Railroad News

U.S. House Democratic leaders yesterday released the framework for a new $760 billion proposal to address the nation's growing infrastructure needs, including those related to rail.

Chairmen of the House committees on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means unveiled the plan, dubbed "Moving America and the Environment Forward," which they said would address the nation's massive infrastructure maintenance backlog and undertake projects that are "smarter, safer and made to last," according to a joint press release issued by the committees.

Alstom appointed Muslum Yakisan senior vice president in the Middle East and Africa; Benjamin Fitoussi, SVP of operations; and Thierry Best, chief commercial officer. Previously, Yakisan served as Siemens Mobility VP and the global head of commuter and regional trains and passenger coaches. Fitoussi most recently was chief operating officer and senior EVP for Nexans’ Europe and North America market. He also held numerous senior management roles at Alstom. Prior to his appointment, Best had been COO of Alstom since 2014, and has extensive experience in the rail industry, Alstom officials said in a press release.

Thales and Piper Networks completed a nine-month pilot of ultra-sideband (UWB) technology on MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) Flushing subway line. The pilot demonstrated the potential for UWB positioning technologies to integrate seamlessly with communications-based train control to improve system reliability and the speed of delivery for upgraded signaling systems, NYCT officials said in a press release.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver's (RTD) board yesterday appointed Paul Ballard interim general manager and chief executive officer. 

A start date for the position has yet to be announced.

Positive train control (PTC) was in operation on 98.5 percent of the required Class I route miles at the end of 2019, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced yesterday.

The nation's largest railroads remain on track to meet the federally mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, for full PTC implementation, with several railroads already operating it across their entire required PTC footprint, AAR officials said in a press release.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week returned 298 Bombardier R179 rail cars to service after removing them from the subway fleet in response to two reports of door problems earlier this month.

LTK Engineering, NYCT and Bombardier Transportation completed inspections of and adjustments to all door systems. They also performed software upgrades and testing for the entire fleet.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday announced $5.4 million in grant selections as part of the Federal Transit Administration's Human Trafficking Awareness and Public Safety Initiative. 

Under the initiative, 24 organizations — including five transit-rail agencies — will each receive funding for projects to help prevent human trafficking and other crimes on public transportation. 

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported today fourth-quarter 2019 net income decreased 5 percent to $666 million, or $2.55 per diluted share, compared with net income of $702 million, or $2.57 per share, a year earlier.

The Class I's railway operating revenue declined 7 percent to $2.7 billion in the quarter, driven by a 9 percent decrease in total volume, NS officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced that fourth-quarter 2019 financial results were affected by an eight-day labor strike and "weak" freight demand, posting decreases in revenue, earnings per share and operating income.

Revenue during the quarter compared with the previous year's quarterly results declined 6 percent to CA$3.6 billion; diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell 22 percent to CA$1.22, adjusted diluted EPS dropped 16 percent to CA$1.25; and operating income and adjusted operating income each tumbled 16 percent to CA1.2 billion and CA$1.25 billion, respectively.

Onita Wayland, former president of the Grand International Auxiliary (GIA) to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET), died Jan. 20. She was 91.

Her husband, Tony Wayland, a retired member of BLET Division 620 (Fort Worth, Texas), died the next day, Jan. 21. He was 97. The couple lived in Mart, Texas.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday unveiled a new campaign to combat hate crimes committed on its subway, commuter-rail and bus systems.

The frequency of hate crimes has been rising or remaining steady across the system, MTA officials said in a press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is seeking public input on three light-rail alternatives the agency is evaluating as part of the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project that will extend the Gold Line.

Next month, LA Metro will host meetings in East LA, Rosemead and Montebello, California, to gather input on the possible light-rail routes, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

[Editor's note: This article was updated Jan. 29 to clarify that LA Metro will be presenting updated project information to the public, not seeking public input, as was previously stated.]

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is presenting updated project information on three light-rail alternatives the agency is evaluating as part of the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project that will extend the Gold Line.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board yesterday approved a $1.2 million, 12-month pilot program to add eight weekday trips to the Fairmount commuter-rail line in Boston.

Beginning in May, the agency will add four inbound trains at Readville Station and four outbound trains leaving South Station.

U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin and U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia are calling on Amtrak to review its policies on disability accessibility after two passengers who use wheelchairs were initially told they'd have to pay $25,000 to arrange for accommodations for their group to travel from Chicago to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

In a letter sent yesterday to Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson, the Illinois Democrats asked Amtrak to conduct a comprehensive review of its national disability and accessibility polices and then institute new ones "that go above and beyond the bare minimum federal requirements to establish Amtrak as the premier transportation option for all travelers, particularly passengers with disabilities."

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy last week recognized New Jersey Transit for marking a record number of locomotive engineer training classes running concurrently. 

Between 2019 and 2020, seven classes of locomotive engineers will graduate from the NJ Transit’s 78-week training program — the same number of classes that graduated in the previous five years combined, NJ Transit officials said in press release from Murphy’s office.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LA Metro) board last week approved a $2.2 million, six-month extension to the agency’s ride-hailing pilot program with Via.

The pilot program is testing the use of ride-hailing technology to enable LA Metro riders with low income or disabilities to connect to major transit centers. Since launching in January 2019, the service has provided more than 70,000 rides, exceeding agency goals in rides per week, rides per driver hour, wait times and customer satisfaction, LA Metro officials said in a press release.