Railroad News

Metrolinx crews have completed most early construction on the future Finch West light-rail line in northwest Toronto in preparation for major construction, agency officials announced last week on the Metrolinx blog.

Crews relocated oil and gas pipelines, removed trees, constructed an access road and installed fencing along the nearly 7-mile route. Workers also broke ground on a light-rail vehicle maintenance and storage facility at York Gate Boulevard and Finch Avenue West.

Amtrak's latest round of infrastructure renewal work at Penn Station in New York City is scheduled to begin today and wrap up by April 17, the railroad announced late last month.

The work, which will be focused on tracks 11 and 14, will involve removing, replacing, and installing new timber block ties and concrete, collecting and disposing debris, and installing a safety construction barrier on the platform to protect passengers, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) earlier this week released its latest "Rail Trends" report, noting that Canadian railroads have recovered from the global recession of 2008-2009.

The report provides an annual snapshot of the railroads' performance against the past 10 years of data. The 2019 document reflects data through the end of 2018, RAC officials said in a press release.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will add two members this weekend, bringing the board to its full complement of five members for the first time since February 2019.

Michael Graham and Thomas Chapman were nominated by President Donald Trump and were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 19, 2019. Graham, who is set to be sworn in today, will serve through 2025.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is seeking qualified design-build teams to install elevators and make other improvements in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act at 23 MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) subway stations.

Work at each station will include design and construction of two to three elevators, electrical power upgrades, station communication system upgrades, utility relocation, staircase replacement or construction, and reconstruction of platform edges and boarding areas.

The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad Co. Inc. logged a record 9,690 carloads in 2019, a 2.5 percent increase compared with 2018, the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority reported yesterday.

The railroad is the rail operator for all authority-owned lines in Lackawanna and Monroe counties.

Shanghai Keolis, a joint venture between Shanghai Shentong Metro Group and Keolis, earlier this week marked the opening of a 2.4-mile section tram line in Songjiang, China. The segment is the last to open in the 19-mile tram network, which Shanghai Keolis operates and maintains, Keolis officials said in a press release. The other segments opened in 2018 and 2019.

Miller Ingenuity entered into a contract to supply ZoneGuard, an electronic roadway worker protection system, to San Diego Trolley Inc. and the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI). Each agency chose to purchase Miller’s portable system kits, which includes train detector modules, train alert modules and worker wearable devices. With the purchase of ZoneGuard, San Diego Trolley and MUNI have fulfilled a state requirement to comply with roadway worker protection rules and adopt early warning technology, Miller Ingenuity officials said in a press release.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) last week resumed regular service on the Worcester Line following a Dec. 26 derailment that damaged track.

Crews from MBTA and its operating partner Keolis Commuter Services repaired rail, ties and switches on the line to restore regular service between Boston and Worcester, MBTA officials said in a press release.

The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced that the first part of its Purple light-rail line will run between New Carrollton and College Park, Maryland, by late 2022, The Washington Post reported. 

MTA officials previously announced that the first segment of the Purple Line would be constructed between New Carrollton and Bethesda, but didn’t name a western terminus. 

Paceline Equity Partners LLC has acquired Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corp. (PRELC) from Progress Rail, the companies announced today.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. PRELC is a leading lessor of railroad maintenance-of-way (MOW) equipment and services. Progress Rail is a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.

Canadian Pacific announced Dec. 30 that it has completed its acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ), although the transaction remains subject to U.S. Surface Transportation Board approval.

The acquisition will provide CP customers with "seamless, safe and efficient access" to ports at Searsport, Maine, and to Saint John, New Brunswick, via Eastern Maine Railway Co. and New Brunswick Southern Railway, CP officials said in a press release.

On Dec. 28, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) launched light-rail service on its new Orange Line, which runs between Mountain View and the Alum Rock Transit Center in San Jose, California.

The new line, which also connects with Bay Area Rapid Transit's light-rail service at Milpitas Station, is part of the agency’s redesigned transit service approved by VTA's board last year, VTA officials said in a press release.

The Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO) earlier this month completed installation of a new elevator at Haddonfield Station in New Jersey, as part of a larger $31 million project to install elevators at all PATCO rail stations. 

Over the next two years, PATCO will install one elevator each at the Ashland, Westmont and Collingswood stations, and two elevators each at the City Hall and 12/13th & Locust stations.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) contracted crews on Jan. 10 will begin an eight-month street restoration project near the Little Tokyo/Arts District light-rail station as the agency advances its Regional Connector transit project, LA Metro officials announced last week. 

As part of the 1.9-mile underground light-rail extension project that will connect the Blue, Expo and Gold lines in downtown Los Angeles by 2022, crews built a temporary roadway near the Little Tokyo Station to facilitate excavation and construction of a tunnel under 1st and Alameda streets, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

A Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) review of a Dec. 10 Red Line disruption identified two safety violations that resulted from human error and insufficient training.

The incident and review prompted immediate corrective action, as well as identified where additional training and supervisory oversight is required.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Dec. 19 issued a request for information to receive feedback from the public and industry stakeholders to help shape the department's Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative.

"We want to hear from rural communities how the Department of Transportation can better support their critical transportation infrastructure," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week issued a request for proposals to build and operate broadband wireless connectivity infrastructure in MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) subway tunnel under the East River. 

The infrastructure would allow NYCT riders to use phones and other devices between 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue on the L Line, making it the first under-river tunnel in the subway system to receive full connectivity, MTA officials said in a press release.

U.S. freight-rail traffic fell 10.5 percent to 507,589 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Dec. 21 compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week tumbled 11.5 percent to 245,048 units, while intermodal volume declined 9.5 percent to 262,541 containers and trailers.