Railroad News

U.S. railroads posted a 1.4 percent increase in traffic for the week ending March 24 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week rose 2.5 percent to 265,756 units, while total intermodal volume inched up 0.3 percent to 260,765 containers and trailers compared with volumes in the same week in 2017.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) yesterday released its 2017 crime data showing a nearly 40 percent surge in arrests compared to 2016.

In 2017, BART police officers made 1,730 arrests versus 1,238 arrests in the previous year.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) is considering a 5 percent fare increase for the South Shore Line to help pay for positive train control (PTC) implementation.

The proposal would include a 50-cent increase in the price of a one-way ticket from Chicago to Hammond, Indiana. The price hike would apply to all stations except the stop in Chicago's Hegewisch neighborhood. Metra controls fares for that station.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has appointed Michael McClellan vice president strategic planning and Claude "Ed" Elkins vice president industrial products effective April 1.

McClellan, who in his new role will report to NS President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires, joined NS in 1998 as assistant VP performance planning. He became VP intermodal and automotive marketing in 2000 and VP industrial products in 2013.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) on Monday approved a $51.5 million contract to acquire eight S70 model streetcars from Siemens Industries Inc.

BNSF Railway Co. has planned $230 million in capital expenditures this year to expand capacity and perform scheduled maintenance work in California.

BNSF, which operates a 2,000-mile network in California, will install additional production track and new lift equipment at the Los Angeles Intermodal Facility, and extend the existing north lead track to improve switching capability at the Stockton Intermodal Facility.

Georgia Ports Authority and other officials on Monday broke ground on the $127 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal.

The project will increase the Port of Savannah's rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year, and open new markets that will span an arc of cities from Memphis, Tennessee, to St. Louis, and from Chicago to Cincinnati, port officials said in a press release.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf yesterday announced funding approval for 27 freight-rail improvement projects.

The State Transportation Commission has approved $32 million for the
projects through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program and the Rail Freight Assistance Program, Wolf announced in a press release.

Metra next month will wrap up a multiyear project to replace bridges on the Union Pacific North Line.

Beginning April 9, the railroad will implement a new schedule for evening and weekend trains on the line to accommodate the project. The schedule change will enable Metra trains to operate on a single track between Clybourn Station and Evanston while crews complete the $15.5 million bridge replacements.

The city of Milwaukee yesterday took delivery of the first vehicle for its new streetcar system.

The 67-foot, 83,000-pound streetcar arrived from Brookville Equipment Corp.'s plant in Brookville, Pennsylvania. The unit, which rolled off a truck in downtown Milwaukee, will be stored in the streetcar system's operations and maintenance facility on N. 4th Street.

Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to continue providing operations and maintenance services for the Maryland Area Regional Commuter's (MARC) Brunswick and Camden lines.

The $288 million agreement extends a contract first awarded in 2012. The scope of work includes maintenance of diesel locomotives, rail cars, stations, facilities and rail infrastructure for the MTA-owned portion of the Brunswick Line.

The province of Ontario yesterday announced plans to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to select a team to design, build, finance, operate and maintain its GO Regional Express Rail (RER) project.

The contract will integrate rail operations and maintenance with the infrastructure and vehicle upgrades needed to deliver electrified service on the GO Transit rail network, according to a press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

BNSF Railway Co.'s $3.3 billion capital investment plan will put the railroad in a position to meet customers' growth and service expectations this year, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last week.

Ice is one of two Class I executives to respond so far to the STB's recent request for 2018 service outlook reports, as the board looks into shippers' complaints about deteriorating freight-rail service.

Oregon's Portland Streetcar last week obtained permission from the Portland City Council to buy two new streetcars to boost service frequency.

Workforce development firm ConnectWork LLC has registered two new rail-related apprenticeships with the state of Maryland.

The programs will provide instruction for future rail-car remediators and rail-car mechanics. While the apprenticeships are open to all rail companies in Maryland, the programs will primarily serve the Baltimore region, specifically in the Tradepoint Atlantic corridor.

Union Pacific Railroad has announced a $65 million capital expenditure program for Nebraska and a $63.3 million capex program for Oregon this year.

The Class I's plans for Nebraska include $54.9 million to maintain track and $3 million to maintain bridges.