Railroad News

[Editor's note: This story was updated after its original posting.]

Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) have reached a new agreement for the operation, maintenance and use of the 37.9-mile Attleboro Line between Boston and the Rhode Island state border.

BNSF Railway Co. reported revenue jumped 14.5 percent to $5.3 billion on higher volumes and increased average revenue per car during the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

BNSF's pretax net earnings rose 24 percent to $1.5 billion in Q2 2017 compared with the same period in 2016, according to the second-quarter earnings report of BNSF's parent company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Annka Robinson, 33

Job description: Robinson is responsible for ensuring safety related to maintenance-of-way activities on the Trinity Railway Express.

Education: Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, bachelor's degree in civil engineering

GE Transportation has unveiled the first of 1,000 Evolution Series locomotives for Indian Railways. The ES43ACmi unit underwent nearly two months of testing and validation before receiving a coat of red and yellow paint, GE officials said in a press release. With the new paint job completed, the company is preparing to ship the locomotive in a few weeks. Expected to arrive in India later this year, the unit is part of a $2.5 billion locomotive order from Indian Railways.

Rail Partners Management Group LLC has acquired the assets and operations of Tactical Cleaning Co. from Strategic Environmental & Energy Resources. Tactical Cleaning provides fixed-base and mobile rail-car cleaning services to large and small rail-car customers throughout North America. Rail Partners will retain the company's brand name and all Tactical Cleaning operational personnel will remain in place, according to a Rail Partners press release. Financing for the transaction was provided by Seneca Partners and Uniprop. Other financial details were undisclosed.

The North East Association of Rail Shippers announced last week it is recognizing North Shore Railroad Co. Chairman Emeritus Richard Robey as the Transportation Person of the Year.

"Dick was a true pioneer in the short-line industry at a time when few believed that railroading had much of a future," association officials said in a press release.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) interim General Manager Steve Poftak over the weekend visited several infrastructure improvement project sites.

One stop included the site of a railroad drawbridge replacement in Beverly, Massachusetts. To accommodate the work, the MBTA on July 17 shut down Newburyport/Rockport Line service north of Salem, Massachusetts. Train service is slated to return to normal tomorrow, MBTA officials said in a press release.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has found that an August 2016 collision between two Canadian Pacific trains occurred when one of the trains ran a stop signal.

The investigation highlights the need for onboard voice and video recorders, TSB officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has arrested 536 fare evaders during a recent six-week crackdown, the agency announced late last week.

Over the past six weeks, plainclothes officers have actively monitored fare gates across MARTA's 38 rail stations for riders hopping on board without paying. The effort led to hundreds of arrests and suspensions from the agency's system, MARTA officials said in a press release.

CSX violated federal law by implementing a physical abilities battery that discriminates against women, according to a lawsuit field by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last week.

The EEOC alleges that since at least 2008, CSX has conducted isokinetic strength testing as a requirement for workers to be selected for various jobs. Known as the IPCS Biodex, the strength test causes a discriminatory impact on women seeking jobs as conductors, material handlers/clerks, and a number of other job categories, the EEOC said in a press release.

Caltrain's board has awarded a $32 million contract to Proven Management Inc. for the South San Francisco Station improvement project.

The project involves track and signal work, along with the installation of a new 700-foot center boarding platform. The work also will provide a connection to a new pedestrian underpass from the platform to Grand Avenue/Poletti Drive.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao late last week informed Congress that the U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed nearly $79 million in grants for freight-related rail, port and roadway infrastructure projects under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

The notification to Congress, sent Aug. 2, initiates a 60-day period in which Congress could vote to disapprove the proposed projects if it finds a project objectionable, according to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Myat Ohn, 34

Job description: Ohn serves as the deputy segment lead for the the San Jose-Merced section of California’s high-speed rail project. In her role, she manages the project’s scope, schedule, budget and sub-consultants. Ohn also designs the track plan and profile as track and guideway lead for the section. In addition, she coordinates with other rail agencies, cities, counties and stakeholders.

Education: Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, University of California-Berkeley

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) joined representatives of Omaha Track Inc. and local railroads to tour the company's facilities in Omaha this week.

Omaha Track President and Owner Terry Peterson led the tour, which included visits to the new corporate office and the Omaha Track Equipment facility, where maintenance-of-way equipment is custom built, fabricated and maintained.

Canadian Pacific yesterday released its 2016 corporate sustainability report.

The document outlines the railroad's commitment to "long-term value creation and sustainable operations," CP officials said in a press release.

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Inc. on Wednesday announced a new seven-year transloading agreement with an exploration and production operator in the Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher Counties (STACK) oil play in Oklahoma.

Under the agreement, the operator will provide minimum quarterly proppant volumes through a new facility that Solaris is developing in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has launched BuildHSR.com, a new website that provides updates about the 119 miles of construction underway in the state's Central Valley.

The site will be updated regularly with road and construction alerts, photos, videos construction milestones and events, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) yesterday recommended that Transport Canada incorporate predictive data on rail surface conditions to help improve track inspections.

The board's recommendation was part of its investigation into the March 2015 derailment and fire involving a CN freight train near Gogama, Ontario, TSB officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will award a $7.89 million grant to help fund a railroad bridge repair project in Maine, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced yesterday.

The grant is being awarded under the USDOT grant program known as Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies, or FASTLANE. The $7.89 million in funding will be provided to the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) for a project to repair and upgrade 22 rail bridges on the Madawaska Subdivision of the Maine Northern Railway, according to a press release issued by Collins' office.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued a record of decision for a project to replace Amtrak's Portal Bridge in New Jersey.

The document formally adopts the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) environmental impact statement for the project, which involves replacing a century-old swing bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey with a high-level fixed bridge.