Railroad News

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (CapMetro) board earlier this week approved the final version of Project Connect, a plan for an expanded rail and bus system in Austin, Texas.

The $9.8 billion plan includes four new light-rail lines and additional commuter-rail stations on the MetroRail Red Line. A key component in the plan calls for construction of a transit tunnel that will separate transit services from street traffic in downtown Austin.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and the Alberta Ministry of Transportation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to complete a study and due diligence of the Calgary-Banff Rail project, which would create an airport-rail link to downtown Calgary and Banff National Park.

The project would increase tourism while reducing vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and congestion in the travel corridor, CIB and Alberta officials said in a press release.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) earlier this week approved a $1.4 billion budget for fiscal-year 2021, which begins July 1.

Major initiatives in the budget include advancing capital improvement projects, including allocation of $32 million to continue construction of the OC Streetcar in Santa Ana and Garden Grove, California.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) last week began testing a new accessible fare gate prototype at the station in Richmond, California, that represents the next generation of fare gates BART will install across its system.

BART’s Accessibility Task Force — which includes members of the public — tested out the prototype gate, which includes two 5-foot-high swing-style barriers that discourage users from pushing through, jumping over or maneuvering under the gates. 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) earlier this week announced that the Gloucester drawbridge replacement project will require full closure of the structure through summer 2021. 

The project includes full replacement of the structurally deficient Gloucester drawbridge, which carries Rockport Line trains over the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

A reception was held last week to mark the start of construction at the RCR Taylor Logistics Park near Austin, Texas.

The 750-acre RCR Taylor Logistics Park will be located west of Taylor in Williamson County to serve the manufacturing, storage and logistics industries of the Austin area and central Texas. It will offer direct access to BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad lines, state highways 70 and 130 and Interstate 35.

TransLink in Vancouver, British Columbia, recorded 2,578,000 systemwide boardings between May 31 and June 6, an 85 percent increase compared with early April when ridership on trains and buses was at a low point due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

From May 31 through June 6, SkyTrain’s Canada Line logged 221,000 boardings compared with 109,000 between April 5 and April 11. The Expo-Millennium Line logged an 87 percent increase in ridership with 697,000 boardings compared with 372,000 boardings during the same period. 

U.S. railroads logged a 15.6 percent decrease in carload and intermodal volumes during the week ending June 6 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads posted 192,494 carloads for the week, down 22 percent, and 240,677 intermodal containers and trailers, down 9.6 percent. Combined, traffic totaled 433,171 carloads and intermodal units for the week.

In July, MTA Metro-North Railroad will begin major construction work to replace two 130-year-old rail bridges on the New Haven Line in Port Chester, New York. 

The open deck bridges, which carry Metro-North, Amtrak and freight trains over Willet Avenue and Highland Street, will be replaced with ballast deck bridges. The replacement will lessen the noise made when trains go over the spans making it quieter for residents nearby, Metro-North officials said in a press release. 

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.