Railroad News

To help shape the agenda for this year’s edition of our Secure Rail conference, members of the Secure Rail Advisory Board discussed a range of issues and trends. Among the topics of conversation: the impact of autonomous technologies on railroads, collaboration between local and federal agencies in support of emergency response initiatives, and the increasingly blurred line between cyber and physical security.

As a result of these discussions, the programming for Secure Rail 2019 — which will be held May 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando — features a greater emphasis on the topics of risk, legal issues, future trends and regulatory updates. Session topics at our fifth annual conference include:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), state and local officials yesterday marked the opening of the new Blue Hill Avenue commuter-rail station Boston.

Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh joined MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak in cutting the ribbon on the nearly $17 million station yesterday. Construction began in 2017. The station has been open to passengers since Feb. 26.

Amtrak added a second daily roundtrip service to Norfolk, Virginia, as part of the passenger railroad's Northeast Regional service, on March 4. 

The service connects the commonwealth to the Northeast, offering passengers a same-seat trip to and from 17 Virginia stations to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. 

A House Ways and Means subcommittee will hold a hearing March 12 on a proposed tax extenders package, which includes the 45G short-line tax credit.

The Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee hearing follows the legislation's introduction last week.

BNSF Railway Co. announced yesterday that construction is underway on its newest logistics center, located in Hudson, Colorado, near Denver.

The Logistics Center Hudson is designed to help customers more easily reach Denver and surrounding markets through rail-served sites, BNSF officials said in a press release.

CSX has created a new marketing team focused on research and analytics and has expanded its sales team in order to drive “sustainable, profitable growth," company officials announced yesterday.

As part of the restructuring of sales and marketing, CSX will add two new vice presidents and increase its focus on port and short-line development, CSX officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. on Monday announced plans for $240 million in capital expenditure projects in Illinois and Oklahoma for this year.

In Illinois, the Class I will perform $135 million-worth of maintenance projects to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast.

Maryland state officials applied for a federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant to help fund the rebuilding of the Howard Street rail tunnel in Baltimore, Gov. Larry Hogan announced yesterday.

The governor's announcement and grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation follows his administration's year-long negotiations with CSX to restore the state and CSX partnership to rebuild the tunnel, state officials said in a press release.

On Feb. 11 and after an almost 5-year absence, Norfolk Southern hosted an investor conference in its soon-to-be headquarters city of Atlanta, and NS management gave us what the audience and I were seeking: 

On Feb. 11 and after an almost 5-year absence, Norfolk Southern hosted an investor conference in its soon-to-be headquarters city of Atlanta, and NS management gave us what the audience and I were seeking: 

Viterra USA LLC closed last month on its acquisition of General Mills' 50 percent ownership stake in a BNSF Railway Co.-served grain facility in Northgate, North Dakota.

In addition to the grain facility, Viterra's presence in the state includes special crops facilities in Ray and Minot, as well as a grain elevator in Grand Forks.

BNSF Railway Co. has budgeted $95 million for capital expenditure projects in Minnesota this year, the Class I announced earlier this week.

Most of the railroad's capex plan in the state will focus on replacing and upgrading rail, ties and ballast, BNSF officials said in a press release.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has found that a broken axle on a freight car led to the January 2018 derailment of a CN train near New Hazelton, British Columbia.

The incident occurred when a CN train moving west at 29 mph experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application near New Hazelton. A subsequent inspection determined that 27 gondola cars loaded with coal derailed, with some of the product spilling into a nearby waterway.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has found that a broken axle on a freight car led to the January 2018 derailment of a CN train near New Hazelton, British Columbia.

The incident occurred when a CN train moving west at 29 mph experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application near New Hazelton. A subsequent inspection determined that 27 gondola cars loaded with coal derailed, with some of the product spilling into a nearby waterway.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday rolled out more of its state-by-state capital expenditure plans for 2019, announcing $445 million worth of projects slated for Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

In Kansas, the Class I will invest $165 million to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast. The maintenance program will include 560 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 30 miles of rail and 120,000 ties. In addition, BNSF plans to begin a multiyear project to install double track on portions of the Emporia Subdivision, which operates between Wellington and Kansas City.