Railroad News

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced the formation of an advisory committee focused on automation across several modes.

Caltrain has announced that its board of directors last week approved the agency’s plans to develop a mobile ticketing application.

The metropolitan planning organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), has chosen the Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) consulting firm to carry out a high-speed rail station area planning study for downtown Dallas.

Harsco’s Protran Technology unit, part of the Harsco Rail division, has announced a new sale of safety systems to be implemented in Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) railway fleet.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has received a commitment of approximately $1.07 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support phase one of its Red and Purple Modernization Project.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced Jan. 9 that its subsidiary, KCSM Servicios S.A. de C.V. (KCSMS), has appointed Kurt Jacobs as vice president transportation. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) released its draft 10-year capital plan, which addresses $32 billion worth of projects in New York and New Jersey.

Transdev has named Luke McCaul as general manager of Cincinnati Bell Connector operations. He began in his new role Jan. 4, replacing Interim General Manager Mark Young.

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) has announced the selection of Ronald Brown, Rick Ebersold and John Zuspan by the association’s executive committee as this year’s additions to the NRC Hall of Fame.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith introduced a bill that would spend $1.5 billion to build more than 240 projects across the state, including more than $91 million in rail projects.

Amtrak has announced a series of changes to its management and organizational structure intended to enhance the organization’s effectiveness, improve customer service and prepare for a competitive future.

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced a commitment of approximately $1.6 billion to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to support the completion of the second phase of its Westside Purple Line Extension.

Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) awarded a $223.3-million contract to L.K. Comstock & Company Inc. to upgrade the Queens Boulevard Line signaling system and install communications-based train control (CBTC).

Vossloh Group has completed its acquisition of Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc., from Altus Capital Partners, a U.S.-based investment firm.

New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) has chosen Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., to carry out design and general engineering services for its NJ Transit microgrid project.

Reading & Northern Railroad has increased the track speed of its Main Line between Reading, Penn., and Port Clinton to 40 mph.

The railroad said this is the first time in 25 years track speeds have increased to this level and that the increase marks a major efficiency improvement on the line, cutting seven minutes from the travel time between the two locations.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Jan. 3 the appointment of Jim Trogdon to lead the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Trogdon is an engineer with decades of experience in state government and the military.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., and BNSF have both requested a panel of arbitrators review their Joint Service Agreement revenue division.

The agreement between the two parties dates to 1991 when J.B. Hunt entered into what was then considered a landmark agreement with the Santa Fe Railway, which merged with Burlington Northern in 1995 to form BNSF. The agreement calls for the revenue division to be reviewed quarterly and has not gone to arbitration since 2004. The current request for arbitration pertains to the division of revenue collected since May 1, 2016.

Union Pacific (UP) has announced its acquisition of Railex LLC, a refrigerated rail service and third-party logistics leader.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced last week that Martin Klepper has been appointed to serve the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Build America Bureau as its executive director.