Railroad News

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has recommended that railroads and their labor representation work with Transport Canada to reduce the number uncontrolled movements in rail yards, specifically those caused by rail cars moved without the use of air brakes.

The recommendation stems from the TSB's investigation of a 2017 incident involving the uncontrolled movement of a rail car at CN's Melville Yard in Saskatchewan. The incident resulted in the death of a CN employee.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday issued a notice of funding opportunity for $291 million in state-of-good-repair grants for intercity passenger railroad assets.

The funds will support capital projects that repair, replace or rehabilitate qualified railroad assets to reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog and improve intercity passenger-rail performance, FRA officials said in a press release.

Caltrain’s board last week increased the discount it will offer to low-income riders who qualify for California’s regional means-based transit fare pilot program, Clipper START.

Under the pilot program administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, eligible Caltrain riders will have access to a 50 percent discount on single-rider fares through the use of a Clipper fare card. 

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) yesterday held a hearing on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation workers.

In his opening statement, T&I Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) noted that few industries have been hit harder by the pandemic than transportation.

Former U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner William Doyle has been appointed executive director of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday.

As commissioner from 2013 to 2018, Doyle represented the United States in numerous global negotiations and facilitated positive outcomes to disputes between maritime industry and labor groups, according to a press release issued by Hogan's office.

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) last week announced it will acquire 95 electrostatic sprayers from Dustbane to increase the efficiency of disinfecting operations across the rail system.

A STM committee — formed when the COVID-19 pandemic began to examine new solutions to improve operations — conducted disinfecting tests with electrostatic sprayers on its trains and at its stations. 

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) hired Tom Lynch as vice president of congressional affairs.

Along with recently hired Mara Stark-Alcala, Lynch will lead ASLRRA’s efforts to pursue legislative support for issues facing short lines including tax policy, infrastructure grant programs and surface transportation policy, ASLRRA officials said in a press release.

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) last week extended its operations contract with Keolis Rail Services Virginia LLC for five years. 

Under the contract, Keolis will provide locomotive engineers and conductors to operate VRE commuter trains between central and northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The company also will manage VRE's claims and reporting for the Federal Railroad Administration.

OmniTRAX Inc. has hired industry veteran Federico Diaz Page to join the company's industrial development team. 

Diaz Page will focus on working with economic and industrial stakeholders to bring new business to OmniTRAX properties in Texas and Oklahoma. He will report to Ean Johnson, vice president of industrial development.

RR Mergers & Acquisitions announced the sale of OWS Rail Car Inc. and OWSA Rail Car Inc. to Diesel Electric Services, a division of Milman Industries Inc. OWS provides general purpose and high-pressure tank car repairs and qualifications, while OWSA provides mobile rail-car repair services. The acquisition expands Milman's services to U.S. and Canadian railroads, Milman officials said in a press release.

VTG Rail Logistics GmbH has acquired a majority stake in Carbo Rail, a Slovakian railway company. Carbo Rail’s operating licenses, 25 locomotives and 150 employees will be integrated into VTG’s Retrack railway company. Carbo Rail will operate under the name Retrack Slovakia. “Its operating licenses for Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary make Carbo Rail a sensible complement to our Retrack network that sustainably reinforces our presence in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Gunther Ferk, head of VTG Rail Logistics Europe, in a press release.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) board last week approved a sustainability plan to guide the California agency's actions through fiscal-year 2040. 

The plan outlines key performance indicators with short-term and long-term targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutants, building and fleet energy consumption, water usage and waste diversion.  

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on major U.S. retail container ports appears to be easing slightly, with projected imports remaining below last year's levels but not as much as previously forecast, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates announced yesterday.

"The numbers we're seeing are still below last year, but are better than we expected a month ago," said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold in a press release. "It may be too soon to say, but we'll take that as a sign that the situation could be slowly starting to improve. Consumers want to get back to shopping, and as more people get back to work, retailers want to be sure their shelves are stocked."

New Jersey Transit yesterday unveiled a strategic plan to guide the agency's decisions over the next 10 years.

Dubbed NJT2030, the plan outlines more than 100 initiatives for the agency to achieve and implement by 2030. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday began implementing its 13-point action plan to ensure the safe return of riders as New York City’s business and industries reopened.

The action plan includes:

The majority of the California Assembly has co-sponsored legislation that directs the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to defer awarding a contract this year for the proposed high-speed rail line between Merced and Bakersfield.

The measure directs the CHSRA to not enter into certain contracts before the Legislature has considered and approved the authority's funding request for the remaining $4.2 billion in high-speed rail bond issue funds, according to a press release issued by state lawmaker Jim Frazier, who chairs the California Assembly's Transportation Committee.

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

Throughout the Railway Association of Canada’s (RAC) 103-year history, it has strived to represent the interests of both freight and passenger railroads in the world’s fifth-largest rail network. But the organization mostly has carried out that mission with an all-male board.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) last week began a two-week demolition of the Lechmere Viaduct between the Gilmore Bridge and existing Lechmere Station in East Cambridge. 

The work will further advance the relocation and reconstruction of Lechmere Station now underway as part of the MBTA’s Green Line Extension project.