Railroad News

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.

STV Inc. appointed Richard Amodei executive vice president of the transportation and infrastructure division to oversee its operations and growth. Amodei joined STV in 1999, having served as manager for the division's Northeast region and national director of business development for transportation and infrastructure in North America. Amodei succeeds Martin Boyle, who is retiring.

RailSolutions LLC named Mike Mahoney senior vice president. He will be responsible for customer relationships and day-to-day projects. Mahoney has over 40 years of experience in finance with the past 18 years in rail finance, RailSolutions officials said in a press release. Prior to joining RailSolutions, he served as a member of the Land Transport Finance team at DVB Bank and Helaba, and held senior positions at GE Capital.

VIA Rail Canada Inc. recorded 5 million riders in 2019, the railroad’s highest annual ridership in 30 years and a 5.5 percent increase compared with 2018. 

Of the 5 million riders, 96 percent used VIA Rail for inter-city travel, 3 percent for long-distance travel and 1 percent for regional travel, according to VIA Rail’s 2019 Annual Report, which was released yesterday.

Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation on June 29 will restore the daily Pere Marquette round-trip service between Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Chicago in response to anticipated ridership demand. 

This Amtrak Midwest service was temporarily suspended March 21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) has filed a notice of termination of a public-private partnership over a dispute with the state of Maryland over delays and cost overruns involving the Purple Line light-rail project.

The notice came two days after the PLTP consortium and its contractor passed a June 20 deadline to reach an agreement over who will pay delay-related costs, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has hired Julia Leone as manager of research and organizational development.

Leone will be responsible for working with senior leadership to establish and manage priorities and goals for process improvements; building systems to monitor, evaluate and report on progress; and direct efforts to ensure quality and consistency through the application of systematic approaches in its programmatic design and execution. She also will lead the SLSI's research efforts.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) yesterday announced it will open the N commuter-rail line Sept. 21. 

The new 18.5-mile, six-station line will serve downtown Denver, Commerce City, Northglenn and Thornton, and include a stop at the National Western Complex in Denver.

Sound Transit is continuing early preparations for construction of the 7.8-mile Federal Way Link Extension, which will extend the light-rail line from Angel Lake Station in SeaTac, Washington, to a transit center in Federal Way.

Efforts include clearing vegetation and 8,600 trees, as well as relocating conflicting utilities. The work in SeaTac and Des Moines is underway, and will begin in Federal Way on Thursday.

Two rail supplier groups last week announced mixed reactions to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's (T&I) multiyear surface transportation legislation known as the INVEST in America Act.

Both the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) and the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) expressed support for the committee taking up a surface transportation package, especially with the current legislation — known as the FAST Act — set to expire Sept. 30.

Metra in Chicago and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco have announced added service on some of their commuter-rail lines to accommodate growing ridership.

On June 29, Metra will add service on the North Central Service, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor lines. 

Canadian and Ontario government officials last week announced funding for 10 public transit transportation projects in Waterloo, including some related to its light-rail system.

Rail projects include installation of 39 digital information display systems, 36 mobile payment validation machines and 25 point-of-sale units across Grand River Transit’s ION light-rail system. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week surpassed more than 2 million weekday combined riders on the New York City Transit (NYCT) subway and bus system for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. 

While a significant increase in ridership since the start of the pandemic due to the gradual reopening of the city, the figure represents a decline of 74 percent from normal weekday ridership levels of 7.6 million combined riders, MTA officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has selected Plenary Infrastructure Philadelphia (PIP) to form a master development partnership via ground lease for the renovation of William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. 

The key members who will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the station include Plenary Americas USA Ltd., which has partnered with Gilbane Building Co., Johnson Controls Inc. and Vantage Airport Group Ltd.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s (SDMTS) board last week approved a fare enforcement pilot program that reduces fines and provides fare violators new options for paying citations. 

In early September, SDMTS will implement the pilot program to provide more flexibility for passengers who receive citations for not having a valid fare while riding trolleys.

The Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee earlier this month found that OCTA has administered its Measure M half-cent transportation tax appropriately for the 29th consecutive year.

The committee found that the California agency is following the ordinances that were first approved by votes in 1990 and then renewed in 2006, OCTA officials said in a press release.