Railroad News

Walmart last week announced plans to build a $220 million distribution center in Dorchester County, South Carolina, that is expected to increase volume at the Port of Charleston by 5 percent.

Once completed, the new storage and cross-dock facility will span nearly 3 million square feet. Expected to take 14 months to build, the facility will supply several regional distribution centers, and support 850 Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs across the state and beyond, South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) officials said in a press release.

The San Mateo County Transit District last week released its 2019 Sustainability Report, outlining Caltrain's impact on the environment.

The San Francisco commuter railroad is in the process of electrifying its service and has transitioned to renewable power sources, thus reducing the agency’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent over the past two years, Caltrain officials said in press release.

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) today added a round trip to its Fredericksburg commuter-rail line to better support social distancing on platforms and trains during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The new morning train will reduce the number of riders on VRE's first northbound train of the morning, where the number of available seats is approaching 50 percent. The afternoon train will serve as an alternative for riders of two other trains, where the number of available seats is about 40 percent.

Amtrak last week joined U.S. airlines in tightening requirements that passengers wear face coverings to help slow the spread of coronavirus infections. 

The nation's intercity passenger railroad now says passengers may be removed or banned from trains for not wearing masks. In May, Amtrak began requiring riders to wear masks, but allowed riders to remove them when seated alone. 

CN announced today it will spend $60 million across Louisiana and $50 million across Mississippi on infrastructure projects this year.

In Louisiana, the dollars will go toward a multiyear project to rebuild the McComb Spillway Bridge. In addition, crews will replace 6 miles of rail, install 20,000 new ties, rebuild 21 grade crossing surfaces, and perform maintenance work on bridges, crossings, culverts, signaling and track.

Maeghan Albiston, 39
Assistant vice president of investor relations and pensions
Canadian Pacific

Nominator’s quote: “Maeghan has earned the trust, respect and support of the many stakeholders she encounters while acting as a positive and engaging role model for emerging talent across our company. Her tenacity and willingness to take on new challenges, alongside her deep understanding of the railroading business, make her an invaluable member of CP’s leadership team.” — Leena Wadher, Canadian Pacific

OptiFuel Systems LLC is in the process of finalizing a $2.6 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to demonstrate a pre-production renewable natural gas (RNG) hybrid, 4,300-horsepower line-haul locomotive. The program aims to demonstrate that a suite of commercially available engines present a near-term, low risk solution to create an affordable RNG hybrid line-haul locomotive with near zero emissions while simultaneously improving fuel cost by 50 percent, OptiFuel officials said in press release. Partially funded with the DOE grant, the program will allow pre-production testing at the Transportation Technology Center Inc.

The Federal Railroad Administration, in conjunction with the Small Business Innovation Research Program, awarded Wi-Tronix LLC a contract to evaluate the ability of forward-facing cameras in locomotives to detect and analyze grade crossing infrastructure. Wi-Tronix will also evaluate the use of video analytics and visual intelligence tools. 

Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) will shorten the travel season for one train and decrease operating days for another due to reduced ridership caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

ARRC’s Coastal Classic, which provides passenger-rail service between Anchorage and Seward, will end daily operations on Sept. 7, one week earlier than originally scheduled, ARRC officials said in a press release.

Development projects near Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light-rail stations created $10.27 billion for the economy in the Dallas-Forth Worth region, according to a University of North Texas (UNT) study. 

The UNT Economics Research Group reviewed 81 development projects completed between 2016 and 2018 within a quarter mile of DART stations with a total property value of $5.1 billion. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced earlier this week that the state's Intermodal Cargo Growth Incentive Program will be extended through 2022. 

The program, which aims to increase cargo activity by incentivizing shippers to move cargo through Pennsylvania ports, was previously scheduled to end in June.

Officials from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Virginia Department of Transportation and city of Newport News earlier this week broke ground on a $47 million transportation center in the Virginia city. 

The transportation center — which will replace the Newport News Amtrak station — will be located at Bland Boulevard between Warwick Boulevard and Interstate 64. 

CN today announced it will spend about CA$100 million in Wisconsin and CA$55 million in Michigan this year to bolster infrastructure.

The Wisconsin investments will focus on a new auto compound in New Richmond, maintenance of vessels, replacement of rail and ties, and maintenance of bridges, grade crossings, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure. The Class I plans to replace more than 9 miles of rail, install more than 60,000 ties and rebuild 48 crossing surfaces.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Office of Railroad Safety has completed a yearlong reorganization to improve the regulation of railroad safety, regulators announced in the agency's newsletter.

Two key aspects of the reorganization are the creation of safety management teams (SMTs) for Class Is, short lines and commuter railroads, and the "re-alignment" of safety inspectors' reporting responsibilities, the newsletter states.

Metrolink earlier this week completed the installation of 133 new ticket machines at its stations across Southern California.

The new touchscreen ticket machines include a feature that predicts possible destination stations, automatic screen brightness, voice enabled technology, a headphone jack and braille keypads. The machines also dispense new tickets with added security features.

Rocky Mountaineer will suspend its excursion passenger-rail service between Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies through Oct. 11 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and government travel restrictions. 

“We are incredibly disappointed to announce the suspension of our rail operations through to the end of the 2020 season. Like so many in the tourism and hospitality industry, the pandemic has had an overwhelmingly negative impact on our business,” said Steve Sammut, Rocky Mountaineer president and chief executive officer, in a press release.

Clark County, Nevada Commissioners earlier this week took steps to advance financing of Virgin Trains’ proposed high-speed rail project that would link Las Vegas and Southern California. 

The commission unanimously approved findings made by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry related to the financing of the project being proposed by DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, Clark County officials said in a press release. DesertXpress Enterprises is an affiliate of Virgin Trains USA.

OmniTRAX Inc. is partnering with the Frederick County Economic Development Authority in Virginia to identify and market rail-served sites along the Winchester & Western Railroad.

The initial three sites total 182 acres. Located along the rapidly growing Interstate 81 corridor, the sites are "ideal" for advanced manufacturing, food processing and agribusiness facilities, OmniTRAX officials said yesterday in a press release.