Railroad News

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will increase rail fares by 5.4 percent effective Jan. 1, 2020, to keep up with inflation and support capital needs, agency officials announced yesterday.

Under the fare hike, the price of short trips will increase by 10 cents and a longer trips will increase by 40 cents.

VIA Rail Canada Inc. logged a nearly 7 percent increase in ridership and a 1 percent increase in passenger revenue in third-quarter 2019 compared with the same period last year. 

VIA posted total passenger revenue of CA$113.4 million, an increase of CA$1.1 million compared with the previous year’s quarter. Total revenue reached CA$119 million, according to VIA Rail’s financial report.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) in October handled 666,381 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, a 1.2 percent increase over the previous October record of 658,708 TEUs set in 2018. 

The numbers also represent the third largest cargo volume handled in any month in the port's history, PANYNJ officials said in a press release.

CN announced today that its strike-recovery plan is on track and that the company is revising its 2019 full-year financial guidance to include the impact of the eight-day strike.

"Our discipline on our recovery plan is delivering results,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN, in a press release. "While we expect to take some time and we remain dependent on favorable weather, we are pleased by how things are progressing."

Canadian Pacific last month broke another record for moving Canadian grain and grain products.

The Class I delivered 2.74 million metric tons (MMT) during November, beating the October 2019 all-time record of 2.66 MMT, CP officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is seeking public and stakeholder comments on how the department's new Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation (NETT) Council can respond to the needs of industry and the public.

USDOT created the council in April to identify and resolve jurisdictional and regulatory gaps associated with non-traditional and emerging transportation projects pending before the department, including with respect to safety oversight, environmental review and funding issues.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced crews are prepared to deploy snow removal and de-icing equipment across its rail fleet in anticipation for harsh winter weather conditions expected to hit New York City.

All rail services, including MTA’s New York City Transit (NYCT) subway, the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), will run normally today and will be monitored for schedule changes.

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) last week launched a first- and last-mile solution to improve connections between the TRAX light-rail and FrontRunner commuter-rail system.

UTA on Demand by Via will offer riders in southern Salt Lake County an on-demand ride service that can be booked through the Via mobile application. The service area included in the program includes seven rail stations.

U.S. representatives and local officials last week marked the receipt of a $14.4 million federal grant to construct a new Metra commuter-rail station in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, the second busiest stop on the Union Pacific West line. 

In October, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the grant to the village through its Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, which funds transportation projects that improve traffic flow and decrease vehicle emissions. 

U.S. freight railroads logged 521,927 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Nov. 23, a 10.6 percent increased compared with the same week last year — which included the Thanksgiving holiday — according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week were 251,901 units, up 7.6 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 270,026 containers and trailers, up 13.5 percent.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced late last week that he intends to nominate Yassmin Gramian to serve as the state's next secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Gramian, who now serves as PennDOT's executive deputy secretary, will succeed Leslie Richards, who is leaving the department to become general manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in January. Gramian will assume the role of acting secretary as of Dec. 6.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) last week committed CA$40 million to Metrolinx to support the Eglinton Crosstown West light-rail extension from Renforth, Ontario, to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

The funding would help advance the technical work necessary to complete the extension and improve transit access to the airport, which the authority operates, GTAA officials said in a press release.

AECOM has been awarded a framework contract to provide technical support for the design and construction stages of the Lyon-to-Turin high-speed rail line, a key element of the Trans-European Transport network that will connect Italy and France. At the heart of the project is a twin bored base tunnel that will be the longest railway tunnel ever built, AECOM officials said in a press release. Working in an international joint venture, AECOM has been appointed as delivery partner to the Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin. The company will help with the design, procurement and construction of the civil works, rail systems and the environmental protection measures for the rail line.

The Northwest Rapid Transit Consortium extended its existing public private partnership contract with Sydney Metro to operate and maintain a 41-mile, 31-station line from Rouse Hill to Bankstown, Australia, by 2024. Under the $385 million contract, Alstom will be responsible for the project management, design, supply, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of 23 six-car fully automated Metropolis trains and the Urbalis 400 communication-based train control signaling system. Meanwhile, Alstom also signed a $473 million contract with Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence to develop, supply and install the operating system and equipment for automatic operation on the Marseille Metro in France. Alstom will commission 38 new trains and modernize passenger information inside the metro stations. The new trains are scheduled to enter service in early 2024.

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) partner representatives hosted U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.) on a project tour earlier this month.

CREATE officials escorted Garcia on visits to the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office; the location of the not-yet completed Harlem Avenue Grade Separation project; the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. 71st Street Grade Separation, which was completed in 2013; the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, which is in final design; and the P1 Englewood Flyover project along the Metra Rock Island District near State Street, completed in 2016.

The International Tunneling Association (ITA) last week recognized the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LA Metro) Regional Connector as the Project of the Year at the association's fifth annual Tunneling Awards event in Miami. 

The $1.2 billion project will extend LA Metro’s underground light-rail system 1.9 miles from Little Tokyo/Arts District Station to the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in Los Angeles. The extension will include construction of three stations, with one station to be built 120-feet below ground, the deepest station in Los Angeles.