Railroad News

Union Pacific (UP) is boosting safety and efficiency with an approximately $79 million infrastructure investment in Louisiana this year.

HNTB Corporation added Francesco Cantatore as senior program director, rail systems.

"He has an established track record of leadership and technical expertise on an international scale, with project management and delivery experience in the U.S., Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria," said Ian Choudri, HNTB national rail and transit business development director and senior vice president.

Construction has begun on a rail siding that is part the Port of Everett's South Terminal Intermodal Modernization Project in Washington state.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) adopted a Fiscal Year 2018 MBTA operating budget.

Officials say the budget continues the progress made by the FMCB and MBTA management during the past two years to sharply reduce the MBTA's operating deficit.

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) sold $1.25 million worth of equipment at its annual auction on April 6. Proceeds will help fund safety programs provided by the association.

The NRC's 14th Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held at the Railroad Construction Co. of South Jersey/Railroad Constructors facility in Paulsboro, N.J. The NRC called the auction a success with a total of 250 pieces of equipment sold for a $1.25 million to on-site and online bidders.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a proposed Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) expansion project has been issued following more than a year of data collection, analysis and public outreach.

Union Pacific (UP) is boosting safety and efficiency with an approximately $135 million infrastructure investment in Arkansas this year. The company is also consolidating its Wichita Service Unit management with its Kansas City, Fort Worth and North Little Rock service units.

UP's investment plan funds a range of initiatives in Arkansas: $119 million to maintain track and $7 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include a $20-million investment in the rail line between Rison and Camden to replace 47 miles of rail and a $14-million investment in the rail line between Little Rock and Benton to replace 61,005 crossties and install 16,838 tons of ballast.

Veteran railroad signal engineer Keith Holt has left Amtrak, where he was deputy chief engineer, Communications and Signals, to become director of engineering for Railroad Systems at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Holt will be responsible for leadership, direction and management of engineering services for railroad and rail transit projects and will support WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff's related business initiatives across the U.S.

Metrom Rail hired Tom Harding as vice president of engineering. Harding will lead the company's engineering operations and expand its product development capabilities.

Harding brings nearly 30 years of engineering experience to the company. Most recently, he worked for Wi-Tronix, a railroad telemetry provider. He also has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry with Nokia and Motorola.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) approved $5.46 million in funds to advance engineering associated with the second phase of the Transbay Transit Center/Caltrain Downtown Extension (TTC/DTX) project.

The money comes from and allocation of Proposition K, a voter-approved sales tax that funds a General Fund. The allocation totals $5,464,675 and includes $4,549,675 for DTX preliminary engineering and $915,000 for a Tunneling Options Engineering Study. TTC/DTX is the largest project in the Prop K Expenditure Plan, which designates up to $270 million (in 2003 dollars) for this purpose.

The Hawaii House of Representatives extended the general excise tax (GET) that helps fund Honolulu's first rail transit project on April 11. The funding package will contribute an additional $1.2 billion to the project.

The action will extend Oahu's .05 percent GET surcharge through 2029, which is expected to generate $792 million for the rail project. The House also agreed to reduce the funds it collects as a GET administrative fee by 90 percent, which will generate an estimated $397 million for the city project. The funding package brings the state's financial contribution to the project to $8 billion, which is close to the estimated total project cost of $8.1 billion.

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved the five-year plan for the Crossing Safety Improvements Program at grade crossings and highway-rail grade separations across the state.

OmniTRAX, Inc., an affiliate of The Broe Group, has named A&K Railroad Materials Inc. as the recipient of its Second Annual Supplier of the Year Award.

The award is voted on by the OmniTRAX Supplier Council and Procurement Team members and is based on strong performance deliverables in safety, project completion, 100 percent on time shipments and superb communication/response to our requirements.

Rep. John Carter (R-TX-31) joined SENSR Monitoring Technologies, LLC, (SENSR) for a site tour in Georgetown, Texas on April 11.

SENSR President Walt Bleser guided Rep. Carter through SENSR's operations. SENSR has developed monitoring solutions to help clients monitor the safety and stability of critical structures, such as rail and highway bridges. SENSR's technologies are designed to help bridge owners manage difficult challenges like scour, collisions, settlement and nearby construction activities and to keep them aware of conditions at their bridge sites.

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has appointed Fred Tallarico Regional Director of Design-Build for the company's Northeast and Central regions. Tallarico will manage the firm's pursuit and execution of transit, highway and infrastructure projects using alternative delivery methods such as design-build and P3s (public-private partnerships). He is based in New York City.

Veolia Transportation Maintenance and Infrastructure (VTMI, Inc.) has chosen Dewberry to perform services under its design-build contract for new rail connections between the Florida East Coast (FEC) railway and the South Florida Rail Corridor (SFRC) in West Palm Beach and Miami, Fla.

 Dewberry will perform surveys and provide grading, drainage and track engineering design work for the project.

TNW Logistic Services, LLC, is partnering with the Perry County Port Authority (PCPA) to expand economic development opportunities in the Tell City River Port area, which is located on the Ohio River in southern Indiana. The venture marks TNW's initial entry into Indiana.

TNW cites the area's location, land availability and existing train and port operations as an ideal place for a world-class transportation, operations and storage hub that connects the port to the Norfolk Southern at Lincoln City, Ind. TNW says the intermodal complex creates a natural gateway to locations throughout the United States for products and materials from ports on the Ohio River, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

Union Pacific (UP) is investing approximately $77.1 million in Oregon infrastructure this year to increase safety and efficiency.

Three East Coast senators are highlighting the need for increased funding of Amtrak following two derailments at New York Penn Station.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-5) joined representatives from the Illinois rail industry for a public policy discussion and a tour of Industry-Railway Suppliers, Inc., (IRS) at its Elmhurst, Ill., headquarters on April 10.

Rep. Quigley is a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) and industry stakeholders discussed the importance of the shortline tax credit and the effort to make it permanent through the Building Rail Access for customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act. Additionally, the discussion touched on opposing any effort to increase truck sizes and weights, as well as opposing any federal reregulation of the industry.