Railroad News

Metra, local and federal officials last week broke ground on the Chicago commuter railroad's $34 million project to construct a new bridge over the Fox River in Elgin, Illinois.

The project is designed to remove a rail chokepoint between freight and passenger trains. The bridge construction is being funded in part by a $14 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. Metra will contribute $14 million, while Canadian Pacific will provide $6 million toward the project.

The Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) 5.3-mile subway extension to southern Ontario's York region will open Dec. 17.

Late last week, Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca joined local officials to announce the opening date during a tour of the extension's Vaughan Metropolitan Center and Downsview Park stations.

Mike O'Malley, a former vice president of CSX, will become president of the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) on Feb. 1, 2018. He will succeed Tom Simpson, who is retiring.

O'Malley's career includes experience in the railroad industry, federal and state government, and international trade organizations. He joined CSX in 2007 as vice president, state government and community affairs, before being named vice president, procurement and supply chain management, in 2013.

The American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) board has appointed Paul Skoutelas president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 8, 2018.

Skoutelas has served as CEO of transit agencies in Pittsburgh and Orlando, Florida. Most recently, he was senior vice president at WSP USA. Skoutelas currently serves on APTA's board and the association's business member board of governors.

The Delachaux Group has combined its rail divisions under the Pandrol brand. The companies that will now operate under the Pandrol name include Railtech, Vortok, Pandrol CDM Track, Rosenqvist, Matweld and RSS. The rebranding effort is aimed at creating "synergy from the combined strengths of the market-leading businesses within the rail division, and to make the products and services more streamlined for customers," Delachaux officials said in a press release. The Pandrol organization will focus on four key product lines: rail infrastructure, fastening systems, aluminothermic welding, equipment and control, and electrification. The combined company has been operating in the rail sector for more than a century.

Cubic Transportation Systems has signed a $185 million contract with Transport for London for a three-year extension of services for the agency's Oyster and contactless ticketing system. Cubic will continue to provide operational and maintenance services to the ticketing system and invest in "further innovations" to benefit riders, company officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Cubic also finalized a $553.8 million contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for the design and implementation of New York City's new fare payment system. The MTA contract was awarded in October, and Cubic President Matt Cole signed the agreement Nov. 1. Cubic was chosen to replace the agency's MetroCard with a next-generation fare payment system similar to the one used by Transport for London.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has launched a new version of its app for Apple and Android devices.

The updated app includes a refreshed version of "TrainView," which provides visual location updates for Regional Rail trains every 30 minutes, the agency announced yesterday. The app also features an improved layout for selecting and viewing schedules and the duration of trips.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) rail system experienced 2,585 service disruptions in 2016, according to a recent audit.

Of that total, 441 delays involved passenger health incidents or policing issues, while the remaining 2,144 occurred due to equipment problems and staffing shortages.

Swire Shipping will begin a container shipping service in January at the Port of Portland's Terminal 6, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday.

The new shipping option is part of a larger goal to ensure Oregon regional shippers have access to global markets, according to a press release issued by Brown's office.

Sound Transit's board yesterday approved a $26.5 million order for five Brookville Equipment Corp. light-rail cars for the Tacoma Link extension.

The new vehicles will begin arriving in third-quarter 2020, with full delivery to be completed by first-quarter 2021. The new units will supplement the existing three-car fleet that operate on the 1.6-mile Tacoma Link line.

The Port of New Orleans surpassed the half-million mark for 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) handled at its Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal in fiscal-year 2017, marking the third consecutive year the port achieved that milestone, President and Chief Executive Officer Brandy Christian announced earlier this week.

In a "state-of-the-port" address on Nov. 13, Christian said the terminal handled 503,358 TEUs in FY2017 and anticipates continued growth in the port's container market.

Amtrak posted record ridership, revenue and earnings in fiscal-year 2017, which ended Sept. 30, railroad officials announced yesterday.

In FY2017, Amtrak's ridership increased 1.5 percent to 31.7 million passenger trips and total revenue rose 1.1 percent to $3.2 billion compared with figures in FY2016, according to an Amtrak press release.

A market research study has found that shippers are spending more than 80 hours a month on procuring rail services for existing assets, indicating a greater need for efficiency.

In May, Commtrex Inc. and Rockwood Steel LLC partnered to conduct market research on 52 shippers and their practices related to shipping, leasing, buying, selling, storing and servicing rail cars. Commtrex is an electronic marketplace for the rail industry; Rockwood is a railroad management consulting business.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in January will increase adult fares from $2 to $2.25.

The cost of a monthly pass will jump from $70 to $80. However, VTA will decrease youth fares from $1.75 to $1. The new fare structure also includes free transfers for two hours between all VTA vehicles for riders who purchase electronic fares, agency officials said in a press release.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) has begun construction of a new automobile processing terminal, the first phase of a multi-year project aimed at increasing the port's vehicle handling capacity by 25 percent.

When completed, the new terminal will add more than 100 acres of processing and storage space at the port's Dames Point Marine Terminal.

The intermodal business drove volume growth for U.S. railroads in the week ending Nov. 11, as they logged 547,480 carloads and intermodal units, a 1.2 percent increase compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week fell 3.3 percent to 263,265 carloads, but intermodal volume rose 5.6 percent to 284,215 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2016, according to Association of American Railroads' (AAR) data.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday proposed a record $10.8 billion budget for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in fiscal years 2018-2019.

The budget would provide $171.6 million in seaport infrastructure improvements, including $23.5 million for the Port of Jacksonville's channel deepening and widening project.

Amtrak in January will kick off the next phase of infrastructure renewal at Penn Station in New York City.

The projects include replacing tracks 15 and 18, as well as renewing and replacing three turnouts in the "C" interlocking, which directs Amtrak and MTA Long Island Rail Road trains heading east to Sunnyside Yard in Queens, New York.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority's (CHSRA) board yesterday approved an early train operator contract with DB Engineering and Consulting USA.

The firm is the U.S. arm of Deutsche Bahn AG. As early train operator, DB Engineering and Consulting will assist CHSRA with planning, designing and implementing the state's high-speed rail program.

The Canadian government this week filed a lawsuit against OmniTRAX Inc. for breach of contract in its failure to repair and resume operation of a portion of a rail line into Churchill, Manitoba.

The announcement followed OmniTRAX's announcement that it intends to ask for arbitration under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).