Railroad News

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced late last week that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) have begun the process to consider proposals from private operators to build and operate a high-speed rail line along state owned property between Orlando and Tampa.

FDOT kicked off the process after receiving an unsolicited proposal from private passenger-rail operator Brightline, which proposed to build and operate the line along the CFX right of way. As a result of Brightline's proposal, the FDOT has initiated an open procurement process so that any private entities may apply.

U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) early this week toured RailWorks Track Systems' plant in Deer Park, Texas.

Representatives from rail advocacy organization GoRail, the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association also were on the tour.

Union Tank Car Co. (UTLX) this summer will begin a project to expand its rail-car repair facility in El Dorado, Kansas. The expanded plant's capabilities, which will include exterior blast and paint operations, will enable the company to service a broader spectrum of cars from customers' fleets, UTLX officials said in a press release. Built in the early 1960s, the 40-acre plant is next to BNSF Railway Co. track and services tank cars in ethanol service, as well as hopper cars moving grain and other food-grade products. Over the next few years, the company plans to hire about 70 new employees at the expanded facility. The project is slated to wrap up in early 2019.

Siemens AG and Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG last month signed an agreement to develop a condition monitoring solution for the Voith Scharfenberg coupler. Voith will develop the solution, while Siemens will integrate the application into its Railigent platform, which is based on its MindSphere Internet of Things operating system. Railigent offers a range of digital services to manage rail assets, including apps for smart monitoring, data analysis and smart prediction for rolling stock, signaling and other rail infrastructure. Voith's new solution will monitor the coupler's deformation tube and damper, company officials said in a press release. The companies plan to hold a joint presentation of the preliminary solution at InnoTrans 2018, which will be held Sept. 18-21 in Berlin.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is moving ahead with a Tier II environmental impact study for two preferred alternative proposals as part of the Cross Harbor Freight Program.

Cross Harbor Partners, an STV/AKRF joint venture, will prepare a detailed analysis of the environmental effects and potential mitigation measures for two preferred alternatives the same joint venture team helped identify during Tier I, PANYNJ officials said in a press release.

Earlier this month, the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway's (NYSW) Utica Line transported freight for the first time in a dozen years, signaling the completion of a restoration project that took more than a decade.

The train consisted of a locomotive pulling two flat cars carrying hollow steel beams, according to a press release issued by the County of Chenango Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA).

Stillwater Central Railroad and its operator Watco Cos. LLC are seeking proposals from rail providers interested in operating the Eastern Flyer or "Sooner Sub" passenger-rail service between Sapulpa and Del City, Oklahoma.

Interested parties are asked to send an email requesting a nondisclosure agreement. Once the agreement is completed, a bid package will be mailed to the provider.

City leaders in Gatineau, Quebec, earlier this week unveiled plans for a CA$2.1 billion, 16-mile light-rail system to connect with Ottawa's transit-rail network.

The project would include 30 stations and connect Chemin Eardley in the east to the future Rideau station along Ottawa's Confederation Line light-rail route, CBC News reported Wednesday.

Kansas City Southern officials joined state, federal and local officials at a groundbreaking ceremony held this week for the first phase of a 540-acre rail-served industrial park in El Campo, Texas.

The SW International Gateway Park will feature 10 million square feet of warehouse, manufacturing and rail-served distribution facilities. The park will be located along KCS' rail network, according to a press release issued by NAI Partners, a real estate brokerage.

The Southern Rail Commission (SRC) announced yesterday that it was unable to apply for the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) fiscal-year 2017 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety and Improvements (CRISI) funding due to a lack of financial commitments from Mississippi and Alabama.

The money would have been used to help restore Amtrak service along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where passenger service has been suspended since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) next month will close three Manhattan subway stations to fix structural defects and deterioration.

The 57th Street, 28th Street and 23rd Street stations are in "various states of disrepair," with crumbling concrete and deteriorated structural steel columns and beams, cracked or missing tiles, water leaks and deficient lighting, NYCT officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit has named Kimberly Farley deputy chief executive officer.

Working alongside current Deputy CEO Mike Harbour until his retirement late next year, Farley will play a vital role in expanding transit service across the Central Puget Sound region, agency officials said in a press release.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) yesterday adopted a $277.6 million capex plan for fiscal-year 2019.

The largest capital plan in the authority's history, the program includes funds for projects to modernize terminals, increase capacity and accommodate intermodal growth, SCPA officials said in a press release.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced Jason Orthner has been named director of the department's rail division.

Orthner joined NCDOT in 2000 as a senior project engineer in the rail division and subsequently held the role of engineering manager. Since 2013, he has managed the division's design and construction branch.

U.S. rail traffic rose 4.1 percent to 558,098 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending June 16 compared with traffic in the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads rose 1.9 percent to 269,748 units during the week, while intermodal volume climbed 6.3 percent to 288,350 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2017.

Port of Prince Rupert and DP World officials have agreed on expansion plans for the Fairview Container Terminal.

The plan calls for adding 6,680 feet of working track, for a total of 24,680 feet of on-dock rail by 2022, port officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) proposed North South commuter-rail project could cost $12.3 billion to $21.5 billion, according to an ongoing feasibility study.

The project calls for building 2.8-mile-long tunnels to connect Boston's North and South stations. The cost estimates cover tunnel construction, new or additional locomotives or coaches, improvements to support higher service levels and risk contingencies, MBTA officials said in a press release.

Kansas City Southern will acquire 50 new locomotives from GE Transportation for the railroad's subsidiaries in the United States and Mexico, the companies announced today.

The first units are expected to be delivered in early 2019. The agreement includes digital solutions to help improve operations and fuel efficiency, according to a jointly issued press release.

GE Transportation is rolling out new capabilities and features on its EdgeLINC™ platform to extend scalability, device support and deployment options. The new features include cloud support to complement the platform's on-premise offering, software development kits to drive device integration for non-native Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices and Android-based devices, and device collaboration and support for Kontron and MEN Micro devices. The updates are designed to "unlock the power of real-time device processing and optimization," GE officials said in a press release. Deployed on more than 1,000 locomotives, the EdgeLINC platform provides IIoT connectivity and data flow management, device management and streaming analytics.

Princeton TMX and RSI Logistics have formed a strategic alliance to offer shippers a combined truck and rail transportation management software (TMS) platform. Princeton TMX provides a TMS platform that leverages 16 configurable modules to automate and optimize transportation transactions between shippers and truck carriers, while RSI offers its RSInet™rail management application. The alliance is aimed at leveraging the firms' combined capabilities to provide a comprehensive, "shipper-focused" solution, company officials said in a joint press release.

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week broke ground on the $50 million Garfield Gateway project, which is designed to make major improvements to the Garfield Green Line station.

The Garfield Gateway project is expected to improve the transit experience and create a community focal point for the Washington Park community, CTA officials said in a press release.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) earlier this week expressed concern about the impact of tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods if China does not yield to U.S. trade demands.

The NRF's comments followed remarks by President Trump on Monday, who said his administration was prepared to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods if China doesn't change its practices. His comments followed his announcement earlier this month that the U.S. would impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports.