Railroad News

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) earlier this week announced measures to improve communication with CTrail Shore Line East riders and boost the reliability of the line's aging fleet.

Amtrak, which operates the line under a contract with CTDOT, next month will expand the hours at its maintenance shop to three shifts, seven days a week. In addition, Amtrak will increase overtime allowances to repair out-of-service locomotives and rail cars, department officials said in a press release.

U.S. rail traffic rose 4.8 percent to 553,003 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Sept. 15 compared with the same period a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week were 268,612 units, up 3.1 percent, while intermodal volume was 284,391 containers and trailers, up 6.5 percent, compared with the same week last year, according to an AAR press release.

R. J. Corman Railroad Co. President Brian Miller will resign from his position to pursue other interests, the company announced yesterday.

Miller, who has been with the company since 2010, will remain in the post to assist in the search for his successor, according to an R. J. Corman Railroad press release.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) Office of Inspector General has announced plans to review construction quality issues for the Silver Line's second phase.

The review will focus on the quality of concrete and other construction elements and practices used in the project, agency officials said in a press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) has endorsed the Canadian government's call for an accelerated phaseout of older, less crash-resistant models of rail tank cars used to transport crude oil and other hazardous materials.

Yesterday, Canada's transportation department said it would speed up the deadlines for phasing out the tank cars. Transport Minister Marc Garneau issued Protective Direction 39, which calls for phasing out non-jacketed CPC-1232 tank cars for crude oil service on Nov. 1, which is 17 months ahead of the initial schedule.

Indian Railways has confirmed acceptance of GE Transportation's 4,500-horsepower diesel-electric Evolution Series prototype locomotive. The milestone followed the completion of "rigorous testing" on Indian Railways' tracks following delivery of the locomotive in February, GE officials said in a press release. The unit is part of a $2.5 billion agreement signed in 2015 for 1,000 locomotives. That pact also included the establishment of a new GE Transportation factory and maintenance sheds in India.

Progress Rail has signed a memorandum of understanding with Egyptian National Railways (ENR) for new locomotives. The pact includes terms to modernize, overhaul and maintain a portion of ENR's existing locomotive fleet with a long-term service agreement. Since the early 1950s, Progress Rail has served the Egyptian market through its EMD product brand. The company has powered or supplied the majority of ENR's current operational fleet, with more than 1,100 locomotives delivered. The largest transportation network in the Cairo region, ENR each year moves 500 million passengers and manages transport of 6 million tons of goods.

SNCF America Inc. this week blasted Texas Central Partners for securing a $300 million loan with Japanese backing for the company's proposed project to build a bullet-train service between Dallas and Houston.

In a prepared statement issued Monday, SNCF officials questioned whether Texas Central would be able to build the project without government help. A private company, Texas Central has long said it will not use government funds to pay for the project.

Jessica Mefford-Miller has been named executive director of Metro Transit-St. Louis, Bi-State Development President and Chief Executive Officer John Nations announced yesterday.

Mefford-Miller has been serving as interim executive director since July 1.

A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) trolley operator's repeated use of antihistamine medications likely played a role in two trolleys colliding with each other in January 2017, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

On Jan. 4, 2017, a SEPTA trolley traveling on Route 10 struck a stopped trolley unloading passengers on the same line. The striking trolley was moving at about 10 mph, NTSB investigators wrote in an accident brief.

Norfolk Southern Foundation will donate $100,000 toward Hurricane Florence recovery efforts in North Carolina.

The foundation will direct $50,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina relief efforts.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking vendors to operate and maintain new trains, stations and facilities along the planned Silver Line extension.

The RFP includes the maintenance of rail cars assigned to the Silver Line, track and infrastructure, the Dulles Rail Yard and administrative functions needed to support operations.

Brightline, the passenger-rail service operating in southeastern Florida, has agreed to acquire XpressWest, a proposed high-speed rail project with rights to develop a federally approved corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas.

The acquisition would mark Brightline's first project outside Florida, where the private company operates passenger trains between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Brightline has plans to expand service to Orlando International Airport in 2021 and, potentially, to Tampa.

Ballast Tools Equipment

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) in November will mark the 50th anniversary of its Red Line rail extension to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

When the extension opened in 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the Western Hemisphere to offer direct rail service between its central business district and an international airport, agency officials said in a news release.

The Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) board yesterday approved $92 million for the Mason Mega Rail Terminal project at the Port of Savannah.

The project will double the Port of Savannah's annual rail capacity to 1 million containers. Work approved yesterday includes 124,000 feet of new track, 88 automated switches and rail control devices, as well as the rail and power infrastructure to support the operation of rail-mounted gantry cranes, GPA officials said in a press release.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate Editor

Metra has finished installing positive train control (PTC) components on all its trains and all communications and signal systems, the railroad announced yesterday.

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) yesterday presented its 20th annual Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence to engineering and design firm Arup for its work as lead consultant on MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) Fulton Center in lower Manhattan.

The award was presented yesterday at AREMA's annual conference and exposition in Chicago. The award honors the memory of William Walter Hay, a longtime association contributor and professor of railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.