Railroad News

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) yesterday announced that the southern section of the Blue Line between the Compton and Downtown Long Beach stations will reopen on June 1. 

The opening follows the completion of upgrades to the line’s tracks, overhead power lines and train control, as well as the addition of switches. Upgrades also included the installation of new digital customer information screens and signage at stations. 

U.S. rail traffic volume dropped 6.7 percent to 527,966 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 25 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week slipped 5 percent to 259,953 units, while intermodal volume fell 8.3 percent to 268,013 containers and trailers.

Amtrak earlier this week revealed details of a $72.5 million initiative to make customer-focused train station improvements across its network this year. 

The fiscal-year 2019 program includes $21.5 million in large-scale work at 23 stations in 17 states, and $51 million at 30 locations in 18 states to comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to an Amtrak press release. 

A BNSF Railway Co. project designed to eliminate train delays in the Chicago region was completed this month as part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), the Class I and other program partners announced yesterday.

Known as WA4, the project involved adding new tracks and creating a new direct connection between BNSF's Corwith and Cicero yards. The project also provided new connections between the CN Freeport Subdivision and the Western Avenue Corridor along which BNSF, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX and Union Pacific Railroad operate, according to a CREATE press release.

As of March 31, positive train control (PTC) systems were in operation on 48,050 of the nearly 58,000 route miles subject to the federal mandate, which is a 3 percent increase from where railroads were in their implementation status as of 2018's end, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced yesterday.

In addition, railroads are conducting advanced field testing, known as revenue service demonstration (RSD), on another 341 route miles, FRA officials said in a quarterly report on PTC implementations.

Allied Track Services and Tron Construction and Mining formed a joint venture to provide full-service railroad, industrial and civil construction service to Canada's rail industry. Tron-Allied JV will offer increased training, employment and economic opportunities for indigenous people in Canada, according to a joint press release. Tron is a First Nations-owned company and has a working partnership with other First Nation entities. 

Alstom has delivered the first train of 30 destined for automatic circulation on the Lyon Metro in France. The train will start dynamic night-time tests on the Lyon network at the end of May, according to an Alstom press release. In a separate announcement, Alstom officials said they have entered into a contract to supply 27 fuel cell trains to RMV’s subsidiary fahma by 2022.

The California Transportation Foundation named the San Gabriel trench as the Project of the Year out of more than 60 nominations at its 30th Annual Transportation Awards.

The $293.7 million project resulted in the lowering of a 1.4-mile section of railroad track in a 30-foot-deep, 65-foot-wide trench through San Gabriel, California. Roadway bridges were constructed at four hazardous at-grade crossings and railroad bridges were built over two storm channels, according to a San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) announced this week it welcomes Transport Canada's publication of proposed regulations specifying technical requirements for rail companies to install video and voice recording devices in locomotives.

"Canada's railways have long advocated for the implementation of locomotive voice and video recorders on trains," said RAC President and Chief Executive Officer Marc Brazeau in a press release. "Allowing railways to use on-board voice and video recordings in the context of proactive safety management will be instrumental in the rail industry’s efforts towards accident prevention."

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police this week began an anti-theft outreach campaign to help riders keep cellphones and other electronics safe. 

From Jan. 1 through April, 402 electronic item thefts within the BART system were reported. In April alone, 105 items were stolen, according to a BART press release. 

U.S. Class Is employed 144,223 people in mid-April, down 0.5 percent since mid-March and down 1.19 percent compared with April 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

On a month-over-month basis, four out of six employment categories posted decreases. They were: executives, officials and staff assistants, down 1.24 percent to 7,830 employees; professional and administrative, down 0.73 percent to 11,341; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 0.85 percent to 26,254; and transportation (train and engine), down 0.87 percent to 61,139.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) last week began renewing stretches of track along the Green Line as part of the FastTracks program, a multiyear $179 million investment in track and electrical improvements.

The track work will require 14 weekend service disruptions scheduled to take place through the summer into fall on the south branch of the Green Line and along the shared Green and Pink Line tracks between the Loop and Ashland Avenue in downtown Chicago, according to a CTA press release. 

The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) yesterday announced the signing of a long-term commercial agreement with Hutchison Ports and CN to build and operate a new container terminal known as project Laurentia.

The CA$775 million project will be financed through the joint investment of all three partners. In addition, the QPA is in discussions with federal and provincial governments to complete the financing, according to a QPA press release.

TransLink last week unveiled its first touch-screen commuter information kiosks at Surrey Central Station in Surrey, British Columbia. 

More than 50 of kiosks are set to be installed around TransLink’s network, including SkyTrain stations on the Expo and Millennium lines, West Coast Express stations and park and ride locations, according to a TransLink press release.

VIA Rail Canada logged more than 82,000 passengers for the May long weekend, also known as Victoria Day, a nearly 4 percent increase compared to the same period last year. 

VIA Rail recorded its best ridership performance for this period in the past 10 years, according to a VIA Rail press release. 

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) last week endorsed the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) for approving a proposed fiscal-year 2020 appropriations bill that includes "historic funding levels" for public transportation and passenger rail.

The legislation includes $13.5 billion for public transportation and $2.7 billion for passenger-rail grants, more than $1 billion more than what is called for in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act's authorization levels for FY2020 and $150 million more than the 2019 THUD Appropriations Act, APTA officials said in a press release.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and its Class I members are calling on Congress to pass the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) "expeditiously."

The letter — sent by AAR, BNSF Railway Co., Canadian Pacific, CN, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad — urges Congress to approve the USMCA to harness the North American trading relationship's full potential.

Sound Transit's board last week identified preferred design alternatives for the 11.8-mile West Seattle and Ballard Link light-rail extensions to study in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS). 

The route alternatives, which include design of 14 stations, were based on 18 months of public engagement with community groups, agency partners and local elected officials, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.