Railroad News

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host a webinar on June 4 aimed at helping those seeking funding for the recently announced positive train control (PTC) grants.

The administration will award $250 million of its available PTC grant funding with applications for the grants due by July 2. The funding under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program was authorized by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and funded through the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced May 22 the launch of the next two major Blue Line station improvement projects, as part of the $492 million Your New Blue program.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has announced LIRR Forward, a new initiative through which the railroad intends to revamp its operations and efficiency.

Miner Enterprises has acquired Texas-based DFW Grating, a manufacturer of metal grating products.

Operations will cease by the end of 2018 along the Huron Central Railway (HCRY), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., which cites a lack of provincial funding needed to maintain service.

HCRY operates a 175.8-mile Northern Ontario route between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. The shortline was established under a 1997 lease agreement with Canadian Pacific. Genesee & Wyoming Canada notes that the railway serves major employers in the region, including Domtar, Algoma Steel and Eacom, which together ship approximately 13,000 annual carloads of freight.

A consortium that expressed interest in purchasing the flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), the Port of Churchill and associated assets, has halted negotiations and cites the government of Canada's "unwillingness to engage in meaningful dialogue."

"We are disappointed to have put so much time, effort and money into what would have been a timely solution for the people of Churchill and the economy of western Canada, but we have apparently run up against politics," said iChurchill CEO Louis Dufresne. "We finally met last week with the government of Canada's negotiator on the file, Wayne Wouters, and he made it clear that the government is willing to deal only with one specific company, a Toronto-based financial firm. We can't understand why this is, given that our partnership meets all of the government's stated criteria to support the restoration of rail service to Churchill."

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has announced that the agency will add more than 600 new high-definition (HD) security cameras to its rail system as part of its Safe and Secure program.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) has announced organizational changes with three new appointments, all of which are effective immediately.

TEXRail trains got a new home the morning of May 22 with the celebratory opening of a new Equipment Maintenance Facility (EMF).

A recent survey by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) found members identified a need in excess of $20 billion during the next decade for multimodal port and rail access, but cited "funding/financing options" as the biggest hurdle.

AAPA says its State of Freight III – Rail Access and Port Multimodal Funding Needs Report (SOF III) delves "into the issue of freight movement and port multimodal needs with an emphasis on rail access which requires greater focus."

The Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) is lauding a financial agreement that will allow for utilities to be relocated from the path of Section 3 of the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing project.

The utility relocation is a small step in the progress of the Gateway Program.

HNTB Corporation has promoted Kimberly Slaughter, transit/rail market sector leader, to serve as a senior vice president of the firm.

Two grade separation projects along the Alameda CorridorEast (ACE) freight rail corridor in eastern Los Angeles County have been awarded $78 million in grant funding following approval by the California Transportation Commission (CTC).

THE boards of General Electric (GE) and Wabtec approved the merger of GE Transportation with Wabtec in a deal worth $US 11.1bn on May 21. The merger will make Wabtec a Fortune 500 company and a major player in the railway equipment and services market with operations in more than 50 countries.

New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) announced May 17 the launch of a new, modernized fare collection system for its trains this week.

Canada has committed CA$1.53 billion ($1.19 billion) in funding for Calgary's Green Line Light-Rail Project, the largest-ever infrastructure investment made by Ottawa to the province of Alberta.

Following the release of a federal complaint against Universal Concrete Products, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has ordered an independent contractor to evaluate the condition of the concrete panels being used in the construction of its Silver Line phase II stations.

The Government of Canada's Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, has announced a CA$9.2 million (US7.18 million) investment for a project at Ashcroft Terminal that will improve terminal infrastructure.

Wavetronix, a supplier of radar traffic detection and monitoring technology, announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Island Radar Company LLC.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) approved $703.6 million in SB-1 funding for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) on May 16.