Railroad News

TransLink has begun welcoming new retailers to its SkyTrain stations for the first time in eight years.

The agency's retail real estate program generates CA$500,000 each year, a figure that's anticipated to double over the next five years, TransLink officials said in a press release issued last week.

U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) last week introduced a bipartisan bill that would create a dedicated funding source for freight-related infrastructure projects.

H.R. 3001, the National Multimodal and Sustainable Freight Infrastructure Act, would build on the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which outlines for the first time a national freight policy, according to a press release issued by Lowenthal's office.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on July 1 will begin a $163 million project to rebuild and improve century-old sections of the M rail line.

Contractors will demolish and rebuild a crucial segment of the line between the Fresh Pond Road and Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue stations in Queens, New York. The segment includes a 100-year-old metal bridge that crosses over the New York & Atlantic Railway's tracks.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board yesterday approved a six-year, $18.6 billion improvement program for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).

The allocation will cover more than 3,600 projects that will improve highways, roads, bridges, rail, transit and bicycle and pedestrian paths across the state over the next six fiscal years.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has long sought a way to get trains between downtown and O'Hare airport more quickly and he may have found a new option: Elon Musk's tunneling concept.

Musk, the idea man behind Tesla, SpaceX and Hyperloop technologies, says he has developed a way to bore a tunnel faster and cheaper. The new company with a cheeky title, The Boring Company, aims to "solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic." The company says in order to do this tunneling speed would need to be increased while to typical tunneling costs would need to be reduced by a factor of 10 or more. The company plans to do this by ramping up the power of the boring machines and reducing the diameter of the tunnel.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has long sought a way to get trains between downtown and O'Hare airport more quickly and he may have found a new option: Elon Musk's tunneling concept.

Musk, the idea man behind Tesla, SpaceX and Hyperloop technologies, says he has developed a way to bore a tunnel faster and cheaper. The new company with a cheeky title, The Boring Company, aims to "solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic." The company says in order to do this tunneling speed would need to be increased while to typical tunneling costs would need to be reduced by a factor of 10 or more. The company plans to do this by ramping up the power of the boring machines and reducing the diameter of the tunnel.

The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approved the latest Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) for the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).

The SYIP allocates $18.6 billion to transportation projects over the next six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2017. Projects include highway, road, bridge, rail, transit, bicycle/pedestrian paths and other transportation improvements across the state.

The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approved the latest Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) for the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).

The SYIP allocates $18.6 billion to transportation projects over the next six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2017. Projects include highway, road, bridge, rail, transit, bicycle/pedestrian paths and other transportation improvements across the state.

Amtrak yesterday named former airline industry executive Richard Anderson as the national passenger railroad's next president and chief executive officer.

Anderson, who most recently was executive chairman of Delta Air Lines after serving as the airline's CEO from 2007 to 2016, will begin his new duties at Amtrak on July 12, Amtrak officials announced in a press release.

Amtrak has named longtime aviation executive Richard Anderson as its president and chief executive officer, effective July 12.

Anderson, 62, former chief executive officer of both Delta and Northwest Airlines, will serve in a co-CEO capacity with current CEO Wick Moorman through Dec. 31, 2017, at which time Moorman will become an advisor to the company. Moorman joined Amtrak in September 2016 as a transitional CEO tasked with improving the company's operations, streamlining the organizational structure, and helping recruit his successor.

Amtrak has named longtime aviation executive Richard Anderson as its president and chief executive officer, effective July 12.

Anderson, 62, former chief executive officer of both Delta and Northwest Airlines, will serve in a co-CEO capacity with current CEO Wick Moorman through Dec. 31, 2017, at which time Moorman will become an advisor to the company. Moorman joined Amtrak in September 2016 as a transitional CEO tasked with improving the company's operations, streamlining the organizational structure, and helping recruit his successor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AAR COMMENDS SELECTION OF NEW AMTRAK PRESIDENT RICHARD ANDERSON

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26, 2017 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued the following statement by President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger in response to the announcement that the Amtrak Board of Directors has named Richard Anderson President and CEO of Amtrak, succeeding Charles “Wick” Moorman.

Metra has hired Jayne Deno as chief human resources officer.

Deno most recently served as vice president of human resources at Americas for Oerlikon Fairfield in Lafayette, Indiana.

The planned Finch West Light Rail Transit project in Toronto, ON, Canada, secured a CA$333-million (US$251.4-million) federal funding commitment under the Building Canada Fund.