; and initiate preliminary engineering for replacement of Pelham Bay Bridge in New York, along with preliminary design for Connecticut River Bridge, $750,000.
Stations/facilities: Continue renovating facade ($30 million) and replacing fire alarm ($9 million) at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia; conduct preliminary design for Hudson Tunnel from Secaucus to Manhattan under Gateway program, $24.5 million; advance engineering for design and construction of maintenance of equipment facility at Sunnyside Yard in New York, $10 million; and advance engineering for new generation high-speed rail facility in Washington, D.C., $3.5 million.
Electrical/mechanical work: Continue constructing a Metuchen frequency converter facility in New Jersey, $19.3 million; and continue a joint program to upgrade the Safe Harbor frequency
converter in Pennsylvania, $13.3 million.Regional Transportation District of Denver2017 MOW capital budget: $514.2 million (per FTA standard cost categories, including guideway and track elements; stations, terminals and stops; support facilities; sitework; systems; vehicles; and rights of way, land and existing improvements)
2016 MOW capital budget: $439.2 million (per FTA standard cost categories, including guideway and track elements; stations, terminals and stops; support facilities; sitework; systems; vehicles; and rights of way, land and existing improvements)
Reasons for increase: Although the FasTracks Program is ramping down through completion in 2019, two projects with substantial construction remaining are ramping up in 2017.
Rail: Install 12.5 miles of track on the North Metro Red Line and 2.3 miles on the Southeast Rail Extension.
Significant rail/track projects: Installed 10.8 miles of track on the I-225 Line in Aurora, Colo., $687 million, opened in February; install 11.2 miles of track on the Gold-G Line in Denver area, $562 million, open in 2017; install 12.5 miles of track on North Metro (N) Line in Denver area, $764 million, open in 2018; and install 2.3 miles of track for Southeast Rail Extension in Lone Tree, Colo., $207 million, open in 2019.
Ties: Install 29,130 concrete ties on North Metro Line (27,000) and for Southeast Rail Extension (2,130).
Switches/turnouts/interlockings: Install 8 turnouts on North Metro Line and 1 crossover switch on Central Line, and replace 2 switches on Central Line.
Bridge work: Continue to build 9,528-foot Skyway bridge in Commerce City and Denver, started in June 2015, $24.8 million; continue to build 3 bridges in Lone Tree that began in 2016, $12.2 million; continue to construct 4 bridges in Denver that started in 2016, $8.97 million; continue to construct 3 bridges in Thornton and Northglenn/Thornton that started in 2015 and 2016, $4.8 million; and continue to rehab a bridge in Commerce City, work began in March 2016, $561,300.
Stations/facilities: Continue to build 6 commuter-rail at-grade stations in Commerce City, Denver, Northglenn and Thornton, work began in late 2015, 2016 or early 2017, $8.8 million; continue to construct 3 light-rail at-grade stations in Lone Tree, work began in February and March 2017, $16.5 million; and build a parking garage in Lone Tree, $20.6 million.
Electrical/mechanical work: Perform duct bank, occupancy control system (OCS), RH and signal work on North Metro Red Line; and perform parking garage, duct bank, OCS, traction power substation, RH and signal work for Southeast Rail Extension.MTA New York City Transit2017 MOW capital budget: $293.87 million
2016 MOW capital budget: $360.48 million
Reason for decrease: Focused on installing
CWR in critical areas in 2015 and 2016 — a total of 14.2 track miles of worn jointed rails and obsolete plates were replaced with new CWR and plates.
Rail: Rehab, replace or install 9.86 track miles of mainline and 0.3 track miles of yard track.
Significant rail/track projects: Install 0.79 track miles of type III panels and 0.34 miles of track reconstruction work on the Jerome line, $23.82 million; and reconstruct 1.28 track miles of subway on the Concourse line, $27.25 million.
Ties: Replace or install 16,450 wood (oak) ties; also install 20,180 oak and 1,760 concrete ties, and Ekki tie blocks for a total of 38,390 ties and tie blocks.
Switches/turnouts/interlockings: Install 27 mainline switches and 4 yard switches, with 20 switches to be installed on elevated structure and 7 in subway.
Stations/facilities: Began work in March on first 3 stations of modernization project involving more than 30 stations, involves renovations to Prospect Avenue, Bay Ridge Avenue and 53rd Street stations on R line in Brooklyn, $72.1 million, design-build contractor is Citnalta-Forte Joint Venture, to be completed by year’s end.
Electrical/mechanical work: Projects in both 2016 and 2017 include or included key-by timers (phase 4), $12.1 million; AC to DC (phase 2B), $8.4 million; control line extension (phase 6), $9.6 million; CBTC (rolled out in 2016), $10.7 million; and pre-construction on 8th Avenue Line (59th to High Street) in 2017, $1.2 million.Metra2017 MOW capital budget: $158 million
2016 MOW capital budget: $127 million
Reasons for increase: Additional funds were budgeted for yard improvements and for the installation of a PTC system.
Rail: 4.5 miles of in-track welding.
Ties: Replace or install 40,000 wood ties.
Switches/turnouts/interlockings: Work on Lake Street interlocker near the Ogilvie Terminal Station, where 3 Metra lines operated by UP converge.
Bridge work: Replace single-track Bridge Z-100 built in 1881 over the Fox River in Elgin on the Milwaukee West Line with a double-track bridge, start in fourth quarter, $34 million ($14 million to be funded by Metra); replace 11 more than century-old bridges along UP-North Line between Grace and Balmoral streets in Chicago and complete inbound portion of Ravenswood Station, start 30-month project in second quarter, about $45 million; and rehab 4 bridges on Rock Island Line, with the work typically including the reconstruction of steel sheet piling, concrete panels or the bin wall to prevent deterioration of the above roadbed.*
Stations/facilities: Complete yard improvements in all districts, $28.5 million; replace Healy Station and upgrade station facilities on the Milwaukee North Line, $7.3 million; replace Calumet Station and upgrade station facilities on the Metra Electric Line, began in first quarter, $5 million; and build new Romeoville Station on the Heritage Corridor, $5 million.
Electrical/mechanical work: Augment traction power system on the Metra Electric Line through the conversion of the 51st Street tie station to a substation by adding 12 kv switchgear, transformers and rectifiers.
* Some information from Metra press releases issued in February and MarchMTA Long Island Rail Road2017 MOW capital budget: $75 million
2016 MOW capital budget: $65 million
Reasons for increase: Executing 2 concrete tie programs and doubling the quantity of wood ties to be installed during the mechanized tie program compared with the 2016 program.
Rail: Replace, rehab or install 5 miles of rail.
Significant rail/track projects: Rail and concrete tie replacement on the Montauk Branch (Rocky to Port), install concrete ties along 10 miles of track, $28.5 million; wood tie replacement along 11 miles of the Montauk Branch (Merrick to Babylon and Speonk to East Hampton), $13.3 million; and CWR replacement at various locations throughout the Babylon Branch, $4.6 million.
Double-track project: Build an additional track from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma to support ridership growth, first phase involved adding 4.7 miles of track between Central Islip and Ronkonkoma using a new track construction machine, second phase is underway and involves the remaining 7.9 miles of new second track from Central Islip to Farmingdale and signal installation between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma.
Ties: Install 31,380 wood and 25,000 concrete ties.
Switches/turnouts/interlockings: Install 5 No. 10 and 3 No. 15 switches on the Main Line, $4.4 million.
Bridge work: The 2017 program includes structural renewal, waterproofing and painting work, and complete replacement of several rail bridges in locations that include Glendale, Long Beach, Queens, Queens Village and Westbury, N.Y., $40.6 million, to start in third and fourth quarters, in addition to other work that continued from 2016 into 2017’s first and second quarters.
Stations/facilities: The 2017 program includes station rehabs, platform and platform railing replacements, signage and elevator installations at various stations; also work has started to build an additional platform at Jamaica Station and rehab Hicksville Station, $240 million.
Note: All MOW data pertains to the 2017 annual track program only.The 2017 MOW program for Santa Clara VTA includes the installation of 12 switches, 6 turnouts, 3 interlockings and 2 crossovers in San Jose and Santa Clara, Calif. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Rail News Home MOW April 2017 Part 1 : 2017 MOW Spending Report Part 2 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Class Is Part 3 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Regionals/Short Lines Part 4 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Passenger Railroads Rail News: MOW

Along with other planned trackwork this year, the Alaska Railroad Corp. aims to replace tracks and panels at five grade crossings.Photo – Alaska Railroad Corp.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (115 railroads in North America)2017 track and structure budget: $124 million (overall), $119 million (same railroads)*
2016 track and structure budget: $109 million*
Reason for budget increase: Work includes track and bridge upgrades in Central and Northeast regions*
Typical North American capital program scope: Work on 150 lineal miles of rail; install 750,000 ties and 40 switches; surface 2,000 track miles; construct 12,000 track feet of new sidings; and rehab 75 grade crossings.**
Bridge work: Budgeted at $20 million in typical North American capital program; about 80 percent of typical program focuses on timber repairs, including new tie decks, cap and stringer replacements, pile posting and bent framing. Three new bridge construction projects are in the pipeline for 2017. In addition, some select steel repairs will be performed for section loss.**
* Information from G&W’s fourth-quarter 2016 earnings presentation
** Information from G&W’s presentation Jan. 11 at the NRC’s 2017 conferenceWatco Cos. LLC (36 short lines)2017 capital spending: Estimated at $59.7 million (involves 151 projects)*
2016 capital spending: Estimated at $67.5 million (involved 194 projects)**
Note: The 2017 budget reflects projects submitted to the company’s Capital Committee for approval and doesn’t include routine or regular maintenance work.*
Combined budgets for work segments in three divisions: About $24.9 million for tie projects; $7.1 million for surfacing projects; $14.9 million for bridge projects; $8.4 million for rail projects; and $4.4 million for other work, such as crossing surfaces, switch ties and turnouts.*
* Information from Watco’s presentation Jan. 9 at NRC’s 2017 conference
** Information from Watco’s presentation at NRC’s 2016 conferenceOmniTRAX Inc. (21 short lines)2017 MOW budget: $35 million
2016 MOW budget: $35 million
Rail: Replace or install 14 miles of mixed rail. Rail projects are performed in conjunction with defective and curve rail replacement.
Major rail projects: Borger Yard rehab for Panhandle Northern Railroad; mainline rehab for the Great Western Railway of Colorado LLC, including 10,000 ties and 200,000 feet of surfacing; and mainline rail, turnout and crossing work for the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway, including 5,000 lineal feet of relay rail and 3 to 4 turnouts.
Grinding/surfacing: 260 miles. Surfacing projects are usually less than 25 miles of track by railroad.
Ties: Install 75,000 ties, including 10,000 ties for the Georgia and Florida Railway, 7,500 ties for the Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado Railway and 5,000 ties for the Kettle Falls International Railway. Ties are the primary focus, with projects varying in size from 1,500 to 20,000 ties.
Ballast: Install 50,000 tons.
Bridge work: Priority work and upgrades for 286,000-pound cars. Bridge repairs and upgrades continue as a significant part of the capital program.Conrail2017 MOW budget: $34.5 million
2016 MOW budget: $39 million
Reason for decrease: Budget is consistent with planned capital spending forecast.
Rail: Replace or install 9.80 track miles with new 136-pound, relay 130-pound and relay 115-pound rail, all continuous-welded rail (CWR).
Major rail project: National Docks secondary track capacity improvements associated with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Greenville Yard project.
Sidings: Build 10,000-foot National Docks secondary from Johnson to Linden Ave. in Jersey City, N.J.; 4,800-foot siding in Paulsboro, N.J.; and 1,660-foot run around in Hainesport, N.J.
Grinding/surfacing: Grind 20 track miles and surface 41 track miles.
Ties: Install 35,000 wood ties.
Ballast: Install 11,600 tons of No. 3 stone ballast.
Bridge work: Rehab bridge on P&H Line involving bearings and trunnions/drums, $1.75 million; rehab pier on moveable P&H Line bridge, $700,000; replace bridge spans with box culvert on P&H Line, $400,000; rehab moveable bridge in Sayreville involving bearings and gears, $250,000; replace stringers and mechanics on moveable bridge in Penns Grove, $500,000; rehab piers on bridge in Camden, $75,000; rehab concrete piers on bridge in Lincoln, $400,000; and rehab counterweight steel bracing on Detroit Line moveable bridge, $375,000.
Facilities: Replace Port Reading Yard office; replace pad tracks at Ridgefield auto terminal; install digital radio repeater system at Port Newark Yard; replace yard air compressor at Morrisville Yard; replace communication backup generator at Paulsboro Yard; enhance lead in Marcus Hook, Pa.; enhance Stoney Creek Yard; replace yard air compressor at Sterling Yard; install 5 steel turnouts at Oak Island Yard in Newark; and install 2 steel turnouts at North Yard in Detroit.
MOW equipment or purchase or lease: Mark IV tamper.
Unusual MOW project: Flash-butt welding rail joints to generate CWR in yard and branch lines; continue to install and test PTC; replace 3 59-degree crossing frogs (diamonds) in Marcus Hook; and perform remote control of Delair Moveable Bridge.Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co.2017 MOW budget: $12.9 million
2016 MOW budget: $13.7 million
Ties: Install 25,000 wood ties.
Ballast: Install 14,000 tons of 2-inch and 8,000 tons of 1-inch ballast.
Bridge work: Replace Thornton Road bridge in Riverdale, Ill., $6 million, started in March.
MOW equipment or purchase or lease: Leased complete tie gang equipment for 2017 tie work.Belt Railway Co. of Chicago2017 MOW budget: $12,872,000
2016 MOW budget: $13,744,000
Reason for decrease: Reduction in capex requirements.
Rail: Replace or install 2.8 miles of patch rail with 136-pound CWR.
Grinding/surfacing: Surface 35 miles.
Ties: Install 20,000 wood ties.
Ballast: Install 18,000 tons.
Bridge work: Repair bridge, $3.5 million; renew bridge deck ties at Calumet-Saganashkee Channel; and renew bridge deck at Chicago Avenue.
Facilities: Install water backflow preventer and renew vehicle fueling facility.
Unusual MOW project: Install fiber optic cable.As part of its $3.5 million MOW budget for 2017 — which is very similar to last year’s spending — Iowa Northern Railway Co. plans to install two miles of 80-foot, 115-pound rail.Iowa Northern Railway Co.

Rail News Home MOW April 2017 Part 1 : 2017 MOW Spending Report Part 2 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Class Is Part 3 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Regionals/Short Lines Part 4 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Passenger Railroads Rail News: MOW

This year, CN plans to replace 2.2 million wood ties.Photo – CN
BNSF Railway Co.2017 MOW budget: $2.4 billion
2016 MOW budget: $2.6 billion
Reasons for decrease: “Each year, we seek to establish a capital plan that reflects the future needs of customers and the constant need to keep its infrastructure in good working condition. This year’s capital plan ensures the railroad continues to operate a safe and reliable network while capturing the new opportunities presented to it.”
Rail: Replace or install 600 miles, all continuous-welded rail (CWR).
Double track: About 16 miles of new double and triple track are planned along the network.
Grinding/surfacing: Total of 20,000 miles.
Ties: Replace or install 2.7 million wood and 140,000 concrete ties.
Ballast: Install 5.1 million net tons.
Bridge work: This year’s capital plan includes the continuing replacement of bridges in Memphis, Tenn.; Bosworth, Mo.; and Media, Ill.Union Pacific Railroad2017 Engineering Plan: $1.86 billion (infrastructure replacement), also about $255 million for capacity work/commercial facilities*
2016 Engineering Plan: $1.85 billion (infrastructure replacement), also about $650 million for capacity work/commercial facilities**
Rail: Potentially replace/install about 657 miles of rail.*
Ties: Potentially install about 4.22 million ties.*
Bridge work: Bridge plans call for continuing a “strong” replacement program and accelerating a timber trestle replacement plan. Have increased maintenance funding for timber bridges. A majority of bridge projects will be performed in the South. A potential capacity and commercial facility project involves the Mississippi River bridge in Clinton, Iowa.*
Facilities: The 2017 capacity and commercial facility expansion projects include potential projects in Clarks Park, Texas, the Port Laredo intermodal facility in Laredo, Texas, the LATC intermodal yard and the Central Texas Classification Yard in Brazos County, Texas.*
* Information from UP’s presentation Jan. 9 at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Inc.’s (NRC) 2017 conference in Boca Raton, Fla.
** Budget figures from UP’s presentation at the NRC’s 2016 conferenceCN2017 MOW budget: $1.5 billion (in Canadian dollars)
2016 MOW budget: $1.5 billion (in Canadian dollars)
Rail: Replace or install 757 track miles, including 625 track miles of new and 132 track miles of partially worn rail.
Double track: Construct 10 miles of double track along Winnipeg-Edmonton corridor and advance yard capacity improvements.
Grinding/surfacing: Grind 19,170 pass miles and surface 10,500 miles.
Ties: Replace or install 2.2 million wood and
55,000 concrete ties.
Ballast: Install 1.4 million tons.
Bridge work: Budgeted $130 million for basic capital projects, including Aberdeen bridge program in Saskatchewan, $16 million; Fraser River Bridge strengthening program in Vancouver, $7 million; Oliver Bridge re-deck program in Superior, Wis., $7 million; Quebec Bridge life extension program, $7 million; and year 7 of 8 bridge strengthening program in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., $6 million.
MOW equipment to purchase or lease: Budgeted $26 million for various MOW equipment to be used across the system.Norfolk Southern Railway2017 MOW budget: $930 million
2016 MOW budget: $940 million
Rail: Replace or install 450 track miles, all CWR.
Double track: Construct 10 miles of second main and a new No. 20 universal crossover in Gretna, Va., funded by commonwealth, work underway and to be completed this year; build 12.5 miles of third main and 12 control points for the Indiana Gateway Project, including in Hammond (6 miles), Pine (4 miles) and Millers (2.5 miles), funded by Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) program, work underway; and construct 27.4 miles of second main and 5 No. 24 universal crossovers in North Carolina for Piedmont Improvement Project, including in Charlotte (12.2 miles), Kannapolis (10.2 miles) and Lexington (5 miles), ARRA funded through FRA, to be completed in 2017.
Sidings: Build 1.8-mile siding in Buechel, Ky., and 7,000 track feet of support tracks in Toledo, Ohio; and complete a siding speed improvement project involving 7,000 track feet in Elkhart, Ind.
Grinding/surfacing: Grind 18,000 pass miles.
Ties: Replace or install 2.35 million wood
and relay ties.
Ballast: Install 2.3 million tons.
Bridge work: Continue to replace the Portageville Bridge in Letchworth State Park in New York, $70 million, to be completed in late 2018.
Facilities: Build 4 support tracks and 215 parking spaces at the Calumet facility in Chicago; construct 1 support track, extend 12 tracks and create 250 parking spaces at the Rickenbacker facility near Columbus, Ohio; and convert 2 tracks and create
370 parking spaces in Jacksonville, Fla.
MOW equipment to purchase or lease: Plan a 17.8 percent decrease in replacement of various work equipment in 2017.Union Pacific Railroad’s 2017 engineering plan includes the potential to replace or install more than 650 miles of rail throughout its system. Union Pacific Railroad

Rail News Home MOW April 2017 Part 1 : 2017 MOW Spending Report Part 2 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Class Is Part 3 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Regionals/Short Lines Part 4 : 2017 MOW Spending Report - Passenger Railroads Rail News: MOW

Thirty of the 61 railroads that provided 2017 budgets have increased spending.Photo – Union Pacific Railroad By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing EditorAfter perusing the submitted surveys and other available information that helped me assemble this year’s spending report, a few things stand out about the referenced maintenance-of-way (MOW) programs.Many budgets appear to be fairly flat again, as has been the case the past few years. Thirty of the 61 Class Is, short lines, regionals and passenger railroads that provided 2017 budgets in MOW surveys collected in February and March (from among more than 200 distributed surveys) or during presentations have increased spending while nine others have slotted the same amount compared with 2016 levels. Yet, half of the year-over-year increases are very slight, barely or not quite covering higher labor and material costs associated with inflation.Conversely, 23 others trimmed their budgets — some substantially — and a dozen or so cited funding challenges. For example, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority cut its spending by one-third year over year (to $44.4 million) because of budget constraints.Overall, there are fewer program breakdowns in the 2017 report, down to 65 total (see note below) from 72 and 75 in the 2016 and 2015 reports, respectively. Similar to the murky political climate, MOW appeared to be a “don’t go there” topic for a number of railroads — including some that have often participated in past surveys — perhaps given economic or traffic-growth concerns.Among those that did respond, a few mentioned delaying certain work or curtailing program aspects in 2017. One was Norfolk Southern Railway, which opted to reduce the amount of work equipment it acquires.Nonetheless, there still will be a lot of equipment in play and a lot of greenbacks invested this year in MOW. On the freight side, U.S. railroads are projected to spend $22 billion — or about $60 million per day — to maintain their networks, according to the Association of American Railroads. That includes the nearly $9 billion budgeted by Class Is and small roads in the report.In terms of passenger rail, the report lists 21 MOW budgets totaling more than $3 billion, a portion of the nearly $90 billion that the American Public Transportation Association estimates U.S. transit systems need to reach a state of good repair.As they chip away at their MOW programs, railroad managers expect to face many of the same challenges of previous years, such as scrounging up the necessary funds or finding available track time. For the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), dealing with aging infrastructure and limited resources is a constant uphill battle.“[Our] unmet capital need is approximately $13 billion and there hasn’t been a state capital bill since 2009, [so] finding funding for critical projects is a challenge,” CTA officials wrote in their survey.Following are the MOW slates for 65 freight and passenger railroads, which figure to keep seeking ways to overcome hurdles while carrying out this year’s programs.Editor's Note: The passenger railroad section of the 2017 MOW Spending Report includes a program breakdown from the San Francsico Municipal Transportation Agency that wasn't included in the report's print edition. next page
Keywords Browse articles on maintenance of way Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Norfolk Southern Association of American Railroads American Public Transportation Association Chicago Transit Authority Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

4/10/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail