Railroad News

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are asking Congress for an immediate emergency injection of nearly $50 billion to offset an estimated 30 percent loss in state transportation revenue over the next 18 months.

AASHTO leaders asked in an April 6 letter to congressional leaders that the next emergency relief and economic recovery legislation include an immediate $49.95 billion in flexible federal funding to help ensure state departments of transportation (DOTs) "can operate and maintain their systems without disruption and allow current transportation projects and plans to continue."

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) announced four new state program leaders: Jeffrey Bennett in Washington, D.C.; Colin Smith, Montana; Toni Clithero, Vermont; and Tracey Lamb, Virginia.

Bennett, chief of transit at the District Department of Transportation and a 2018 Progressive Railroading Rising Star, became the District of Columbia's Operation Lifesaver program lead when it restarted earlier this year. 

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has begun a project to replace the Route 3 Bridge over Conrail and New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) tracks, and the ramp from Route 3 west to Route 495 east in North Bergen, New Jersey.

The $24.8 million project is federally funded through a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant issued in 2018. The project will address the bridge's poor condition and geometric deficiencies, NJDOT officials said in a press release.

The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) has named Ronald Tindall Jr. president. He succeeds Mike McCarthy, who retired at the end of March.

Previously, Tindall was compliance officer at Trans-Global Solutions Inc.. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at Union Pacific Railroad, where he started as a brakeman, conductor and engineer.

ZTR Control Systems LLC and BlackBerry Ltd. have partnered to offer rail-car owners, operators and suppliers a remote rail-car monitoring solution. BlackBerry Radar® features location, utilization and mileage data for rail cars and other nonpowered railway assets.

Cyient signed an agreement with Hitachi Rail to develop and operate a central delivery center for Hitachi Rail in India and a regional center in the United States. The centers will provide engineering services for Hitachi's global signaling projects that use proprietary interlocking platforms. They also will provide software development and configuration support for Hitachi's ATS product.

Amtrak has suspended service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia until May, a local news outlet yesterday reported. 

The service, which stops in Greensburg, Latrobe and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, has been suspended since March 19.  

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is soliciting proposals on research topics that would have an impact on the safety and efficiency of U.S. freight- and passenger-rail operations.

Last week, the FRA released a Broad Agency Announcement, which provides opportunities to government, industry and academia to conduct applied technology research that will support the objectives of the Office of Research, Development and Technology and its four divisions: track, rolling stock, train control and communication, and human factors.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on April 9 will resume weekday light-rail service after a two-week closure. 

The authority suspended light-rail service after a light-rail operator trainee tested positive for COVID-19. During the suspension, the agency deep-cleaned its rail cars and began replacing upholstery seats with vinyl, VTA officials said in a press release.

Sound Transit yesterday suspended almost all construction activities related to the agency’s transit-rail expansion projects due to COVID-19 risks. 

The suspensions will be in place until May 4, according to the agency's construction alert newsletter.

Pan Am Railway's Hoosac Tunnel in western Massachusetts reopened April 4, after being closed for repairs over the past several weeks.

A Norfolk Southern Railway train on April 5 traveled through the tunnel for the first time since the structure was shut down in mid-February after a portion of its brick liner fell onto the tracks. The closure affected all NS trains operating between Mechanicville, New York, and Ayer, Massachusetts, NS officials said in a customer service alert.

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) has been recognized by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for financial transparency. 

DCTA received a ‘star’ in the comptroller’s Transparency Stars program for “outstanding efforts” in making spending and revenue information available, DCTA officials said last week in a press release.

Several passenger-rail agencies are further reducing service and implementing other measures to continue to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Following is a summary of recent updates by agency:
 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) last week announced construction milestones on the Purple Line subway extension project to connect riders between downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Westwood, California.

Construction on the Wilshire/La Brea Station passed the half-way mark to completion. The Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega stations are 41 percent and 29 percent completed, respectively.

Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) has extended temporary operational changes for passenger-rail operations in response to national and international health agency guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic.

ARRC will suspend Aurora Winter Train through the end of the current winter season. In addition, the Coastal Classic Train will begin daily scheduled service July 1; the Denali Star Train northbound service will begin July 1 and daily bi-directional service will begin July 2; Glacial Discovery Train daily scheduled service will begin July 3; and Hurricane Turn Train will operate May 7 and June 4, while maintaining social distancing requirements, and standard Thursday-Monday summer service will begin July 2.