Railroad News

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What are the railroad industry’s greatest challenges today, and what will they be in the future?

Transit Wireless completed work to allow cellular voice and data connection in the MTA New York City Transit’s L Line subway tunnel under the East River, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week. 

The telecommunication company, in partnership with MTA, launched full connectivity in the Canarsie Tunnel so that AT&T customers are now able to use their phones and other devices between 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue on the L Line. 

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) officials yesterday unveiled a planning tool that displays an estimate of train capacity so riders can better plan their trips and maximize social distancing practices while riding. 

The LIRR TrainTime mobile app provides the median ridership of the past seven trips of a specific train, at any station. The app then categorizes that train on a scale from “most crowded” to “least crowded.” 

The Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC), an initiative of the Transportation Technology  Center Inc. (TTCI), has launched its first online training academy.

The SERTC will use the new platform to continue providing training to the nation's first responders despite ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caltrain’s board last week postponed previously approved fare increases until after June 2021, and approved the system’s first framework for equity policies.

The "Framework for Equity, Connectivity, Recovery and Growth" includes policies that will help ensure rail service recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic in a way that expands access to low-income individuals and communities of color that have historically been underrepresented in the system’s ridership, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

Kansas City Southern has canceled this year's Holiday Express train due to the pandemic, but the railroad will mark the charitable program's 20th year with a fundraiser to benefit The Salvation Army in 20 communities along the KCS network.

"While it is not safe to gather for free visits with Santa Claus and tours of the Holiday Express train this year, the need for the charitable component of this program is greater than ever," KCS President and Chief Executive officer Patrick Ottensmeyer said in a press release.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) plans to cut the number of employment positions by 25 percent to 30 percent due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The planned reduction will include about 635 part-time and full-time positions for represented and salaried staff that are currently filled. The number may change as the agency conducts a more detailed analysis, RTD officials said in a press release.

A team of Union Pacific Railroad engineering employees have been on the front lines of battling hot spots along the railroad's track, bridges and tunnels as wildfires roar across Northern California.

The crew have been using the UP water train, which consists of two rail cars that each hold 12,500 gallons of water and a pumper. The train goes back and forth over a 7-miles stretch, traversing up to 50 miles a day, UP officials said in railroad's InsideTrack newsletter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection awarded Smiths Detection a contract to provide its HCVT X-ray scanners for use at U.S. railway checkpoints at both the northern and southern borders. The HCVT is a side-view, high-energy X-ray inspection scanner designed to screen moving rail cars for dangerous or illegal cargo. The initial order value is $13.5 million with initial deliveries planned for 2021. The contract allows for multiple orders up to $379 million over five years. The contract also includes an option for service over a 10-year period.

Rail Vision Ltd. signed a commercial agreement with an affiliate of Knorr-Bremse AG to supply Rail Vision’s Assisted Remote Shunting (ARS) systems to a European train operator. Rail Vision will deliver its ARS prototype system in October. The train operator then has the option to place an order for 30 ARS systems valued up to $3.3 million, or purchase an additional 45 ARS systems valued at about $4.1 million.

Officials from Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Cary, Illinois, late last month began creating a strategic plan to encourage private investment near the city's Metra commuter-rail station. 

The plan will identify strategies for future transit-oriented land uses and infrastructure improvements near the station in downtown Cary.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) late last month awarded the Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) a $687,000 Accelerating Innovative Mobility (AIM) challenge grant to develop a multimodal trip planning and payment integration feature in the Transit mobile application. 

The grant will allow RTD and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to work with mobile ticketing provider Masabi and Transit to create an app feature that will allow riders to purchase both rail and bus tickets, book microtransit service options, pay for electric scooter trips and create a multimodal itinerary. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a landscape architecture or engineering design firm to advance Flushing Bay promenade improvements as part of the proposed AirTrain LGA project and $8 billion LaGuardia Airport redevelopment plan.

The authority plans to build AirTrain LGA to provide millions of air travelers a reliable, 30-minute trip from midtown Manhattan to the airport, with connection through a new Willets Point station. PANYNJ’s preferred alternative calls for building two airport stations and connecting the AirTrain to MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA New York City Transit lines.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) last week released its first-ever National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP), which lays out a vision for long-term investments in infrastructure and other essential parts of the nation’s freight system.

Required as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, the NFSP identifies major trade gateways and national freight corridors that connect major population centers, trade gateways and other major freight generators. It also assesses and suggests ways to overcome statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional, financial and other barriers to improved freight transportation; outlines a process for addressing multistate projects; and forecasts freight volumes for the next five, 10 and 20 years.

Metrolink today reinstated two Ventura County Line trains as vehicle traffic in the San Fernando Valley and Venture County, California, returns to pre-pandemic levels. 

Ventura County Line trains 101 and 110 have been restored to serve stations connecting Los Angeles to Glendale, Burbank, Northridge, Van Nuys, Chatsworth, Simi Valley and Moorpark.

Amtrak last week announced plans to furlough 1,950 workers and cut 100 management positions due to contracted operations and pinched finances.

For several weeks, the railroad conducted a thorough review of its fiscal-year 2021 operating plan and planned service levels, which revealed reduced staffing needs for the next fiscal year, Amtrak officials said in a prepared statement.

Joseph Alexander, an original member of Virginia Railway Express’ (VRE) operations board, a founding member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and stanch passenger-rail supporter in Virginia, died Aug. 30. He was 90.

Alexander served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 32 years and on the NVTC from its inception in 1964 until 1995, serving as chair from 1970 through 1972. He also represented NVTC on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board for more than 20 years and was chairman four times.