Railroad News

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced earlier this month it has outlined risk areas for the department to monitor to prevent potential fraud, waste or abuse of billions of dollars provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Passed by Congress in March, the CARES Act provided USDOT with more than $36 billion to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19's impact on all modes of transportation. To its credit, the department swiftly distributed the funds, but the amount of funds and the speed with which they were distributed create oversight challenges, the OIG said in its memorandum to the department.

Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. (KSHC) of Irvine, Kentucky, announced last week it has received an SD40-2 locomotive (No. 6162) from Norfolk Southern Corp.

During its 42-years in service, the unit hauled countless tons of freight through the Appalachian coalfields through central Kentucky, KSHC officials said in a press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) last week announced a series of police reforms, expanded police training and new initiatives to increase the number of unarmed civilian employees providing presence on the San Francisco rail system. 

On June 12, BART Police Chief Ed Alvarez updated the BART Police Department’s (BPD) use-of-force policy to ban the use of carotid control holds. Previously it was only justifiable under circumstances where deadly force was warranted, BART officials said in a press release.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), late last week issued a final rule authorizing the bulk transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail. 

Specifically, the rule will permit the bulk transportation of LNG in DOT-113C120W9 (DOT-113) specification tank cars with enhanced outer tank requirements and additional operational controls.

Strato Inc. received TTX Co.’s 2019 Supplier Evaluation Committee Award for the 24th consecutive year. Strato was evaluated in two categories: coupler and yoke manufacturer and miscellaneous car part manufacturer, and component supplier. Starto received a “A” rating and the “Excellent Supplier” designation in all categories. TTX Co. rates suppliers on quality, cost, delivery, service, finance and administration.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) purchased Miller Ingenuity’s ZoneGuard roadway worker protection system for employees working on mainline track. The system kit includes train detector modules, train alert modules and worker wearable devices. With the purchase, BART has fulfilled California’s state requirement for transit agencies to comply with roadway worker protection rules. One of those rules requires agencies to adopt “early warning alarm technology” to coincide with their existing protection procedures, Miller Ingenuity officials said in a press release.

Metro Transit-St. Louis on June 22 will offer light-rail riders the option to purchase fares through the Transit mobile application.

Offering the contactless fare option is part of a plan to adapt to the coronavirus, agency officials said in a press release. 

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District’s (SMART) board earlier this week authorized funding the design and construction of a second commuter-rail station in Petaluma, California. 

SMART will use $8 million in proceeds from the sale of a downtown property to fund the construction of a new station and parking lot at Corona Road and North McDowell Boulevard, SMART officials said in a press release.

The Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) this week announced it handled dramatically low volumes at all of its facilities in April as the result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Cargo volumes at the seaport dropped 7.5 percent to 559,929 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) during the month compared with 605,263 TEUs in April 2019. The drop in cargo volume represented the smallest percentage decline at any of the PANYNJ facilities, port officials said in a press release.

The Chicago Plan Commission in May adopted the South Shore Corridor Study, a blueprint for transit connectivity, land use and housing for two corridors in the South Shore neighborhood, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) announced Wednesday.

The study includes recommendations aimed at strengthening transit usage and making access safer and more efficient for residents of East 75th and East 79th streets, from Stony Island Avenue to Lake Michigan.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) yesterday announced it intends to award $906 million in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants to 20 projects in 20 states.

Funding will be used to pay for projects that will improve highways, bridges, ports and railroads to better connect communities, enhance safety and support economic growth, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a press release.

The Massachusetts BayTransportation Authority (MBTA) today will begin infrastructure work on the Red Line between Braintree and Quincy Center stations on an accelerated 14-day schedule. 

Work includes replacement of 3,500 ties; concrete repairs, elevator structure work; track replacements, resurfacing and ballast work; and bridge inspections and related repairs on the Red Line.

U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that calls for improving grade crossing safety by allowing more flexibility in the use of funds allocated by the Federal Highway Administration's Section 130 program.

"Indiana is the crossroads of America. Blocked railroad-highway crossings pose a serious safety risk to Hoosiers and must be updated," said Pence in a press release.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) yesterday announced it will reduce its transit police force and redirect $1.8 million in available funding to community-based public safety approaches. 

For the next fiscal year starting July 1, TriMet has committed to:

New Jersey Transit earlier this week released guidelines detailing its steps aimed at protecting riders and employees as the region reopens during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The guidelines provide “clear and simple” actions that riders and employees should take to contribute to a safe return to service, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.

Calgary’s City Council in Alberta earlier this week approved an updated alignment for the first stage of the planned construction of the Green light-rail line, as well as changes to construction staging.  

The approved alignment will connect 16 Avenue North to Shepard Southeast.