Railroad News

The next phase of MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) L project began late last week as planned, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced. The work involves the reconstruction of the Canarsie Tunnel on the L Line.

An improved construction plan will avoid a complete tunnel shutdown, with regular weekday and peak hour service maintained for 90 percent of the line's riders, and weekday and peak-hour service unchanged, MTA officials said in a press release. Total demolition of a concrete structure has been reduced by 99 percent in the new plan, and alternate subway and bus services will be offered throughout the construction process, they said.

Rail-car orders in first-quarter 2019 totaled 9,663 units compared with 19,995 units at the end of the fourth quarter and 10,348 in first-quarter 2018, according to statistics from the Railway Supply Institute's American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI).

First-quarter deliveries came in at 13,171 units compared with 13,462 in Q4 and 13,098 for the same year-ago period.

Secure Rail today announced a new presenter and session added to this year's conference, which will be held May 1-2 in Orlando, Florida.

On May 1, Jonathan Lamb of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will join a panel of speakers to kick off the conference with a discussion on the current state of the rail industry as it relates to security. Lamb is the freight-rail team lead for the Plans, Policy and Engagement Office of the TSA's Surface Division.

U.S. Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) and Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) earlier this month toured rail supply companies’ facilities and discussed legislative topics of interest to the rail industry, according to trade associations that hosted the events.

Last week, Comer toured Stella-Jones Corp.'s tie plant in Fulton, Kentucky. The facility's 70 employees process more than 1 million ties annually, according to a press release issued by the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) and Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA), which helped organize the event. Stella-Jones is a member of both associations, as well as the Railway Tie Association.

As part of a joint venture, RailWorks Corp. will construct a 14.5-mile double track from Southwest Station in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to Target Field Station in Minneapolis. The portion of Metro Transit's Southwest light-rail project includes more than 110,500 track feet of ballasted track, direct fixation work on the structure and in a tunnel, and embedded and special trackwork. In addition, RailWorks and its joint venture partner will inspect and maintain a 5-mile section of Twin Cities & Western Railroad’s track that lies adjacent to the new light-rail tracks. RailWorks' portion of the contract is $85 million. Work on the existing freight-rail track will begin this spring and construction on the new light-rail tracks will start in 2020, RailWorks officials said in a press release. The project is slated for completion in 2022.

Trinity Industries Inc. reported first-quarter 2019 revenue of $604.8 million and net income from continuing operations of $31.7 million compared with $533.2 million and $13.8 million, respectively, in first-quarter 2018. The rail products group's revenue rose from $588.1 million to $603.6 million on a year-over-year basis. In the quarter, the group received orders for 3,000 rail cars and delivered 4,505 cars compared with orders for 4,705 cars and deliveries of 5,725 cars in the same quarter last year. The group's car backlog decreased in value to $3.3 billion (26,320 cars) as of March 31 versus $3.6 billion (30,875 cars) on Dec. 31, 2018.

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon's (TriMet) board earlier this week adopted two resolutions that are necessary to extend the MAX Red Line to Hillsboro and add a second track to sections of the line near Portland International Airport and the Gateway Transit Center.

The board approved the locally preferred alternative — the final plan agreed upon by the community for presentation to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) — and authorized TriMet to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Port of Portland. The agreement would commit the agency to continue funding project design and working with the FTA on the total cost estimates and project benefits, TriMet officials said in a press release.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday launched its inaugural National Get On Board Day, an education and awareness campaign aimed at emphasizing the significance of public transportation in local communities.

More than 200 public transit agencies around the nation hosted activities, events and promotions to highlight the societal and economic benefits of public transportation, APTA officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit has named Stewart Mader the first customer advocate and chief customer experience officer in the agency's 40-year history.

He will be responsible for monitoring and improving the rider experience at every customer touchpoint. One of his first orders of business: creating an advisory council by fall that will include riders throughout the state who will represent all regions and transportation modes, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.
 
Mader most recently chaired the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp.'s (PATH) rider council advisory board. He worked with Port Authority of New York and New Jersey leaders to establish the PATH board. Mader also created a comprehensive New York and New Jersey subway map and formed transit standards, a collection of best practices to streamline the customer experience, NJ Transit officials said.

Norfolk Southern Railway and the Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) recently marked the opening of a new multimodal transfer facility in Gainesville, New York.

The Wyoming Transfer Station will serve companies interested in shipping by rail. It represents the final stage of Wyoming County's rail initiative, which began in 2008 and represents a nearly $1 million investment from the New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT) multimodal program, the Wyoming County IDA, Wyoming County and private site work provided by Marquart Cos., according to an IDA press release.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) yesterday announced plans to build office buildings in New Carrollton, Maryland, and Alexandria, Virginia, to house the majority of its professional workforce.

The site selections for the two buildings are the next major milestone in the authority's regional office consolidation plan. By reducing the number of its office buildings from 10 to four, the authority will save an estimated $130 million over the next 20 years, WMATA officials said in a press release.

Today, Valley Metro will open the 50th Street/Washington Station, marking the first new station built along its existing light-rail line in Phoenix.

The $23 million station provides access to an Ability360 facility — which serves people with disabilities — and the neighboring business community, Valley Metro officials said in an announcement. It also will support transit-oriented development that’s planned for the area, they added.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has named Gary Van Tassel II of CSX as the winner of the 2019 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award.

The award is named in honor of the late Rhode Island senator who was a strong advocate for sustainability and rail's environmental benefits. The Chafee award recognizes a railroad employee who has "demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year," according to an AAR press release.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has chosen Jacobs as the principal design consultant for the Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor project.

As the principal design consultant to the joint venture team of Archer Western Construction LLC and Herzog Contracting Corp., Jacobs will provide design and oversight services for track alignments, drainage, bridges, retaining walls and signaling for the project.

Wabtec Corp. today announced Rafael Santana will become president and chief executive officer on July 1. He will succeed Ray Betler, who will retire as a Wabtec executive and board member, and join the company's board.
 
Santana, 47, joined Wabtec earlier this year as president and CEO of its freight segment following the merger of Wabtec and GE Transportation. He previously served as president and CEO of GE Transportation.

A Brazil native, Santana has 25 years of commercial, product management and executive leadership experience, including more than 10 years in the transportation industry. While leading GE Transportation, he significantly expanded the company's regional footprint, and built strong overhaul and modernization capabilities through multiyear programs, Wabtec officials said in a press release.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today announced its Georgia Central Railway LP subsidiary will serve a major plastics distribution facility that's under construction in Pooler, Georgia.

Georgia Central will transport bulk plastic resin to the new Plastic Express multi-commodity transloading center beginning in late 2019. Carloads are expected to exceed 5,000 annually. The resin and other bulk commodities will be repackaged and trucked to the nearby Port of Savannah for export to international markets.

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program partners plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow for the Argo Connections portion of the ongoing public-private undertaking.

Dignitaries invited to the event include U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies, and CSX General Manager-Midwest William Blanchetti.

U.S. railroads' traffic volume fell 2.4 percent to 526,141carloads and intermodal units for the week ending April 20 compared with the same week in 2018, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads logged 262,011 carloads, down 0.9 percent, and 264,130 containers and trailers, down 3.9 percent compared with a year ago.