Railroad News

Metra in Chicago yesterday unveiled a dashboard reporting ridership trends so riders can better plan trips based on social distancing.

Released as a test starting with weekday trains only, the dashboard indicates the average number of riders per train car over a five‐day period. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's (PANYNJ) cargo volume dropped 16.5 percent in May to 537,412 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) from 643,706 TEUs in May 2019, authority officials announced Monday.

PANYNJ officials attributed the decline to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. The loss brings the authority's total cargo volume for 2020 through May to 2,854,319 TEUs, according to PANYNJ's Breaking Waves blog.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday awarded more than $500,000 in Railroad Trespassing Enforcement Grants to law enforcement agencies to support trespass prevention.

The $528,028 in grants were awarded to 11 projects in six states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina and New Jersey. The agency received 23 eligible applications for consideration.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) last week unveiled a 10-point plan to ensure light-rail riders are confident returning to its system in California. 

The 10-point plan includes:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is accepting funding applications for projects that benefit freight movements in the state. Up to $56 million is expected to be available for fiscal years 2023-2025 through the Minnesota Highway Freight Program.

Railroads, ports, airports, waterways, and Minnesota cities and counties can apply for funding by Sept. 28.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County yesterday began nightly closures of the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel in Pittsburgh for repairs. 

Wellington Power Corp. will be replacing lighting and cable inside the tunnel as part of the project.

Kansas City Southern in late June released an update to its 2019 sustainability report.

Safety statistics shared annually in sustainability reports now will include data from KCS’ Mexican operations, the update states. Titled "For the Long Haul: Delivering Prosperity, Valuing People, Protecting the Planet,” the 2019 report now shows the Class I improved its consolidated reportable train accident frequency ratio by 26 percent and consolidated reportable injury frequency ratio by eight percent.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week partnered with the State University of New York, City University of New York and Microsoft to launch a virtual hackathon for local students and professionals to assist in improving real-time train seating availability information for MTA Metro-North Railroad riders.

The event will connect participating developers, data scientists and designers with Microsoft’s cloud services, public datasets and the MTA’s in-house tech staff in an effort to help Metro-North build upon the functionality provided in the recently updated MTA Long Island Rail Road Train Time app.

CN recently announced plans to spend about CA$105 million in Manitoba, CA$20 million in New Brunswick and CA$10 million in Nova Scotia this year to bolster infrastructure.

Planned track and capital work in Manitoba calls for replacing more than 50 miles of rail, installing more than 150,000 ties and rebuilding six grade crossing surfaces. The work slate in New Brunswick includes replacing eight miles of rail, installing 10,000 ties and rebuilding five crossing surfaces, while the agenda in Nova Scotia includes replacing four miles of rail, installing 30,000 ties and rebuilding eight crossing surfaces.

The Valley Metro Rail Boards of Directors and the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) last week elected officers for the fiscal-year 2021 term between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. 

Mesa City Council member Francisco Heredia was elected chair of the Valley Metro Rail board, and Kate Gallego, mayor of Phoenix, was elected vice chair. 

The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) late last week announced President Mike O’Malley will depart the organization July 31.

RSI’s leader since early 2018, he is pursuing an opportunity with a corporation outside of Washington, D.C., where the association is headquartered. 

Gregory Winterbottom, the Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) longest-serving board member, died June 26. He was 73. 

Winterbottom began serving as a public member of the OCTA board in 1993. In 2004 and 2013, he served as chairman. Most recently, he was vice chairman of OCTA’s Transit Committee, a member of the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee and a board member for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, which operates Metrolink.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) last week announced it will begin using electrostatic sprayers to more easily and efficiently disinfect trains and rail stations as the agency prepares for a increase in ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delta Air Lines provided MARTA with 50 electrostatic sprayers that disperse disinfectant in a fine mist that clings to and sanitizes surfaces without leaving a residue. 

The National Mediation Board (NMB) last week announced the appointment of Kyle Fortson as chairman effective July 1. She serves on the board with Gerald Fauth and Linda Puchala.

Fortson joined the NMB in November 2017 and previously served as chair from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. Puchala chaired the board from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020.

Virgin Trains USA last week entered into a lease agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to use existing right of way along Interstate 15 in California for the planned high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California, a local news outlet recently reported.

Caltrans officials told the Daily Press that all public comments received before the agreement was signed supported the project.

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) will hold its annual conference virtually Sept. 13-17. The meeting was changed to an online event to protect the health and safety of its attendees, AREMA officials announced in an email. The AREMA 2020 Virtual Conference & Expo will include nearly 80 technical presentations, keynote addresses from Kevin Brown and Tony Hatch, panel discussions and virtual meetings with exhibitors.

Alstom acquired Ibre, a French company focused on development, manufacture and supply of cast iron or steel brake discs for high-speed, intercity and regional trains. Ibre has been renamed Alstom Ibre and is now an Alstom subsidiary. The acquisition enables Alstom to reinforce internal capabilities regarding railway braking systems, which are essential to the overall dynamic performance of trains, Alstom officials said in a press release.