Railroad News

Iron Horse Terminals LLC's (IHT) rail terminal in Beaumont, Texas, earlier this month became fully operational when it was connected to the Houston Rail Line served by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad.

Located on 500 acres in the heart of the southeast Texas petrochemical industry, the rail terminal has more than 1,300 rail-car storage spots, a 30-car maintenance facility, a 10-car loading facility and a soon-to-be operational car washing facility.

Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week approved a $2.42 billion capital and operating budget for fiscal-year 2021, which begins July 1.

The budget focuses on increased investment in passenger and employee safety and provides the ability to adapt train service levels to match changes in ridership, BART officials said in a press release.

CN will invest CA$305 million in Alberta and CA$235 million in Quebec this year to strengthen its rail network, the Class I announced last week.

In Alberta, capital expenditures will include expansion projects such as the construction of double track to allow more trains to pass on CN's mainline. The maintenance program will focus on the replacement of 71 miles of rail, installation of 210,000 new ties, rebuilding of 28 grade crossing surfaces, and maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

VTG Rail Logistics has modernized its tank car fleet to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The company has been renewing its fleet since 2014, with 800 of the nearly 1500 tank cars having been retrofitted or replaced, VTG Rail officials said in a press release. The wagons now can carry a larger payload and feature quieter braking systems and crash buffers. Most wagons are also equipped with the VTG Connector telematics module, which allows tracking and tracing. 

Hardesty & Hanover LLP hired Howard Swanson and Earl Wacker as senior project managers in the rail practice. Swanson will focus on managing large freight-rail projects. He has 32 years of experience with Norfolk Southern Railway, where he was responsible for ensuring that standard procedures for bridge management complied with Federal Railway Administration requirements. Wacker will focus on passenger- and freight-rail projects in his new position. He will be involved in transportation projects in the Midwest. Wacker has more than 37 years of experience at CSX and its predecessor railroads, where he served in operations, administration and service design and six years with CSX Intermodal.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has completed  $6.9 million in safety and aesthetic upgrades to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown rail station on the system’s East/West Line.   

New safety features include an accessibility ramp connecting Walthall Street to the Reynoldstown bus loop and a stair tower to Seaboard Avenue on the south side of the station. MARTA crews also rehabilitated two pedestrian bridges linking the station to parking lots, and built a speed table to slow vehicle traffic.  

The Port of Savannah's proximity to major producers, direct access via road and rail and broad global network recently made it the top port in the nation for the export of containerized agricultural goods, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) officials announced yesterday.

In calendar year 2019, agriculture accounted for 60 percent of Savannah's exports, or more than 843,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Forest products such as wood pulp, paper and logs made up the largest category of goods, followed by clay, cotton, poultry and peanuts.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) this week published a white paper on cleaning and disinfecting transit vehicles and facilities during a contagious virus pandemic.

Designed to address the virus that causes COVID-19, the paper is designed to help transit agencies develop programs for maintaining, cleaning and disinfecting their vehicles and facilities, APTA officials said in the document.

The South Carolina Ports Authority's (SCPA) board this week adopted a fiscal-year 2021 financial plan, as well as a $319 million capital spending plan that will be used to finish construction of the first phase of the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal.

Set to open in March 2021, the Leatherman terminal will be the first new container terminal in the United States since 2009, port officials said in a press release.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) earlier this week announced it's pursuing federal funding for second phase of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Extension through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program. 

The EPD Program enables transit agencies to fast-track the federal funding process for major projects. In August 2019, FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams pledged $125 million of  $1.7 billion in federal funds that VTA will be requesting, VTA officials said in a press release.

The Port of Longview, Washington, this summer will begin a project to add more than 5,000 feet of new railroad track.

The port's commissioners earlier this week gave staff approval to buy materials to start the North Rail Connection project, which is designed to boost the port's rail capacity by realigning more than 1,900 feet of existing track and adding two lines totaling more than 5,000 feet, The Daily News reported.

Starting July 6, New Jersey Transit will operate a full weekday rail schedule to increase capacity to allow for physical distancing between riders on trains as ridership ticks up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A state executive order requires the agency to limit rider occupancy to 50 percent of the stated maximum vehicle capacity on all trains and light-rail vehicles. Riders are also required to wear masks.

Nearly two-thirds of voters in the three California counties served by Caltrain would support a one-eighth cent sales tax to preserve Caltrain service during the COVID-19 pandemic and to expand service in the future, according to a public opinion poll commissioned by the agency.

The poll was conducted as Caltrain leaders consider advancing a ballot measure that would call for a dedicated revenue source to address the financial impact of the pandemic. Caltrain officials said in a press release said. To pass, the measure would need support from a combined two-thirds of voters in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on Aug. 16 will restore Silver Line service and reopen six stations in Fairfax County, Virginia, the agency announced yesterday. 

The reopening date is weeks earlier than originally planned, and reflects the progress crews made on rebuilding deteriorating station platforms and other rail extension integration work, agency officials said in a press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) board earlier this week approved $4.3 million to fund salary bonuses for the agency’s front-line and essential employees. 

More than 2,900 DART employees are potentially eligible for the bonus pay, including those whose core job functions pose a hazardous threat because of the nature of their work and their direct interaction with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has recognized Jose Jimenez of The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago (BRC) and Travis Herod of Watco Cos. LLC for their efforts to improve rail safety.

Jimenez, a machinist, has been named the association's 2020 Safety Person of the Year. The award recognizes a non-management employee who exhibits knowledge and practice of safety procedures within his or her company, with no reported self injuries, and contributes off-duty time to safety procedures and awareness in their own communities.

New Jersey Transit yesterday announced it will receive $13.3 million in federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to address the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A majority of the funds will be used to help sustain transportation service in rural areas of New Jersey, particularly those used by senior citizens, riders with disabilities and riders who are economically disadvantaged, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight railroads hauled 457,278 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending June 20, a 12.9 percent decrease compared with volumes transported during the same week in 2019, Association of American Railroads data.

Total carloads for the week were 201,823, down 21.8 percent, while intermodal volume was 255,455 containers and trailers, down 4.4 percent.