Railroad News

Pacific Ethanol Inc., a producer and marketer of low-carbon renewable fuels and high-quality alcohol products in the United States, earlier this month closed on its agreement to sell its 74 percent ownership interest in Pacific Aurora LLC to Aurora Cooperative Elevator Co. for a total valuation of $52.8 million.

"Aurora Cooperative is pleased to protect these local destination and rail markets for our farmer owners by gaining full ownership of these ethanol plants, elevator and rail assets," said Chris Vincent, Aurora Cooperative's president and chief executive officer, in a press release.

Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) board last week amended the agency’s transit-oriented development (TOD) policy to support affordable housing. 

The policy amendments allow for a land discount of up to 60 percent from fair market value for projects on BART property with affordable housing. 

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) last week announced plans to expand two major projects this summer as the agency logs historically low ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.    

Under the expanded plan, WMATA will combine work to demolish and reconstruct platforms at four Orange Line stations with a separate project on the Silver Line to connect Metrorail to new "phase II" stations, which are being constructed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. 

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) two grants to help fund light-rail system improvements. 

The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grants include $23.6 million to purchase eight light-rail vehicles, and $3.9 million to construct a new light-rail access tunnel on the north side of the multimodal Sacramento Valley Station (SVS) Transit Center.

Duos Technologies Inc. has been awarded a $1.8 million contract to provide its Rail Inspection Portal (rip®) to an undisclosed rail operation. The installation is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter this year.  Duos believes this order is indicative of an increasing trend in the railroad industry of automating rail-car mechanical inspections, which have historically been conducted manually, company officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad has deployed RADWIN’s portfolio of Point-to-Point and Point-to-MultiPoint wireless connectivity solutions to help monitor and manage hundreds of remote rail yards through video surveillance networks.

Law enforcement leaders of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) have asked nation's governors to ensure that truck weight limits will return to lower "safe" levels after the coronavirus pandemic crisis passes.

In response to the pandemic, Congress granted governors the authority to temporarily grant increases in weight limits for trucks operating on U.S. interstate highways in their states. The authority is limited to 120 days and only applies to trucks transporting relief material, according to CABT.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) yesterday approved the installation of lights and other upgrades at five grade crossings in the state. 

The PUCO approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing Norfolk Southern Railway to upgrade active warning devices at the South Lincoln Avenue/CR 444A crossing in Columbiana County and the South Charleston Street/State Route 41 crossing in Springfield by April 22. 

Canadian Pacific President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel today issued a statement in support of people protecting and serving the public during the coronavirus pandemic.

"To critical health-care workers, frontline service providers, emergency agencies and personnel: Thank you for your ongoing dedication, determination and sacrifice in response to COVID-19," said Creel.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) yesterday announcedit will layoff 1,200 transit operators and other employees next month to reduce expenses as the agency copes with mounting revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The layoffs of 1,000 train and bus operators is subject to negotiations with Amalgamated Transit Union 113, TTC officials said in a press release.

Operation Lifesaver Inc., (OLI) in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), announced this week the award of $200,525 in grants to 15 state Operation Lifesaver programs to be used for grade crossing and trespass prevention public education programs.

OLI also announced the award of the first Innovative Rail Safety Grant to New York Operation Lifesaver, which will receive $60,000 to fund a targeted, data-driven and multifaceted trespass prevention campaign in the state.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) signed a power contract with the Lightsource BP for the company to finance, build and operate two solar farms in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. 

The solar farms, totaling totaling 43.8 MWdc, will generate 67,029 MWh of solar energy annually, or nearly 20 percent of SEPTA's 380,000 MWh per year electricity demand, Lightsource officials said in press release.

The California State Transportation Agency yesterday awarded Inglewood, California, a $95.2 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant to help fund the construction of an elevated automated people mover in the city's downtown area.

When the $1 billion project is completed, the Inglewood Transit Connector will include three train stations and provide a connection between Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s future Downtown Inglewood Station and new housing, employment and entertainment centers.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) yesterday announced it has signed a contract with Siemens Mobility Inc. to purchase 20 S700 light-rail vehicles to replace the agency’s aging fleet.

The electric light-rail vehicles — which will be manufactured at Siemens’ factory in Sacramento, California — feature low-level boarding and wider aisles for improved accessibility. They also include built-in luggage and bicycle storage, and larger windows.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has expanded its legislation team with the hiring of Mara Stark-Alcala as assistant vice president of congressional affairs.

Stark-Alcala has 10 years of transportation legislative experience through her past positions with Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell (CC&H), the American Public Transportation Association and on the staff of the U.S. Senate committees on Appropriations and Environment and Public Works.

California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (CHSRA) board earlier this week approved a preliminary funding plan with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) to advance the Link Union Station (Link US) project in Southern California. 

The Link US project calls for expansion of Union Station in Los Angeles to allow trains to enter and exit from existing northern tracks and from new tracks to the south over the 101 freeway. The expansion would increase rail service capacity, reduce train idling times and accommodate future high-speed rail service, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. yesterday announced first-quarter 2020 net earnings fell 8 percent to $770 million, or $1 per share, compared to $834 million, or $1.02 per share, in the same quarter last year. The Class I withdrew its outlook for the year because of ongoing economic uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating revenue fell 5 percent to $2.86 billion during the quarter, as growth in merchandise revenue was more than offset by declines in coal and other revenue. Expenses dropped 7 percent year over year to $1.68 billion, driven by efficiency gains, CSX officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad today posted first-quarter net income of $1.5 billion, or $2.15 per diluted share, compared to $1.4 billion, or $1.93 per diluted share, a year ago. 

Operating revenue during the quarter declined 3 percent to $5.2 billion compared with the same quarter last year. Business volumes as measured by total revenue carloads fell 7 percent during the period versus a year ago, UP officials said in a press release.