Railroad News

The North County Transit District (NCTD) on Wednesday will kick off a revenue service demonstration with its positive train control (PTC) system.

Herzog Technologies Inc. is implementing the technology for the San Diego-area commuter railroad.

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) late last week received approval from the Kansas City Council to purchase two additional streetcars.

Transdev North America has named Yann Leriche chief executive officer. He will oversee all Transdev subsidiaries and operations in the United States and Canada, including contracts for streetcar, light-rail, bus and paratransit services. Leriche will remain head of global on-demand transportation business lines, as well as lead global development for autonomous vehicles. For the past three years, Leriche has served as the global chief performance officer for the Transdev Group. As CEO, he succeeds Mark Joseph, who was CEO for the past 16 years. Transdev's contracts include a $38 million agreement with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority to operate the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar system.

For The Greenbrier Cos. Inc.'s fiscal-year 2017 third quarter ended May 31, the company reported net earnings of $32.8 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, versus $35.3 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, during the same period last year. Greenbrier logged quarterly revenue of $439.2 million, a decrease from $612.9 million in third-quarter FY2016. The new rail-car backlog as of May 31 was 31,000 units with an estimated value of $3.1 billion. That marked growth from Feb. 28, when the company reported a backlog of 22,600 units estimated at $2.44 billion. Since the beginning of the year, Greenbrier's leaders have observed sustained and increasing rail-car loadings across commodity types, as well as decreasing rail velocity. Both are "positive indicators for the near-term demand environment," said Chairman and CEO William Furman in a press release. Meanwhile, Greenbrier announced that former Kansas City Southern CEO David Starling was elected as an independent director on the company's board. Wanda Felton also was elected to the board. Felton previously served as first vice president and vice chair of the Export Import Bank of the United States.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) project yesterday began a series of "preview rides" to offer locals a chance to try the new rail system.

The preview trips will continue July 1 and 4. On those days, SMART will offer three trips each.

U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) have introduced legislation aimed at improving security on transit rail and buses.

The lawmakers introduced the Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act to address "constantly evolving" security threats against transportation systems, they said in a jointly issued press release.

Kansas state and Watco Cos. LLC officials yesterday marked the opening of a new transload facility in Great Bend.

Great Bend was selected for the site in 2015 and construction began in July 2016. The facility is served by Watco Cos.' Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad.

City of Ottawa, Ontario, officials have signed a $349 million variation agreement with Rideau Transit Group Partnership (RTG) for the rolling stock and onboard equipment needed for extensions to the city's O-Train light-rail system.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has restructured the FASTLANE grant program to focus on freight-related infrastructure projects that use funds from the private sector or other non-federal sources.

The Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program was authorized under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to provide competitive grants or credit assistance to nationally and regionally significant freight and highway projects.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Andrew Paul from Norfolk Southern. The award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year.

After 30 years serving in the Navy, Andrew Paul took the lead of Norfolk Southern's energy services program as senior manager of Energy and Facility Services.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Andrew Paul from Norfolk Southern. The award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year.

After 30 years serving in the Navy, Andrew Paul took the lead of Norfolk Southern's energy services program as senior manager of Energy and Facility Services.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Andrew Paul from Norfolk Southern. The award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year.

After 30 years serving in the Navy, Andrew Paul took the lead of Norfolk Southern's energy services program as senior manager of Energy and Facility Services.

A pair of U.S. senators from Illinois say the restructuring of the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program could delay progress on two key rail projects: the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project and Merchants Railroad Bridge Project.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are calling on the Trump Administration to fully fund the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) fiscal year 2017 FASTLANE grants program. USDOT unveiled plans to rework the FASTLANE program into the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program.

A pair of U.S. senators from Illinois say the restructuring of the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program could delay progress on two key rail projects: the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project and Merchants Railroad Bridge Project.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are calling on the Trump Administration to fully fund the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) fiscal year 2017 FASTLANE grants program. USDOT unveiled plans to rework the FASTLANE program into the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program.

A pair of U.S. senators from Illinois say the restructuring of the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program could delay progress on two key rail projects: the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project and Merchants Railroad Bridge Project.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are calling on the Trump Administration to fully fund the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) fiscal year 2017 FASTLANE grants program. USDOT unveiled plans to rework the FASTLANE program into the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program.

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) introduced Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act "to better secure [the] country's public transit systems."

Rep. Lipinski, co-chair of the House Public Transportation Caucus and a senior member on the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, says the legislation would reauthorize Surface Transportation Security Inspectors and the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response program, which expired in 2011. The bill would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research programs through 2020, which focuses on solutions to fill capability and vulnerability gaps, such as explosive detection.

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) introduced Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act "to better secure [the] country's public transit systems."

Rep. Lipinski, co-chair of the House Public Transportation Caucus and a senior member on the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, says the legislation would reauthorize Surface Transportation Security Inspectors and the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response program, which expired in 2011. The bill would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research programs through 2020, which focuses on solutions to fill capability and vulnerability gaps, such as explosive detection.

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL-3) introduced Securing America's Facilities, Equipment, and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit (SAFER TRANSIT) Act "to better secure [the] country's public transit systems."

Rep. Lipinski, co-chair of the House Public Transportation Caucus and a senior member on the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, says the legislation would reauthorize Surface Transportation Security Inspectors and the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response program, which expired in 2011. The bill would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research programs through 2020, which focuses on solutions to fill capability and vulnerability gaps, such as explosive detection.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joseph Lhota yesterday announced he will conduct a top-to-bottom audit to overhaul MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) subway system.

The agency will work with transit experts and management consultants to perform the audit, which will examine NYCT's challenges and limitations to identify strategies for short- and long-term changes.

Utah Transportation Authority's (UTA) S-Line streetcar could soon see a double track added to a portion of the line in South Salt Lake.

Salt Lake County Council voted to provide $4.5 million for the project, in hope to move riders every 15 minutes instead of the 20-minute frequency the cars currently run at. UTA says the money from Salt Lake County, along with funds allocated by the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program, would be enough to get the project off the ground and provide for at least four years of extra operational and maintenance costs. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $6 million.