Railroad News

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) yesterday announced it's accepting multimodal transportation fund (MTF) applications to help pay for improvements to railroads, transit facilities, roadways, bridges, park and ride facilities, and other transportation infrastructure in the state.

Eligible applicants include railroads, public transportation agencies, ports, municipalities, government entities, economic development organizations and business/nonprofit organizations. Projects that will be considered should coordinate local land use with transportation assets to enhance existing communities, PennDOT officials said in a press release.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced it has appointed Abbey Collins chief communications officer to oversee all aspects of strategic communications. 

Collins most recently served as a director at Kivvit in New York, where she advised Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, not-for-profits and governments on strategic and crisis communications while creating public affairs campaigns.

Caltrain has logged a 2.3 percent decrease in 2019 ridership so far for weekday passengers, with an average mid-weekday ridership of about 63,597 passengers.

There was less than a 1 percent increase in traditional peak riders — who travel northbound in the morning peak period and southbound in the afternoon peak period — from 34,373 riders in the same point in 2018 to 34,552 so far in 2019, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

The 42 railroads that are subject to the statutory positive train control (PTC) mandate continued to make steady progress with implementation in the second quarter, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced yesterday.

Based on the railroads' Q2 progress reports, PTC systems were in operation on about 50,300 of the nearly 58,000 route miles required to be equipped with the technology, a 4 percent increase in route miles since Q1, FRA officials said in a press release. Class Is reported that PTC systems were in operation on about 91 percent of required mainlines as of June 30, also a 4 percent increase since Q1.

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Metrolinx last week announced it has signed an agreement with Icomera Canada Inc. to connect the agency's GO Transit train network serving the greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, areas with free wireless internet connection beginning in spring 2020.

Icomera later this year will begin installation of the necessary infrastructure and equipment to provide a complete end-to-end Wi-Fi solution for GO passengers, Icomera officials said in a press release.

New Jersey Transit yesterday expanded commuter-rail service at Avenel Station in Woodbridge, New Jersey, to accommodate growing ridership and community requests.

NJ Transit expanded weekday service at the station by more than 40 percent by adding 11 train stops, and adding a full weekend schedule for the first time since 1985, agency officials said in a press release. 

Sound Transit will solicit the public's input tomorrow through Sept. 24 on possible expansion and improvements for the Sounder South commuter train service in Seattle. 

In 2016, Seattle voters approved the Sound Transit 3 measure to provide funding for capital improvements on Sounder South, such as longer trains and the potential for additional trips, as well as expansion to Tillicum and DuPont by 2036, Sound Transit officials said in a press release. 

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week announced that its L Subway Project tunnel rehabilitation is ahead of schedule and crews are now working to schedule station and accessibility improvements. 

The L Project consists of multiple projects, including tunnel rehabilitation, capacity and accessibility improvements, and additional capital projects.

Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau has ordered Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQR) to repair rail deficiencies, undergo federal inspections and maintain a low speed line between Farnham and Lac-Megantic in Quebec until all defects are corrected.

The announcement followed the findings of Transport Canada inspectors who identified a number of deficiencies on a 125-mile section of the rail line, including defective rail and ties, mud spots and ballast conditions that needed to be corrected.

The proposed project to build a bullet train between Dallas and Houston took a major step forward last week when the Federal Railroad Administration granted the Texas Central's petition for a rule of particular applicability (RPA), company officials announced.

The RPA is a comprehensive set of custom rules that will be applicable specifically to Texas Central and used to govern the railroad's system and operations. Texas Central, the private company that wants to build the high-speed rail system, filed its petition for an RPA in April 2016.

On Aug. 26, global infrastructure investor First State Investments (FSI) announced it reached an agreement with investment manager Steel River Infrastructure Partners to acquire Patriot Rail and Ports, which owns 12 short lines operating across 14 states. Terms were not disclosed.

“The short-line sector, providing essential transportation services to industrial regions in the United States, is a strong fit with First State’s long-term infrastructure investment strategy and mandate,” said John Ma, director of the Sydney, Australia-based FSI infrastructure team, in a prepared statement.

Trinity Industries Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy Wallace will retire after the company's board identifies a successor, Trinity officials announced in a press release. The board will consider internal and external candidates. Wallace has worked for Trinity for 44 years and became CEO and president in 1999. 

PowerRail Inc. was awarded a multiyear $1.9 million contract from New Jersey Transit to manufacture passenger rail car journal adapter boxes. PowerRail division Cooper Bearings specializes in new and remanufactured bearings and journal boxes for locomotives, passenger rail cars and light-rail vehicles, PowerRail officials said in a press release. 

The Canadian government will invest CA$153.7 million in three projects aimed at increasing capacity at the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced yesterday.

The first project, which involves building a double-track bridge across the Zanardi Rapids, is designed to increase rail capacity on key rail routes and accommodate growth in imports and exports at the port. Trains will be able to arrive and depart simultaneously across the expanded bridge, Transport Canada officials said in a press release.

The North County Transit District's (NCTD) board has requested funding from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to support the purchase of two trainsets for the Coaster commuter-rail line in San Diego.

NCTD needs the additional trainsets in order to increase from 22 to 42 Coaster trips during weekdays. An increase would mean trains would arrive every 30 minutes during peak periods and every 60 minutes during non-peak periods, NCTD officials said in a press release. 

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan yesterday announced crews have completed installation of the first segment of light-rail track for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Purple Line, which will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton, Maryland.

Purple Line Transit Partners, the private-sector organization that's designing and building the $5.6 billion project, broke ground on the line in 2017.