Railroad News

Caltrain yesterday announced it's stepping up the manufacturing, assembly and testing activities for its electric trains at Stadler’s Salt Lake City plant in preparation for the rail system's electrification between San Francisco and San Jose, California, by 2020. 

Three rail cars are completely wired and undergoing electrical testing, while other structural and lifecycle testing continues on the cars' trucks at the Utah plant. In addition, endurance tests are wrapping up on propulsion gearboxes, Caltrain officials said in a project newsletter.

Iowa Northern Railway Co., Watco Cos. LLC, Union Pacific Railroad and Valor Victoria next month will launch an internationally focused intermodal service at the Butler Intermodal Terminal in Shell Rock, Iowa.

The service aims to provide an alternative to larger Midwest rail hubs by offering shippers a cost-competitive solution that reduces long-haul trucking miles, the companies' officials said in a joint press release.

Class Is as of mid-October employed 134,582 people, down 1.67 percent from mid-September's level and down 9.51 percent from October 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

All but one of six workforce categories posted month-to-month employment decreases: Executives, officials and staff assistants logged a 0.37 percent increase to 7,653 employees between mid-September to mid-October.

Metro Transit-St. Louis has partnered with Lyft to offer MetroLink rail riders discounted ride-hailing options to make connections between select streets, transit centers or bus stops.

Beginning in January 2020 and continuing on a three-month trial period, riders can use a promotional code on the Lyft mobile application to take eligible trips for $1. 

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will upgrade their mobile application later this month so that riders can track the location of trains in real time. 

The new app feature enables riders to see the type of train — new or legacy — that is arriving at a station and display canceled trips for each station to make it clear when a scheduled train has been removed from service, BART officials said in a press release.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) last week announced it will retire its legacy streetcars late next month to make way for 204 new, low-floor streetcars from Bombardier Inc.

To commemorate the legacy fleet, two streetcars will make a final run of service Dec. 29 between Bathurst Street and Greenwood Avenue in Toronto.

Steve Gedney, a longtime railroad executive who retired from the Gulf & Ohio Railway in June, died on Nov. 22, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced. He was 76.

Gedney began his transportation career with the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he was involved in long-range planning, systems management and the coordination of air, highway, port and rail facilities.

Canadian Pacific announced last week that it will establish a multi-commodity transload terminal at its Cote Saint-Luc yard in Montreal.

CP will collaborate with freight transportation provider TYT Group of Quebec to offer transload services and logistics solutions from the terminal to customers in major cities along the East Coast, CP officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has recognized MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) for its grade crossing safety program and recommended other railroads across the country consider making similar upgrades.

LIRR’s program has “dramatically improved” railroad safety through the use of delineators at railroad crossings and enhanced GPS alerts through a partnership with Google’s Waze navigation software application, LIRR officials said in a press release.

Positive train control (PTC) systems were operating on 92.4 percent of all federally required route miles as of Sept. 30, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced yesterday in its latest report on railroads' PTC implementation status.

Based on the railroads' third-quarter PTC reports, the FRA reported that the majority of 42 railroads subject to the federal PTC mandate are operating PTC systems in revenue service or in advanced field testing, known as revenue service demonstrations, as of Sept. 30.

CN and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have reached a tentative contract agreement, ending a week-long strike of about 3,200 CN conductors and rail yard crews in Canada.

The agreement will allow CN employees to return to work at 2 p.m. local times today, with yard assignment to start at 6 a.m. local times Wednesday, CN officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit last week secured the final environmental permits required to begin work on the Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility in New Brunswick and North Brunswick, New Jersey, along the Northeast Corridor. 

The Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission granted its final approval for the $370 million facility that will be capable of storing 400 rail cars upon its completion in 2025.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) last week approved construction of a housing and retail complex on property next to the University/65th Street Transit Center, marking SacRT’s first transit-oriented development (TOD) property sale.

SacRT sold the parcel for $2 million to a joint venture of The Martin Group, Symphony Development and AECOM Canyon Partners. 

The Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) last week released its 2020 budget, valued at almost CA$1.6 billion, an increase of CA$140 million compared with 2019.

The agency will invest CA$48.6 million to increase service by 2.6 percent compared with 2019, STM officials said in a press release. 

The Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) board last week approved a $1.57 billion operating budget for 2020 and a $5.1 billion budget for capital improvements in 2020-24.

Expenses for the 2020 operating budget are $18.4 million higher than the 2019 budget and $44.5 million higher than the 2019 forecast. The majority of the increase is due to rising pension, health insurance and workers’ compensation costs, according to the budget proposal document. 

Dave Genova, general manager and chief executive officer of the Regional Transportation District of Denver, has announced his retirement after nearly 26 years at the agency.

Genova notified RTD Chairman Doug Tisdale of his decision on Nov. 21, RTD officials said in a press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration last week announced an amendment to a proposed rulemaking regarding training, qualification and oversight for safety-related railroad employees.

The amendment calls for delaying the regulation's implementation dates for all contractors, and those short lines and regionals that are not intercity or commuter passenger railroads that register 400,000 total employee work hours annually or more, according to the agency's published notice in the Federal Register.