Railroad News

GE Transportation received an order for five diesel-electric locomotives for Ferrocarril de Antofagasta, a private transport operator in Chile. The order, which includes a warranty agreement for parts and services, marks GE's first locomotive order in Chile, company officials said in a press release. Equipped with 12-cylinder engines to operate at high altitude, the new C23EMP single-cab AC/DC locomotives are designed for light-axle load operations. The units will be manufactured at GE's plant in Contagem, Brazil, and delivered in 2019.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Rail Division has selected Dewberry to serve as a general rail-planning services consultant. The firm will provide demand modeling, rail function and preliminary design services, as well as studies of the economic and fiscal impact of rail-related activities. Other projects could include negotiation assistance in securing rail lines or corridors, train performance and rail-line capacity analyses and viability analyses, Dewberry officials said in a press release.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will host an infrastructure-focused cybersecurity summit July 31 at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City.

The summit will feature officials from the Department of Defense, National Security Agency, FBI and other federal agencies.

As of mid-June, U.S. Class Is employed 147,282 workers, up 0.19 percent from mid-May, but down 0.9 percent from mid-June 2017, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

Four of six employment categories reflected increases on a month-over-month basis. Categories that posted increases since mid-May were executives, officials and staff assistants, up 0.35 percent to 8,388 workers; professional and administrative, up 1.35 percent to 11,998; transportation (other than train and engine), up 0.18 percent to 5,594; and transportation (train and engine), up 0.31 percent to 61,787.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and local officials earlier this week unveiled a new rail car that will operate on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line light-rail route.

Long Ridge Energy Terminal has completed its rail loop construction project in Hannibal, Ohio, which makes the facility the first in the Appalachian Basin to offer unit-train and barge transloading capabilities.

CSX serves the terminal.

The Port of Portland is continuing its Terminal 6 service with BNSF Railway Co. through mid-2019, as part of a larger focus to increase options to shippers at Terminal 6, port officials announced this week.

The intermodal rail service, which began in January, moves containers by rail between Portland and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Goods are loaded from rail on or off ocean carriers, with three carriers using the service in Washington, port officials said in a press release.

Only 24 percent of MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) 472 subway stations are accessible to riders with disabilities, according to a recent report by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

That figure is the lowest among U.S. metropolitan rail systems, Stringer's report stated.

Kansas City Southern today reported record second-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit.

KCS posted record revenue of $682 million, up 4 percent, and record operating income of $246 million, up 3 percent, compared with second-quarter 2017.

Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas, has hired Mike Stolzman as vice president and chief operating officer of rail.

He has more than 20 years of railroad experience. In 1995, he joined the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co., which was later purchased by Union Pacific Railroad.

Metra plans to reissue its request for proposals (RFP) for new rail cars and open it up to alternative car designs.

U.S. railroads reported a 5 percent increase in carload and intermodal traffic for the week ending July 14 compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Total carloads for the week rose 3.8 percent to 271,207 units, while intermodal volume climbed 6.1 percent to 287,857 containers and trailers compared with the year-ago period, AAR officials said in a press release.

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. CDT.]

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday issued two final regulations aimed at boosting public transit safety.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a notice of funding opportunity for its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, which includes more than $318 million in grant funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.

The funding will go toward capital projects aimed at improving passenger- and freight-rail transportation safety, efficiency and reliability, FRA officials said in a press release.

Canadian Pacific reported yesterday that its second-quarter revenue rose 7 percent to CA$1.7 billion from CA $1.64 billion compared with the same period a year ago. 

The Class I's second-quarter diluted earnings per share declined 7 percent to $3.04 from $3.27 per share a year ago. CP reported the per-share numbers in U.S. dollars.

Union Pacific Railroad today reported second-quarter net income jumped 29 percent to $1.51 billion, or $1.98 per share, from $1.2 billion, or $1.45 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Operating income for the quarter rose 5 percent to $2.1 billion and operating revenue climbed 8 percent to $5.7 billion compared with second-quarter 2017, according to a UP press release.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has cut prices for its bike share system, which provides rentable bikes to access transit stations or get around LA.

The cost of a single bike ride has been reduced to $1.75 from $3.50, while the price of a monthly pass has been reduced to $17 from $20. The agency also rolled out a $5 all-day pass for unlimited trips of 30 minutes or less.

Caltrain tonight will host a community meeting to discuss the impact of continued electrification work in Burlingame, California.

Construction of overhead contact system foundations and poles is set to continue along Caltrain right-of-way in Burlingame through August, Caltrain officials said in a press release.