Railroad News

Several Class I chief executives this week responded to letters they received last week from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Surface Transportation Board (STB) that asked the railroads to address certain service issues related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In letters to the Class Is' chief executive officers, FRA Administrator Ronald Batory and STB members said they were made aware of concerns such as "missed industrial switches and excessively late or annulled trains due to crew availability issues."

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Senior Associate Editor

Although U.S. rail traffic declined 5.8 percent in August compared with the same month a year ago, total intermodal volume rose 3 percent to 1,122,954 containers and trailers, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads logged 898,227 carloads last month, down 14.9 percent from August 2019, while total combined volume fell to 2,021,181 carloads and intermodal units. Still, the monthly U.S. intermodal volume gain was a highlight in AAR's August traffic report.

Transdev announced the retirement of President-Emeritus Michael Setzer after a nearly 50-year career in the transit industry. He previously served in chief executive roles at many U.S. transit systems, including those in Cincinnati and St. Louis. Setzer was general manager of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Metro Transit during the construction and commissioning of its first light-rail line and chief executive officer of Long Island’s Nassau Inter-County Express. He founded Professional Transit Management, which now is part of Transdev, a global transport services provider.

Duos Technologies Group Inc. appointed Charles Ferry chief executive officer to succeed company founder and Chairman Gianni Arcaini, who recently retired and will continue to serve on Duos’ board. Ferry has extensive private-sector leadership experience in the energy and defense contracting industries, and served in the U.S. Army for 26 years, Duos officials said in a press release. He most recently was CEO of APR Energy. Earlier in his career, Ferry was general manager or ARMA Global Corp., a defense contracting firm owned by General Dynamics.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has launched its first-ever Riders’ Advisory Council (RAC), a group of 24 volunteers who will provide feedback on passenger experience improvements.  

Managed by MARTA Chief Customer Experience Officer Rhonda Allen, the RAC includes representatives from the agency’s service area and at-large members. MARTA employees, contractors and elected officials are ineligible to serve as RAC members, who will serve two-year terms and meet monthly.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) last week approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing Norfolk Southern Railway to improve two grade crossings in Columbiana County.

The projects involve the installation of lights and gates at the Creek Road/Township Road 923 and the Clarks Mill Road/Township Road 773 crossings by Aug. 26, 2021, PUCO officials said in a press release.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) recently learned it will receive $50.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grant Program for the Double Track Northwest Indiana project.

To cover more than 26 miles from Gary to Michigan City, Indiana, the project includes the installation of a second mainline track, improvements to five stations, and the construction of over 1,300 new parking spaces and nine new platforms. In Michigan City, rail will be separated from the roadway and 21 grade crossings will be closed.

The Delmarva Central Railroad Co. (DCR) will use an $18.8 million federal grant to upgrade its near century-old  infrastructure, including three large moving rail bridges, federal and Delaware state officials announced last week.

The federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Program (CRISI) grant will be used along with $29.4 million from DCR to upgrade the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Nanticoke River and the Pocomoke River Cassatt bridges, according to a press release issued by U.S. Sen. Chris Coons' office.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) in Austin, Texas, received positive train control (PTC) certification from the Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 10.

That milestone meant the transit agency completed PTC implementation ahead of the federal Dec. 31 deadline, said Cap Metro spokesperson Mariette Hummel in an email.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) final rule affecting continuous rail inspection technology will facilitate widespread deployment of such technology to advance safety and efficiency of the nation's rail network, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

For years, railroads have operated continuous rail inspection technology under longstanding waivers and demonstrated the innovation's promise to improve efficiency and safety, AAR officials said in a press release.

To better handle an anticipated ridership bump as schools begin to reopen, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recalled 150 of 450 train and bus operators who were temporarily laid off in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The TTC’s daily ridership now is 35 percent to 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels and is steadily increasing as the city of Toronto and region enter new phases of recovery, TTC officials said in a press release.

Today, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is launching a fare enforcement diversion pilot program designed to reduce evasion fines and provide violators new ways to clear citations.

Trolley and bus passengers are still required to purchase a valid fare, but any fare evasion citations that MTS officers issue on or after Sept. 1 will qualify under new program guidelines.

This past weekend, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) completed improvements to the 108-year-old Steel Bridge on the MAX line.

The project marked the end of the agency’s biggest light-rail revitalization effort in 34 years and represented an important accomplishment in continuing to maintain reliable MAX service, TriMet officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Railway recently completed a sustainability project to reclaim a "living shoreline" along an industrial stretch of the Elizabeth River in Virginia.

The project transformed a stretch of the severely eroded shoreline at the railroad's Lamberts Point terminal into a green oasis in an area where ship repair and port businesses operate. The effort advances environmental, community and business goals, NS officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LA Metro) board last week advanced several major capital projects. The ones involving rail include the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, Crenshaw Northern Extension, Purple Line Extension and High Desert Intercity Rail Corridor Service Development Plan.

For the Sepulveda Transit Corridor, the board approved a $48.3 million contract with HNTB Corp., Terry A. Hayes Associates Inc. and AECOM Technical Services to perform the environmental studies and complete advanced conceptual engineering. The project — which calls for building a high-speed, high-capacity transit line connecting the San Fernando Valley, Westside and LAX — will undergo an environmental review in 2021.

The Gateway Program Development Corp. (GDC) last week released an updated financial plan for the Hudson River Tunnel Project that shows the project's overall cost has increased $275 million.

The plan also pushes back by one year the major construction start date, which now is projected to be early 2022. Cost increases — which bring the project's total price tag to $11.6 billion — are attributed to the start delay. Major work can't begin until the federal government issues a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and record of decision (ROD) for the new tunnel and rehabilitation of the existing North River Tunnel, GDC officials said in a press release.