Railroad News

Amtrak reiterated to Congress this week that it needs up to $4.9 billion this fiscal year to avoid laying off thousands of additional employees, reducing train service on state routes and scaling back capital projects.

The funding is necessary as the national intercity passenger railroad faces a financial crisis in responding to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) yesterday unveiled the final conceptual design report for the proposed Southwest Corridor Light-Rail Project, a proposed 11-mile light-rail line between Downtown Portland and Tualatin, Oregon.

If proposed Measure 26-218 — Get Moving 2020 — is passed in the Portland Metro District in November, the Southwest Corridor project would receive $975 million. The proposed measure would be funded by a tax on certain employers of up to .75% of payroll, TriMet officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) later this month will connect the L Line tracks in downtown Los Angeles to two underground light-rail tunnels that will ultimately connect the A, E and L Lines as part of the Regional Connector transit project.

As part of the construction, tracks from East Los Angeles and Azusa will both be connected to the tunnel. The current Little Tokyo/Arts District street-level station will also be demolished and replaced by an underground station at 1st Street and Central Avenue, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) yesterday completed platform and station upgrades at the Lynbrook commuter-rail station in New York.

The four-track elevated station now features two new island platforms, platform canopies, and new signage, LED lighting and security cameras.

Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC), in conjunction with American Commercial Barge Line, this week announced  the grand opening of Jeffersonville RiverRail Terminal in Indiana will take place in early 2021.

The terminal is located on a mile-long river frontage with more than 60 acres of industrial land. It serves as a site for breakbulk and bulk shipping of raw materials and finished goods. Northern Kentucky and southern Indiana markets will be "readily reached" from the terminal, according to the terminal website.

Sound Transit contracted crews yesterday began building the light-rail guideway for the agency’s Federal Way Link Extension, which will extend light rail nearly 8 miles from Angle Lake Station in SeaTac, Washington, to the Federal Way, Washington, by 2024. 

Design-build contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West began construction of drill shafts at the site of the future Kent/Des Moines Station, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

CSX today announced that Lt. General (Ret.) Thomas Bostick has been appointed to the company's board.

Bostick served in the U.S. Army for 38 years. He served as the chief of engineers and commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers. After retiring from the military, Bostick was chief operating officer of Intrexon and president of Intrexon Bioengineering.

Intermodal volume helped boost combined U.S. rail traffic to a 1% decrease in September compared with the same month last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads hauled 1,119,546 carloads last month, down 9.7% compared with September 2019 levels. However, the railroads also originated 1,423,883 containers and trailers during September, a 7.1% increase from the same period a year ago.

Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Jonathan Daniels has appointed Ricardo Charlton as director of operations.

Charlton will oversee the harbormaster office, linehandlers, operations support and container crane sections, which are involved in the Florida port's diverse cruise, cargo and energy operations. He will be responsible for budget preparation and adherence, personnel, port tariff and participation in contract negotiations with cruse lines, cargo carriers and terminal operators.

Voith is participating in a program with four other manufacturers to test automatic freight coupler types in Europe. The test series is being commissioned and financed by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in Germany and Shift2Rail in Sweden. By spring 2021, the commissioning parties will decide which coupler head will be introduced as a standardized coupler head Europe-wide, Voith officials said in a press release. Voith is testing its CargoFlex coupler on test cars of DB Cargo and GATX in Germany as well as Green Cargo in Sweden.

The San Diego Association of Governments awarded Granite a $7 million contract to construct a pedestrian rail undercrossing in Encinitas, California. The project also includes improvements to sidewalk, retaining walls, stormwater control devices, utilities and landscaping. Construction will begin this fall and conclude by spring 2022.

Metra officials yesterday proposed a $700 million 2021 operating budget and a $386.4 million capital budget that would continue investments in rail cars, locomotives and stations. 

The proposed operating spending plan assumes that Metra ridership will end 2020 at about 20% of the pre-COVID-19 level and increase to 50% by the end of 2021. If that happens, Metra expects about $158 million in fare revenue, Metra officials said in a press release.

Kansas state officials yesterday announced the 13 recipients of $5 million in grants awarded through the state's new Short Line Rail Improvement Fund program.

Four grants were awarded to short lines and nine to shippers. The program is a partnership between the public and private sector; applicants are required to provide 30 percent in matching funds.

CN has appointed Margaret McKenzie to serve on its board.

McKenzie has more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector serving in management, finance, accounting, compensation and corporate governance. She was a founder and the chief financial officer of Range Royalty Management Ltd., a private entity focused on acquiring oil and natural gas royalties in western Canada, from 2006 to 2014, and the chief financial officer of Profico Energy Management Ltd., a private exploration and production company, from 2000 to 2006.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has selected Hitachi Rail to build 256 8000-series rail cars, The Washington Post reported yesterday. 

Terms of the contract have not been finalized, and the contract has not yet been awarded.

An Ontario pension fund is joining with Jaguar Transport Holdings LLC and Jaguar Rail Holdings LLC to acquire five U.S. short lines, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) documents.

The short lines to be acquired are Cimarron Valley Railroad, which operates in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado; Southwestern Railroad Inc., which operates in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma; Texas & Eastern Railroad LLC in Texas; Washington Eastern Railroad in Washington State; and Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Inc. in Oregon.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) last week began phasing out paper ticket sales on its regional rail system. 

Riders are encouraged to switch to SEPTA’s Key Card, a contactless, reloadable fare card, SEPTA officials said in a press release.

The Greater New York chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) named Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. (PATH) General Manger and Director of Rail Transit Clarelle DeGraffe "Woman of the Year."

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeGraffe has provided "extraordinary" leadership to PATH and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) customers and employees, WTS officials said in a press release.