Railroad News

VIA Rail Canada Inc. on Sept. 1 will increase service between Quebec and Ontario due to an increase in demand for intercity travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency announced last week.

Service in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor will be restored to 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, VIA Rail officials said in a press release.

Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design tomorrow will select the winners of a design competition to re-envision the use of Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon’s (TriMet) oldest MAX light-rail vehicles, which will begin to be retired in a few years. 

Contestants of the competition were encouraged to find new uses for legacy trains that could help address homelessness, climate change, racial inequality or other social, environmental or public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, TriMet officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Aug. 30 will end the overnight for-hire vehicle program it put in place in May to offer alternative service during overnight subway closures that are necessary to facilitate enhanced cleaning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The program served about 1,500 riders per night who faced excessively lengthy trips as a result of the subway closures, MTA officials said in a press release. 

The North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) has hired Edward Wu as director of engineering.

Wu has more than 15 years of experience in transportation engineering and commuter- and freight-rail construction. He is joining NCRR after nearly six years at CN, where he managed multiple infrastructure projects involving freight- and passenger-rail service, NCRR officials said in a press release.

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and bus service Pace issued a joint statement calling on Congress to provide $32 billion for transit nationwide in a new COVID-19 relief package, as recommended by the American Public Transportation Association.

The joint statement was signed by Metra Chief Executive Office and Executive Director Jim Derwinski, CTA President Dorval Carter, RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden and Pace Executive Director Rocky Donahue.

Kyle Van Koughnett, 39
Director of transload strategy
Canadian Pacific

Nominator’s quote: “Kyle has a unique ability to connect internal teams, create efficiencies, be more competitive and thereby help customers transition freight onto rail. He is a passionate guy who converges details and data with commercial teams to tackle complex logistics and create solutions.” — Gurpreet Khaira, Canadian Pacific

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) earlier this week launched a yearlong pilot program with HOPE Atlanta to find solutions for people that are homeless and taking refuge in rail stations.

HOPE Atlanta is a non-profit organization that offers housing, social services, substance abuse counseling and employment services.

Metra yesterday announced it has completed renovations on Hazel Crest Station on the Metra Electric commuter-rail line in Chicago.

The station is now fully compliant with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and features a new street-level depot, a waiting area and a restroom, Metra officials said in a press release. 

A coalition of labor and passenger-rail groups has written to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of Metra's request for an injunction to require Union Pacific Railroad to continue operating commuter-rail service on three Chicago-area rail lines.

Filed Aug. 18, the coalition's statement notes that the STB determined earlier this month it would not rule on Metra's injunction request, at least until a U.S. District Court rules in a legal case between the two railroads. Metra granted UP's request to hold the injunction proceeding in abeyance. 

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced it has launched an online peer-to-peer discussion forum for transit agencies to exchange information and practices during recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FTA COVID-19 Recovery Discussion Forum provides an opportunity for transit agency officials to ask questions and request and share resources with the transit community during and after the FTA's COVID-19 Recovery Listening Sessions, administration officials said in a press release.

Nicole Teska, 38
Audit partner
Bowers & Co. CPAs

Nominator’s quote: “As an audit partner at Bowers & Co., Nicole handles many of our short-line railroad clients. She has attended Railroad Day on the Hill on multiple occasions to participate in face-to-face lobbying meetings with Congress members. According to Jim Bowers, partner-in-charge of our firm’s Railroad and Transportation Industry Group and past chairman of the ASLRRA Finance and Administration Committee: ‘Nicole has been an instrumental part in the growth of our short-line railroad group.’” — Erin Wisneski, Bowers & Co.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) yesterday opened a survey to begin collecting public suggestions on how the authority can improve 12 rail stations in Orange County, California, to better shield riders from weather conditions. 

The survey — which will be open through September —  is a part of a larger Rail Infrastructure Defense Against Climate Change study to identify challenges and opportunities for improving service, operations and infrastructure along Orange County’s 25-mile rail corridor and ways to better withstand severe weather conditions.

The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) yesterday began the environmental review process for the proposed Stockton Diamond Grade Separation Project, which will identify concepts to separate two rail lines at California’s most congested at-grade railway junction in downtown Stockton.

SJRRC is working with BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad on the project. The intersection causes significant delays for both freight and passenger rail that use the lines, SJRRC officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit yesterday announced that Atkinson Construction crews have completed the civil construction of the light-rail tunnel that will connect the East Main and Bellevue Downtown stations when the East Link light-rail extension in Seattle begins operating in 2023.  

By adapting to different ground conditions, the contracted crews were able to complete the tunnel excavation five months earlier than expected, which helped keep the project on schedule despite delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

Class Is employed 117,230 people as of mid-July, down 0.95 percent from June and down 16.68 percent from July 2019 levels, according to Surface Transportation Board data.

Five out of six employment categories logged month-to-month decreases. They were: maintenance of way and stores, down 2.18 percent to 19,550 employees;  maintenance of way and structures, down 1.44 percent to 29,931; professional and administrative, down 1.25 percent to 10,381; transportation (other than train and engine), down 1.17 percent to 5,075; and executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.92 percent to 7,521.

The South Dakota State Railroad Board yesterday authorized the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) to finalize a purchase agreement with the Dakota and Iowa Railroad (D&I) to acquire the state-owned Sioux Valley Line.

The Sioux Valley Line is located between Canton and Elk Point with a spur to Beresford. The D&I is a subsidiary of L.G. Everist Inc., SDDOT officials said in a press release.