Newswire
GEORGE WARRINGTON DIES, FORMER HEAD OF AMTRAK: Former Amtrak and New Jersey Transit CEO George Warrington, age 55, died Dec. 24 following an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer. From 1994 to 2002, Warrington was president of Amtrak, leaving to become CEO of NJT. He resigned in January 2007 to help form a consulting and lobbying business. [United Transportation Union, 12-24-07]
LEAVENWORTH, WASHINGTON, TO GET AMTRAK STOP: This Bavarian-themed village in central Washington will be a new Amtrak stop beginning next November. The project to add a passenger train stop on the route between Seattle and Chicago now has enough money to move forward after a nearly $300,000 congressional appropriation last week. Leavenworth, about 20 miles west of Wenatchee, has raised more than $700,000 in local, state and federal funds to build the Icicle Station train stop, said City Councilman and Mayor-elect Rob Eaton, who has championed the project for at least five years. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-24-07, from Associated Press report]
INVESTOR PARTNERS TO NOMINATE FIVE TO CSX BOARD: CSX Corp. shareholders 3G Capital Partners Ltd. and The Children's Investment Fund Management LLP said they have partnered to jointly nominate a minority slate of 5 directors to the railroad operator's board. The action was disclosed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The group owns about 8.3 percent of CSX's outstanding common stock. The members also hold derivative securities with economic interest in an additional 11.8 percent of outstanding shares. Those being nominated are TCI Managing Partner Christopher Hohn, 3G Managing Director Alexandre Behring, Gilbert Lamphere, managing director of private investment firm Lamphere Capital Management; Timothy O'Toole, managing director of the London Underground; and Gary Wilson, former chairman of Northwest Airlines. The slate will be up for election at the company's 2008 annual shareholders meeting. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-21-07, from Associated Press report]
PACHEO PASS CHOSEN FOR CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED LINE: High-speed trains - if they ever run in California - should zip in and out of the Bay Area over the Pacheco Pass on their way to and from Southern California, the California High Speed Rail Authority decided Dec.19. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the authority ended a four-hour hearing, and more than a decade of debate, by choosing Pacheco Pass over a route that would have taken the trains through Altamont Pass. The Pacheco route would link the Bay Area to a 700-mile, statewide, high-speed rail system, with trains traveling at speeds in excess of 200 mph from Sacramento to San Diego. The trains would have the capability to whisk travelers from the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco to Union Station in Los Angeles in two and one-half hours. The proposed system would cost about $40-billion to build, but the project has no money - or promise of funding - for construction. A $10-billion bond measure on the November 2008 ballot would start construction of the first phase from San Francisco to Anaheim. The Pacheco route was seen by supporters as the speediest, most-direct route to Los Angeles. It would sweep into the Bay Area over the pass between the Los Banos area and Gilroy, head north to San Jose, then up the Peninsula along the Caltrain right-of-way to San Francisco. [United Transportation Union, 12-20-07, from San Francisco Chronicle report]
SCORES KILLED AS TRAIN DERAILS IN PAKISTAN: An express train crowded with holiday travelers derailed in southern Pakistan Dec.19, killing at least 58 people and leaving hundreds of terrified survivors to claw their way out of the wreckage in total darkness. The train, which derailed at about 2 a.m., was loaded with an estimated 900 passengers, many of them heading home for the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Adha. The train was traveling from Karachi toward Lahore when about 12 of its 16 cars came off the rails near Mehrabpur, about 250 miles north of Karachi. It was unclear what caused the accident. [United Transportation Union, 12-19-07, from Associated Press report]
FREIGHTCAR AMERICA TO CLOSE PLANT IN JOHNSTOWN, PA.: FreightCar America Inc. said Dec.18 it will close its manufacturing facility in Johnstown, Pa., which employs roughly 390 people. The Chicago-based maker of railroad freight cars expects the manufacturing capacity at its other two existing plants, in Danville, Ill., and Roanoke, Va., to be 'sufficient to meet its requirements for the next several years. [United Transportation Union, 12-19-07, from Thomson Financial report]
UNION PACIFIC CUTS EARNINGS OUTLOOK: Union Pacific Corp. cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, saying this fall's record fuel prices and declining December traffic have taken a toll on its bottom line. The company now expects per-share earnings of $1.70 to $1.80, down from its October forecast of $1.90 to $2. The mean per-share earnings estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was $1.98. [United Transportation Union, 12-19-07, from Wall Street Journal report]
MONTREAL ORDERS 160 MULTILEVEL CARS: Agence Metropolitaine de Transport (AMT), Montreal, has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract valued at approximately $381 million for 160 multilevel commuter railcars. The contract includes a base order of 30 cars and options for 130 additional cars, which the Government of Quebec has elected to exercise. The stainless-steel cars are configured to operate on AMT's existing network and will also be introduced on the planned train de l'Est line. Specifications comply with infrastructure parameters on the entire AMT network, allowing the cars to operate on any of AMT commuter rail lines. The cars will be virtually identical to the multilevel cars Bombardier is currently supplying to New Jersey Transit. AMT and NJT are also engaged in a joint procurement of a dual-power (diesel/a.c. catenary) locomotive. [RailwayAge.com, 12-18-07]
ENGINE OF AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILS IN NEBRASKA: Officials say a passenger train carrying 154 people has derailed about 20 miles west of Omaha near Gretna, but no injuries are reported. Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell says the lead engine of the train derailed at about 11 a.m., but was going slowly enough so that the rest of the train remained on the tracks. The train was heading east toward Chicago. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-16-07, from Associated Press report]
BALTIMORE & CSX MEET TO DISCUSS SAFETY CONCERNS: Three recent train derailments near homes and M&T Bank Stadium alarmed Baltimore City and state leaders. They met Wednesday night [Dec.12] with CSX about the hazardous freight rolling through the heart of Baltimore. The meeting is one of a series. CSX and the city declined to comment on what progress they made, but the mayor wants to know just what's in those trains after some close calls. A freight train snakes around M&T Bank Stadium and around dozens of homes. Right now, emergency officials have no idea if it's carrying any hazardous chemicals. That's a big concern after a derailment near the stadium last month. Some of the cars were filled with flammable liquid. CSX will enroll Baltimore in a pilot program, already in place in New Jersey and New York, which will provide some information. Mayor Dixon is also asking CSX to look for alternate routes for hazardous freight during Ravens and Orioles game times. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-13-07, from WJZ.com report]
MARC TO ADD THREE TRAINS TO PENN LINE: Maryland officials have approved a plan to add trains to the rail link between Baltimore and Washington. The Board of Public Works voted to add three trips to the MARC Penn Line each weekday evening by mid-February. Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, who presented the plan to the board, said the first train will leave Washington's Union Station in the early evening rush hour to help alleviate some of the extreme crowding on the Penn Line. He said the 5:20 p.m. train from Washington, for example, routinely has 300 to 400 passengers standing in the aisles. He also told the board that the Maryland Transit Administration will also add one late-night trip in each direction. The first will leave Baltimore's Penn Station at 10:30 p.m., enabling the MTA to offer train service to Washington for late-arriving passengers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-13-07, from Baltimore Sun website report]
PENNSYLVANIA ANNOUNCES $20-MILLION RAIL INVESTMENT: Governor Edward G. Rendell has announced the investment of $20-million to help seven railroads and five businesses undergo rail-freight improvement projects, stimulate economic development and reduce traffic congestion. Several of the grants are for projects that will provide local businesses with connections to rail lines. One project of this type is the investment in United States Gypsums proposal to construct 10 industrial tracks at its new wallboard manufacturing facility in Washingtonville. The tracks will be used to deliver incoming raw materials and to ship outbound products. The investment will also benefit railroad companies by providing funding for improvements such as track rehabilitation, bridge repair, and connections between rail lines. For example, the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company received a grant to rehabilitate three railroad bridges, including the replacement of bridge timbers on the 4,265-foot Allegheny River Bridge. Pennsylvania leads the nation with more than 65 operating railroads and ranks fifth in the nation with more than 6,000 track miles. More than 7,500 Pennsylvanians are employed by freight railroads. [United Transportation Union, 12-13-07, from PR Newswire report]
N.Y. STATE & AMTRAK RESOLVE TURBOLINER ISSUE: New York state and Amtrak have resolved a contract dispute and federal litigation over a so-far unsuccessful program to develop high-speed passenger rail service between New York City and the Albany area. The plan for "Turboliner" modernization ultimately ran years behind schedule and over budget. Under the terms of the settlement announced Dec.12, Amtrak will pay New York state $20-million. New York and Amtrak will jointly invest $10-million in infrastructure improvement projects on the Albany-New York City Empire Corridor. The New York State Senate High-Speed Rail Task Force will oversee those projects. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-12-07, from Associated Press report]
VIA RAIL TO REFURBISH 53 LOCOMOTIVES: Via Rail has signed a $101.5-million deal to overhaul its fleet of aging F40 locomotives and transform them into efficient workhorses for its passenger service. Via announced Dec.11 that 53 F40s - about 70 per cent of its fleet - will be refurbished by CAD Railway Services Ltd., which is wholly owned by Global Railway Industries Ltd. The retrofit will be conducted at CAD's Montreal factory and aims to extend the life of the 20-year-old F40s while also making them more environmentally friendly. Financing for the project will come from the $691.9-million the federal government set aside this fall to improve the sustainability and reliability of passenger-rail service in the country. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-12-07, from Canadian Press report]
AMTRAK DEPOT IN OSCEOLA, IOWA, TO BE RESTORED: Osceola's century-old passenger train depot, which serves Iowa's busiest Amtrak stop, is finally on track for a historic restoration. After years of efforts, the city acquired ownership of the brown brick depot in October from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, said Osceola Mayor Fred Diehl. The building, constructed in 1907, hosts nearly 16,000 passengers annually. Many riders have complained that the aging facility presents a poor image for the city. The station serves Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs daily in both directions between Chicago and the West Coast. The exterior depot repairs will cost an estimated $564,000, with most of the financing covered by a federal grant of $310,626 provided by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Money from city government, plus a share of Osceola's casino profits, will help pay the rest. The work should be completed next year. [United Transportation Union, 12-11-07, from Des Moines Register report]
VERMONT DROPS PLAN TO PURCHASE DMU'S FOR AMTRAK SERVICE: The State of Vermont has dropped its plan to purchase five diesel multiple-unit (DMU) cars to upgrade Amtrak's Vermonter service. Vermont's Agency of Transportation said on Dec.7 it had decided not to make the $17.5-million purchase, because carbuilder Colorado Railcar Manufacturing and Amtrak could not provide sufficient guarantees to buy back the cars or resell them at 90 percent of the purchase price after three years of service. The state required the guarantee in the event the rail cars failed to provide the promised savings. The DMUs would have been deployed on Amtrak's Vermonter service, financially supported by its namesake state, which runs from from St. Albans, Vt., to Washington, D.C. [RailwayAge.com, 12-10-07]
THREE CSX TRAINS DERAIL IN BALTIMORE IN TWO WEEKS: It's getting to be a bad habit. One's an accident. Two's a mistake. Three times we have a problem. For the third time in two weeks we are reporting on a train derailment in the heart of Baltimore. A CSX spokesman says three cars derailed in the freight yard off Pulaski Highway in East Baltimore. Two of the cars were carrying ethanol, which could have been hazardous if it leaked out. The third car was empty. Mayor Sheila Dixon says she's seen enough and she's calling for change. On Dec.7, a tank car derailed in Locust Point. It was part of a CSX train. And two weeks ago, 12 CSX cars near M&T Bank Stadium went off the tracks. They were carrying hazardous materials, but nothing leaked out. The local congressional delegation sent a letter to CSX and will meet with the company on Dec.12 to ask for improved safety. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-9-07, from ABC-2 News website report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN MAY BUILD WIND TURBINE AT ENOLA YARD: Norfolk Southern Railway is considering building the midstate's first full-size wind turbine in its Enola freight yard along the Susquehanna River. The wind turbine would be in the southeastern corner of the long and narrow rail yard and be 200-225 feet high, the equivalent of a 22-story building, rail officials told East Pennsboro Twp. officials. It would provide electricity to a new wastewater treatment plant. "They wanted to know if we were going to be negative, and if so, they would not pursue it," East Pennsboro Twp. manager Robert L. Gill said. "We're going to tell them to at least proceed." Rudy Husband, a railroad spokesman, said that a final decision on building the turbine won't be made until a feasibility study is completed. Those studies typically last a year and measure wind velocity and consistency. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-7-07, from Patriot-News website report]
U.S. RAIL CARLOAD TRAFFIC UP IN NOVEMBER: Carload freight was up on U.S. railroads during November, but intermodal volume was off slightly, the Association of American Railroads has reported. U.S. railroads originated 1,322,861 carloads of freight during the month, up 37,167 carloads (2.9 percent) from November 2006. Intermodal volume of 924,190 intermodal units was off 8,482 trailers and containers (0.9 percent) from November 2006. Ten of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in November 2007 compared to November 2006. [Assn. of American Railroads, 12-6-07]
RETRACTABLE CROSSING BARRICADES BEING TESTED IN MICHIGAN: Van Buren Township, Mich., is now home to the first grade crossing to feature retractable barricades designed to prevent motorists from driving around lowered gates when a train is approaching. The barricades, known as delineators, are part of a federal crossing safety test sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration and Norfolk Southern Railway. In cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, the parties will test and monitor the barricades for 17 months at a crossing on NS' line. Traffic-control system developer Intelligent Perimeter Systems recently installed the barricade system at the crossing, which is used by NS and Amtrak. The system features retractable barriers housed in self-contained, modular cartridges recessed in the ground. The barriers are electronically deployed when a train approaches a crossing. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 12-5-07]
SUPREME COURT RULING MAY LOWER R.R. TAXES: The Supreme Court has handed down a rulng that could help railroads lower their state property taxes by challenging tax assessments as discriminatory. In a case brought by CSX Transportation against the State of Georgia, the court ruled that a railroad may challenge the methods a state uses to fix the value of railroad property for tax purposes. Reversing a U. S. of Appeals ruling, the Supreme Court found that that railroads may challenge a property assessment under a federal law that prohibits states from taxing railroad property more heavily than other commercial property, the Associated Press reported. CSX had claimed that a new method of calculating assessments in Georgia increased its property tax bill nearly 50 percent in a single year. [RailwayAge.com, 12-5-07]
N.T.S.B. INVESTIGATING AMTRAK COLLISON IN CHICAGO: An Amtrak train traveling about 40 m.p.h. applied its brakes for nine seconds and skidded 400 to 500 feet before hitting a stopped freight train Nov.30, transportation officials said. The South Side crash injured 60 people and heavily damaged the trains and tracks. Federal investigators provided new details of the crash from information retrieved from the Amtrak train's "event recorder" which measures speed, brake application and acceleration. All passengers and crew members who were treated for injuries have been released from area hospitals, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said officials were on a "fact-finding" mission to determine why the Amtrak train from Grand Rapids, Mich. - minutes from its Union Station destination - rear-ended the 20-car Norfolk Southern freight train that had stopped on the same tracks. The Amtrak train was traveling about 35 m.p.h. at the point of impact, officials said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 12-2-07, from Chicago Tribune report]
AMTRAK TRAIN REARENDS FREIGHT TRAIN IN CHICAGO: Amtrak Pere Marquette train 371 rear-ended a Norfolk Southern freight train on the South Side of Chicago this morning [Nov.30]. The engine telescoped onto the rear well of a single-stack container car, while the three Superliner coaches remained on the track. Amtrak has reported 30 injuries, including five crew members who were seriously injured. Most of the 187 passengers and the other crew member left the train on their own power, and those who were injured suffered only minor injuries. Amtrak train service between Chicago and Michigan has been suspended, at least for the rest of the day. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 11-30-07]
FLORIDA TO BUY 61 MILES OF LINE FROM CSX: CSX has agreed to sell 61 miles of track to the State of Florida just in time to qualify the Central Florida commuter rail project for $180-million in federal funding. Florida plans to improve the railroad it now owns between DeLand, Orlando, and Poinciana. The first phase between DeBary and Sand Lake Road (in the southern part of Orlando) should be operational by 2010, with the full DeLand-Poinciana system up and running by 2013. Seventeen stations are expected. CSX and Amtrak will continue to operate over the state-owned trackage. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 11-30-07]
PROPOSED EJ&E SALE PUT ON HOLD: The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has put the brakes on the proposed sale of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad to Canadian National Railway Co. The agency said that it will conduct a full environmental impact study as it reviews CN's plan to buy the U.S. Steel-owned EJ&E for $300-million. Without the environmental impact study, a decision on the business aspects of the sale could have come by April. But it could take 18 months to several years, according to the STB. CN wants to buy the EJ&E so it can re-route traffic around congested tracks in Chicago. [United Transportation Union, 11-29-07, from Herald News report]
EMERGENCY BOARD ESTABLISHED FOR AMTRAK DISPUTE: Effective December 1, 2007, President Bush has established Emergency Board 242 to investigate collective bargaining disputes between National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and certain of its employees represented by certain labor organizations. Pursuant to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the Emergency Board will conduct a hearing and make a recommendation for settlement within 30 days of the President's creation of the Emergency Board. No work stoppages are permissible following the creation of the Emergency Board and for the 30 days following the date the Emergency Board has made its report to the President. [National Mediation Board, 11-28-07]
NEW TANK CAR STANDARDS TO BE DELAYED THREE MONTHS: The freight railroad industry has agreed to delay implementation of new design specifications for tank cars carrying chlorine and anhydrous ammonia until April 1, 2008. The standard, which would have required heavier, thicker steel shells and extra padding, was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, for newly purchased tankers. The Association of American Railroads agreed to the delay at the request of the Federal Railroad Administration, which plans to propose new federal design standards for hazardous material tank cars during the first quarter of the new year. The government's plan will target rail shipments of toxic inhalation hazards. [United Transportation Union, 11-28-07, from Chemical & Engineering News website report]
BOMBARDIER GETS BELGIAN LOCOMOTIVE ORDER: Bombardier Inc. has won a $260-million contract to supply an additional 35 freight locomotives for Belgian National Railway and maintain its fleet for 10 years. The order for the Traxx locomotives is an option from an initial order with pan-European leasing company Angel Trains for five locomotives dating back to March 2005. Angel leases the locomotives to Belgian National Railway's freight operating unit, B-Cargo. The railway has signed a 10-year agreement to maintain the 40 Traxx locomotives. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-27-07, from Canadian Press report]
MILWAUKEE DEDICATES REMODELED AMTRAK STATION: Milwaukee Intermodal Station was officially dedicated Nov.26 by numerous Wisconsin officials following the remodeling of the station. The station now serves Greyhound buses in addition to Amtrak's Hiawatha services to and from Chicago and Amtrak's Empire Builder. Travelers were able to use the new station for the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, prior to today's ceremony, but an Amtrak spokesman described the dedication today as "very upbeat and successful," indicating growing interest for rail and passenger intermodal options. Local area business interests, in conjunction with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority, are seeking to add commuter rail services to the region's transportation mix, using the new station as an intermodal hub. [RailwayAge.com, 11-26-07]
CSX FREIGHT TRAIN DERAILS IN BALTIMORE: Investigators are trying to determine why 12 cars of a CSX freight train jumped the track yesterday morning [Nov.24] near M&T Bank Stadium, just blocks from the site of the 2001 derailment and subsequent Howard Street Tunnel fire. Nobody was hurt in the incident, which tied up traffic in the Camden Yards area for hours. Like the July 2001 accident, it involved a CSX train carrying hazardous materials through the century-old downtown tunnel. But this time there was no spill or fire. Three of the cars that overturned or derailed shortly before 8 a.m. carried chemicals, but there was no leakage. The front part of the 131-car train had pulled into the Howard Street Tunnel when railroad cars 29 through 40 derailed a few blocks away under the Ostend Street bridge. A pile of toppled cars was strewn across the tracks. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-25-07, from Baltimore Sun website report]
OUTGOING CHAIRMAN SAYS AMTRAK BACK ON TRACK: Amtrak has restored its credibility and is not the financial basket case it was five years ago, the national passenger railroad's outgoing chairman said. But David Laney, whom President Bush did not nominate for another term on the board, told the Associated Press that there are probably some in the White House who would have preferred to see Amtrak eliminated. Laney's five-year term as a member of the board of directors expires at the end of November. At its Nov.8 meeting, the board chose Donna McLean, a transportation consultant and a board member since July 2006, to replace him. His one regret, he said, was Amtrak's failure to resolve a protracted labor dispute. Most Amtrak workers have been without a contract since the end of 1999. Amtrak's biggest critics say long-distance passenger rail - particularly trips that take more than a day - is an anachronism and that shorter trips could be run more effectively by the private sector. Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, said Laney turned out to be a better chairman than most rail supporters expected. He said Amtrak supporters were nervous when Laney considered breaking off the busy northeast corridor to be managed separately from the rest of Amtrak. But Capon said Laney allowed the idea "to die gracefully." The railroad has taken heat for failing to restore service east of New Orleans on the Sunset Limited, which until Hurricane Katrina went from Orlando to Los Angeles. Freight service was restored on the line long ago, but Amtrak has maintained the truncated route and kept silent on its future plans. Laney confirmed what most Amtrak watchers have long suspected. "You wont see the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans, and there will be changes west," he said. Still, Laney said some long-distance routes have potential. The Chicago-New York service, for example, could be popular if the trains were on time. For that to happen, Amtrak would need to cooperate with CSX Corp., which owns the track, to ease a bottleneck in Indiana, he said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-20-07, from Associated Press report]
OLD N.J. TRANSIT LOCOMOTIVES TO BE REBUILT: Electric locomotives almost two decades old have run up 1 million to 1.5 million miles. Now NJ Transit officials have decided it's time to rebuild them. The board of trustees has hired Interfleet Technology of Philadelphia for $2-million to inspect them and recommend technical upgrades. The overhaul is estimated at $48-million. NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles said it is cheaper to keep the locomotives than to buy new ones. The locomotive rebuilding is one to 1-1/2 years away, Sarles said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-20-07, from Asbury Park Press website report]
DENVER REVISES UNION STATION PLANS: A year after being selected to redevelop Denver's historic Union Station and the surrounding property into a mixed-use transit hub, Union Station Neighborhood Co. has altered its plan. The biggest changes include building the commuter- and heavy-rail tracks above ground and realigning the connection at 18th Street into the underground regional bus facility. Technology for the FasTracks system's Gold Line changed from light to commuter rail, making it necessary to add more tracks to that portion of the plan. Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration indicated it would be unlikely to approve putting Amtrak tracks underground. While it deviates from the proposal the developers unveiled to the public more than a year ago, the new plan gives the transit components more capacity - eight tracks instead of six - and the ability to expand. Construction could start by next summer. The initial plan called for the depot to be renovated and the light rail built by 2009. [United Transportation Union, 11-19-07, from Denver Post report]
CSX BOARD DEFENDS PERFORMANCE: The board of CSX Corp. in a letter to activist shareholder Children's Investment Fund, defended the company's management and financial performance. The shareholder, known as TCI, wrote to the railroad's board in October urging a number of corporate governance and business changes and complaining that CSX trails its peers "on virtually every major metric of operational and financial performance." London-based TCI owns about a 4.1 percent stake in CSX. TCI had proposed several ideas, including a leveraged buyout with management, taking on more debt to fund more share buybacks and doubling prices over the next 10 years. CSX, Jacksonville, Fla., disputed TCI's statements in its letter, saying the stock price has increased nearly 150 percent since current management took control in 2004. It noted that operating income for CSX Surface Transportation has nearly doubled in that time, while productivity and revenue initiatives have improved the operating ratio to its best level in a decade. The board also said safety and customer service levels have improved dramatically, cutting personal injuries by 50 percent and train accidents by 45 percent in the past three years. [United Transportation Union, 11-16-07, from Dow Jones Newswire report]
DONNA MCLEAN NAMED AMTRAK CHAIR: Amtrak recently named Donna McLean chairman to succeed David Laney, who will remain a board member until his term expires later this month. Appointed to the national intercity passenger railroad's board by President Bush and approved by the Senate in July 2006, McLean previously served as the board's vice chairman. She owns Donna McLean Associates L.L.C., a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in transportation policy. McLean previously served as chief financial officer and assistant secretary for budget and programs at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also held posts as assistant administrator for financial services for the Federal Aviation Administration and professional staff member for the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 11-16-07]
GERMAN RAIL STRIKE DISRUPTS TRAVEL: A bitter strike by train personnel in Germany has tied up freight traffic, shut down an auto factory and stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers in what has become the German state rail system's largest work stoppage. Since November 15, when the three-day strike spread from freight trains to commuter and long-distance service, Germans have gotten a taste of the chaos in France, where the railroads are also paralyzed. But while the French strike is the result of a power struggle between the labor unions and a new government, the German job action reflects what labor experts regard as a bold gamble by an isolated union. The locomotive drivers' union is demanding a 31 percent increase in wages from the Deutsche Bahn, far more than the 4.5 percent raises agreed to in July by the company's other, larger unions. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen. 11-16-07, from New York Times website report]
U.P. HIKES DIVIDEND: Union Pacific Corp. said it raised its quarterly dividend by 25.7 percent, or 9 cents, to 44 cents per share. The company paid a dividend of 35 cents in the prior quarter. Union Pacific has increased its quarterly dividend payment by 46.7 percent this year. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-16-07, from Associated Press report]
N.S. BEGINS TUNNEL CLEARANCE PROJECT: Construction has begun on the first of 28 tunnels along Norfolk Southern Corp.'s Heartland Corridor. Raising overhead clearances in 28 tunnels will allow double-stacked container trains to carry cargo on a more direct route from the Port of Virginia to the Midwest. The corridor will cut 200 miles and a day off travel time between Hampton Roads and Midwestern markets. Currently, construction crews are making a tunnel near Cowan, Va., taller. The project will take about three years to complete. By early January, Norfolk Southern plans to have begun work on three tunnels in Virginia near Eggleston and Pembroke and on eight tunnels in West Virginia. The remaining tunnels will be cleared in two phases. The entire project is expected to take three years. [United Transportation Union, 11-15-07, from VirginiaBusiness.com report]
CSX SLATED TO BEGIN LIFTING DERAILED COAL HOPPERS FROM ANACOSTIA RIVER: Officials with CSX Transportation said workers could begin pulling seven derailed coal cars from the Anacostia River on Wednesday [Nov.14]. The workers have been trying to lower impermeable curtains into the water to contain silt that might be stirred up from the riverbed when the cars are moved. [United Transportation Union, 11-14-07, from ABC-7 News website report]
STRIKE AFFECTS FRENCH COMMUTER TRAINS: Striking transport workers slowed France to a crawl Wednesday morning [Nov.14] as commuters, unions and the government dug in for a pivotal standoff over President Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to strip away labor protections he says are stifling growth. Railroads around the country were empty after workers for the SNCF rail authority launched an open-ended strike Tuesday night [Nov.13]. Paris transit workers joined Wednesday morning to protest plans to raise their retirement age. [United Transportation Union, 11-14-07, from Associated Press report]
F.R.A. OFFERS LEGISLATION FOR R.R. POLICE: The Federal Railroad Administration recently sent legislation to the nation's governors that aims to protect state authorities against "scam" railroad police personnel. If enacted by states, the legislation would ensure that "only individuals employed by actual railroad carriers, as defined by federal rail safety laws and confirmed in writing by the FRA administrator, are commissioned by state authorities to serve as railroad police officers," according to the FRA. In addition, the "model" state law would set minimum railroad police officer qualifications, such as passing a criminal background check and clearing a FBI fingerprint analysis. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 11-13-07]
TOM CARPER NOMINATED TO AMTRAK BOARD: Former Macomb, Illinois, Mayor Tom Carper has been nominated by President Bush to serve on the Amtrak board of directors. Carper, who lives in Macomb, is director of the West Central region for Opportunity Returns. His nomination must now be considered by the Senate Commerce Committee and the full Senate. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-12-07, from Peoria Jounal-Star website report]
CSX COAL TRAIN DERAILS IN WASHINGTON: A CSX coal train dumped about seven loaded coal cars into the Anacostia River Friday afternoon, Nov. 8. The Washington Post reported the derailment took place at the end of a rail bridge. There were no injuries, according to the D.C. Fire Department. A CSX spokesperson said no hazmat was involved, but a D.C. Fire Department emergency responder called coal in the river a hazardous material, and hazmat crews were on the scene. The derailment was the lead story on 6 p.m. newscasts of all four major news networks in Washington, and CNN provided live coverage. [United Transportation Union, 11-9-07]
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC DOWN IN OCTOBER: U.S. railroads originated 1,686,928 carloads of freight in October 2007, down 5,109 carloads (0.3 percent) from October 2006. U.S. railroads also originated 1,210,127 intermodal units in October 2007, a decrease of 46,775 trailers and containers (3.7 percent) from October 2006, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Nov. 9. Six of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in October 2007 compared to October 2006. [Assn. of American Railroads, 11-9-07]
ALBUQUERQUE TO BUY SANTA FE RAIL YARD: Railroad advocates said the move is a significant step in preserving the history of one of the last remaining steam-engine repair shops in the country. A bill passed by the Albuquerque City Council clears the way to rebuild the long-dormant rail yard in Barelas. The bill authorizes the city to buy the 27-acre rail yard property for $9.4-million before the option expires Dec.28. The property - which includes about 25 buildings from the old rail yard, including one that's 166,000 square feet - would be used in part to house a long-awaited Wheels Museum and at least 30 affordable housing units, as dictated by the legislation. Operating as a Wheels Museum is estimated to attract thousands of visitors annually, said Leba Freed, president of the museum. [United Transportation Union, 11-7-07, from Albuquerque Tribune report]
BNSF COMPLETES TRIPLE-TRACKING OF POWDER RIVER BASIN LINE: All 103 miles of the Powder River Basin Joint Line in Wyoming now has a third track. In a service advisory today, BNSF said the 12-mile final segment of third main track between Caballa Junction and Coal Creek Junction was opened on Oct. 24. Crossover and signal work continues between Cabllo Junction and Reno Junction and completion later this year will provide full benefits from the additional capacity, said BNSF. [RailwayAge.com, 11-2-07]
F.R.A. FINDS NO FAULT IN W.M. SCENIC R.R. ACCIDENT: The Federal Railroad Administration said it found no fault with the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in connection with an accident last week near Frostburg that left 11 passengers with minor injuries. Spokesman Warren Flatau said wet leaves on the tracks caused the steam locomotive to slide backward down a hill and slam into passenger cars from which it had decoupled. Railroad officials said the crew was preparing to reconnect the engine to the cars after having spread sand on the rails for traction. Flatau said wet leaves are a common hazard for railroads in the Northeast in autumn, and said the crew acted appropriately. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 11-1-07, from Associated Press report]
AMTRAK AND UNIONS ENTER COOLING-OFF PERIOD: The National Mediation Board confirms that, pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, AMTRAK and the eight unions were released by the National Mediation Board from statutory Mediation on October 31, 2007, and a 30-day cooling-off period commenced on November 1, 2007. Absent agreements or the establishment of a Presidential Emergency Board , the parties could exercise Self Help as of 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2007. In an effort to assist the parties further in reaching agreements, the NMB has scheduled public interest meetings commencing November 5, 2007. [National Mediation Board, 11-1-07]
MILL HALL, PA., TRAIN STATION MOVING TO LOCK HAVEN: It's moving day for a landmark in Clinton County, Pa. Crews are moving the historic Mill Hall train station to a new location behind Lock Haven City Hall. The roof was removed from the building on Oct.29 so it would be low enough to pass under signs and utility lines. The station had to be moved because Rightnour Manufacturing Co. in Mill Hall is expanding and needed the space where the station sat. [United Transportation Union, 10-30-07, from Associated Press report]
KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN REPORTS HIGHER 3-Q EARNINGS: Kansas City Southern (KCS) recorded third-quarter 2007 revenues of $444.1-million, a 6.8 percent increase over third-quarter 2006. Revenue gains were primarily attributable to volume growth in select commodity areas and a continued favorable pricing environment. Net income available to common shareholders in the third quarter 2007 increased by 58 percent to $41.8-million or $0.48 per diluted share, compared with $26.4-million or $0.32 per diluted share in the third quarter 2006. [Kansas City Southern, 10-25-07]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN QUARTERLY PROFIT FALLS: Railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp said Oct.24 quarterly net profit fell due to slower U.S. economic growth and a tax charge. The company reported third-quarter net income of $386-million or 97 cents a share, compared with $416-million or $1.02 a share a year earlier. Excluding a pre-announced charge of five cents per share related to new tax legislation in Illinois, earnings were $1.02 per share. [United Transportation Union, 10-24-07, from Reuters report]
TALGO TRAINSETS RETURNED TO CASCADES SERVICE: All Spanish-made rail cars that were withdrawn from Amtrak Cascades passenger service between Seattle and Eugene, Ore., in August have been repaired and are back in use. Cascades trains returned to normal fall-winter schedules Oct.21 with restoration of all amenities, including business class, checked baggage and feature movies, following the completion of repairs on the last of the Talgo cars in Seattle, according to an Amtrak news release. Cascades trains between Vancouver, B.C., and Eugene are operated by Amtrak under contracts with the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation, while Talgo is responsible for maintenance of the rail cars. [United Transportation Union, 10-24-07, from Seattle Post-Intelligencer report]
GENESEE & WYOMING TO BUY MARYLAND MIDLAND: Maryland Midland Railway Inc., a 70-mile short-line railroad that primarily serves Lehigh Cement Co. in Carroll County, is being sold for about $29.1-million to Greenwich, Conn.-based Genesee & Wyoming Inc., operator of close to 50 short-line and regional freight railroads worldwide. Situated near the York Railway that Genesee & Wyoming already owns, Maryland Midland could eventually link up with that southeastern Pennsylvania line, executives from Maryland Midland and Lehigh, its biggest shareholder, have said. The Union Bridge cement operation, which will keep its 12.6 percent stake in the railroad, hopes the Genesee acquisition will eventually give it access to more competitive rail transfer rates. Headquartered near the Lehigh plant in Union Bridge, Maryland Midland's tracks run from Taneytown south to Walkersville, and from Highfield across Carroll and Frederick counties to Baltimore County. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 10-23-07, from Baltimore Sun website report]
AMTRAK RIDERSHIP REACHES NEW RECORD: A record 25.8 million passengers took Amtrak in the last fiscal year, an increase of 1.5 million over fiscal 2006, the national passenger railroad said Tuesday. Ridership for the year ended Sept.30 surpassed the previous record of 25.03 million set in 2004, before Amtrak transferred some services to a commuter rail operator. Ticket revenue increased 11 percent to $1.5-billion from $1.37-billion in 2006. Total revenue was $2.2-billion, Amtrak said. That number includes money states pay for specific trains and revenue from other contract services. Amtrak received $1.3 billion in federal funding for fiscal 2007. The Northeast saw the biggest leap in revenue - by 14 percent to $829.3-million, Amtrak said. The Acela Express, Amtrak's high-speed Boston-Washington service, experienced a 20 percent jump in ridership to 3.1 million passengers and a 23 percent increase in revenue to $403.5 million. [United Transportation Union, 10-23-07, from Associated Press report]
BNSF REPORTS RECORD 3-Q EARNINGS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation has reported all-time record quarterly earnings. Quarterly earnings were $1.48 per diluted share, or 11 percent higher than third-quarter 2006 earnings of $1.33 per diluted share. Freight revenues increased $133-million, or 4 percent, to $3.95-billion compared with the third quarter of 2006. Operating income of $1-billion increased $80 million, or 9 percent, compared to the same 2006 period. [BNSF, 10-23-07]
UNION PACIFIC PROFIT RISES: Union Pacific Corp posted a better-than-expected jump in quarterly profit due to higher freight volumes and strong pricing. But the railroad warned that in the short-term it was cautious about the shape of the U.S. economy and challenges posed by higher fuel prices. The company reported third-quarter net income of $532-million or $2.00 per share, compared with $420-million or $1.54 per share a year earlier. Revenue in all the railroad's freight commodity classes was up except for industrial products, where revenue fell four percent. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 10-18-07, from Reuters report]
CSX REPORTS 3-Q EARNINGS: CSX Corporation reported third quarter 2007 net earnings of $407-million or 91 cents per share, including 24 cents per share from discontinued operations. In the same quarter last year, the company reported earnings of $328-million or 71 cents per share, including 17 cents per share from insurance gains and the resolution of certain tax matters. On a comparable basis, excluding these items, earnings per share from continuing operations increased 24 percent on a year-over-year basis. [CSX, 10-17-07]
C.N. OPENS NEW RAIL TERMINAL IN PRINCE RUPERT: A bit more than two weeks before the first ship is scheduled to arrive at the Fairview container terminal in Prince Rupert, CN Rail opened its $20-million intermodal and distribution centre terminal for business in Prince George Oct.15. Company spokeswoman Kelli Svendsen said the announcement means the facility is now ready to accept customers who want to use the service to export their goods to Asia. The first container ship, operated by Shanghai-based Cosco Container Lines Americas Inc., the world's sixth-largest shipping company, is expected to arrive in Prince Rupert on Oct. 31. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 10-16-07, from Prince George Citizen website report]
TWO FIRED IN RUNAWAY V.R.E. LOCOMOTIVE INCIDENT: A Virginia Railway Express locomotive that rolled through the Fredericksburg area two weeks ago was unlike any other. The unoccupied, 118-ton engine was under repair in Spotsylvania County when it took off for a six-mile run on the CSX main line before it was stopped in southern Stafford County. It reached a top speed of 40 mph. No one was injured when the runaway locomotive left the VRE storage and maintenance yard off the U.S. 17 bypass on the evening of Sept.26. But the incident resulted in the dismissal of two Amtrak-contract employees who repair VRE trains. Remaining employees were put through a 72-hour training session to review safety measures. Amtrak workers were replacing brakes on the locomotive when it began to move. The workers had not blocked the locomotive's wheels or applied the emergency brake, two required protocols, it was reported. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 10-10-07, from Fredericksburg.com report by Kelly Hannon]
S.T.B. APPROVES 130-MILE RAIL LINE FOR MONTANA COAL COUNTRY: Federal officials on Oct.9 announced approval of the final stretch of a long-delayed $341-million rail line that could open southeastern Montana's vast but largely untapped coal fields to more intensive development. The Tongue River Railroad, first proposed in 1983, would run 130 miles from Miles City to Decker - into the heart of the coal-rich Powder River Basin along the Montana-Wyoming border. Area landowners have fiercely fought the proposed line, fearing it could industrialize a rural area now dominated by agriculture. Permits from state and federal agencies are still needed, and rights of way through private and public property must be secured before the line can be built. Also, an unresolved 1998 federal lawsuit hangs over the project, meaning the line could get tied up in court before construction begins. The transportation board's announcement involved a 17-mile stretch of the line near Decker that had not been included in prior approvals. Other sections had been approved in 1986 and 1996. Environmental hurdles, litigation and financing difficulties had delayed further progress on the project. [United Transportation Union, 10-10-07, from Billings Gazette report]
TRAIN & BUS COLLIDE IN CUBA, AT LEAST 28 KILLED: State television said late Oct.6 that a bus collided with a train in eastern Cuba, killing at least 28 people and injuring another 73, including 15 reported to be in critical condition. The collision occurred in a small town in the province of Granma at a railroad crossing, and the train dragged the bus before the bus fell below a bridge. [United Transportation Union, 10-7-07, from Chicago Tribune report]
ST.CHARLES STREETCAR LINE TO RESUME SERVICE IN NOVEMBER: The famed St. Charles Avenue streetcar line in New Orleans will return to service in November after being severely damaged in Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has announced plans to open the downtown portion of the line by November, and the rest of it in the first quarter of 2008. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 10-5-07]
AT LEAST 13 KILLED IN TRAIN STATION STAMPEDE IN INDIA: Officials said at least 13 elderly women traveling to a Hindu festival were trampled to death and 42 others were injured Wednesday (Oct. 3) in a northern Indian railway station when two trains arrived on adjacent platforms. The stampede occurred at the station in Mughalsarai, about 215 miles southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. The 13 dead women had tripped in the crowd and "people just trampled over them," said a police official. [United Transportation Union, 10-4-07, from Associated Press report]
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC DOWN IN SEPTEMBER: U.S. railroads originated 1,340,285 carloads of freight in September 2007, down 11,536 carloads (0.9 percent) from September 2006, says the Association of American Railroads. U.S. railroads also originated 963,278 intermodal units in September 2007, a decrease of 24,625 trailers and containers (2.5 percent) over September 2006. Five of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in September 2007 compared to September 2006. U.S. intermodal traffic is not included in carload figures. [Assn. of American Railroads, 10-4-07]
UNION PACIFIC MOVES RECORD VOLUME POWDER RIVER COAL: Union Pacific set an all-time coal loading record in the Southern Powder River Basin in September 2007, moving an average of 37.1 trains a day for a total of 1,114 trains loaded in a 30-day month. UP also set a seven-day record in the last week of the month, with 278 trains loaded, a daily average of 39.7. UP, which shares the SPRB Joint Line with BNSF Railway, said a Joint Line daily record was also set Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, with 79 trains loaded both days. In September, UP reported 110 missed SPRB loading opportunities, 86 of which were attributable to mines, 10 to the Joint Line, one to utilities, and 13 to events on the UP. The railroad said these missed opportunities were partially offset with 43 extra loadings. [RailwayAge.com, 10-3-07]
CSX BUYS LAND FOR FLORIDA TERMINAL: CSX Corp. has acquired 318 acres from the City of Winter Haven for a state-of-the-art intermodal and automotive terminal. Evansville Western Railway, Inc., a CSX affiliate company, acquired the property. CSX made the move in part to reroute some freight operations in central Florida to accommodate planned commuter rail operations in a four-county area, with Orlando as the hub. A Development of Regional Impact review will be conducted to evaluate the effects of the terminal on the region. The company will work with the state and Polk County in an effort to address any concerns identified. [RailwayAge.com, 10-1-07]
C.N. TO CLOSE STEVENS POINT DISPATCHING CENTER: Canadian National Railway Co. will close its dispatch operations in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, by the middle of next year. A spokesman for the railroad said the decision was made to 'consolidate' the dispatch operations out of Chicago. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 9-27-07, from Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers report]
TALGO TRAINS RETURNING TO CASCADES SERVICE: Passengers riding Amtrak's Cascades trains between Eugene and Vancouver, B.C., may soon have quicker, sleeker journeys. That's because Amtrak plans Saturday [Sept.27] to begin returning the region's Spanish-built Talgo trains to service, swapping out substitutes loaned from stations around the country. In August, inspectors found cracks in the suspension of the linked "trainsets," resulting in service disruptions and use of loaner railcars that operate at slower speeds, said Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman in Oakland, Calif. The repaired trainsets will be rotated back into service one at a time starting this weekend. The repairs are expected to be complete by early November, Graham said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 9-27-07, from Oregonian website report]
MARC PLANS SERVICE EXPANSION: The Maryland Transit Administration is planning a sweeping expansion of its popular but crowded MARC commuter train service, including weekend runs and additional weekday trains by next year and a tripling of the system's capacity by 2035. The detailed blueprint, outlined in a briefing by MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld, envisions a system that eventually would stretch from Virginia to Delaware and have the capacity to carry more than 100,000 riders a day. The plan, the cost of which would amount to billions of dollars over the next 28 years, would add tracks in areas that are bottlenecks and would increase the frequency of train arrivals. It would bring new interconnections with existing and future transit lines and create a new transportation hub at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Although many of the changes would not occur until much of today's work force is long retired, the plan also includes improvements that current riders would see between now and next summer. MTA's near-term plans include additional trains on the Penn Line, some of which would operate on weekends, and a midday train on the Camden Line. [United Transportation Union, 9-24-07, from Baltimore Sun report]
HANCOCK INTERLOCKING TOWER CLOSES: Known as 'HO' Tower, located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, this historic sentinel to railroading had soldiered on for about a century. It was one of the last mechanical interlockings remaining in the country. Built for the B&O Railroad (now CSX), the tower closed on September 18, 2007, one day following a signal cutover that removed its function as an interlocker.
F.E.C. LINE SALE GETS HUGE BIKE TRAIL PLAN ROLLING: The longest and most expensive rails-to-trails project in Florida history will clear its last hurdle if the Florida Cabinet approves $16-million to buy 52 miles of old rail bed connecting Brevard and Volusia counties. The deal marks a milestone in a 14-year effort to turn the abandoned tracks into trails for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and other nonmotorized modes of transportation. The East Central Regional Rail-Trail will be the longest abandoned corridor acquired in the Southeast and one of the last great long corridors available in Florida. [United Transportation Union, 9-19-07, from Orlando Sentinel report]
FOSTORIA, OHIO, RAILFAN PARK GETS FEDERAL GRANT: Federal transportation enhancement funds will provide more than $800,000 toward converting an abandoned factory site in Fostoria into a park where train enthusiasts may watch the 100 or more trains that traverse the city on an average day, the Ohio Department of Transportation has announced. The grant for the Fostoria Iron Triangle Visitors' Center represents the second-largest of 13 awards, exceeding $7.3 million statewide, that ODOT announced for the 2010-2011 budget cycle. The announcement gives Fostoria a green light to plan for a viewing platform, restrooms, parking lots, and landscaping on the five-acre site bound primarily by three main railroad lines that pass through, and intersect in, the city, Mayor John Davoli said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 9-7-07, from Toledo Blade website report]
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC DOWN IN AUGUST: U.S. railroads originated 1,685,238 carloads of freight in August 2007, down 17,008 carloads (1.0 percent) from August 2006, according to the Association of American Railroads. U.S. railroads also originated 1,195,390 intermodal trailers and containers in August 2007, a decrease of 52,263 units (4.2 percent) from August 2006, the AAR said. [Assn. of American Railroads, 9-6-07]
CP RAIL PLANS TO BUY DM&E: Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. plans to acquire Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. for $1.48-billion to benefit from rising demand for moving coal and other commodities. The price may rise by as much as $1-billion, depending on construction costs for a project in Wyoming and future payments related to coal deliveries, Calgary-based Canadian Pacific said in a statement. The company expects to complete the purchase of closely held Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern within two months. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 9-5-07, from Bloomberg News report]
HUDSON, N.Y., AMTRAK STATION TO GET $6-MILLION UPGRADE: As part of a $22-million commitment signed this week to create high-speed rail service and revitalize rail service in the New York State, Sen. Steve Saland (R-41) has announced $6-million for improvements at the Hudson Rail Station. The new funding will pay for an overhead walkway, a platform on the river side and an elevator. [United Transportation Union, 9-5-07, from Hillsdale Independent report]
RUNAWAY CHLORINE TANK CAR ROLLS THROUGH LAS VEGAS: Officials are investigating how a runaway chlorine tank car rolled for 20 miles through Las Vegas before train crews stopped it. A Union Pacific Railroad official says no one was hurt, there was no damage and there was no leak in the mishap about 9 a.m. Aug.29. Authorities think it was an accident. The tanker rolled from a siding several miles south of Las Vegas to a site several miles north of North Las Vegas. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 8-30-07, from Associated Press report]
WARREN BUFFETT BOOSTS HOLDINGS IN BNSF: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has boosted its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., the second-largest U.S. railroad, by 24 percent. Berkshire bought 10.1 million more shares of the Ft. Worth-based railroad, in which it was already the biggest shareholder, the Omaha-based company said in a regulatory filing. The most recent investments, valued at more than $806-million, increase Berkshire's stake in the railroad company to 14.8 percent. [United Transportation Union, 8-28-07, from Chicago Tribune report]
COST ESTIMATES FOR PARADISE TRAIN STATION INCREASE FOUR-FOLD: Cost estimates for an Amtrak Keystone station in Paradise, Pennsylvania, have increased by 400 percent after original plans were deemed by the Federal Railroad Administration to be not in compliance with new Americans with Disabilities Act guidance. The $2.4-million plans would have to be scrapped in favor of a $10-million station, possibly placing the entire project in jeopardy. Paradise Township Supervisor Dennis Groff noted: "Plenty of people would benefit from having a station here, even those with disabilities. So, how would handicapped folks benefit if the station can't be built at all?" [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 8-24-07]
RHODE ISLAND AIRPORT TRAIN STATION PLAN REVIVED: A long-stalled plan to build a transportation hub at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., is again moving forward. State Department of Transportation officials have reached a preliminary agreement with Amtrak to allow MBTA commuter trains to connect Warwick to Boston. Details of the agreement are not yet public, said DOT Deputy Director William Alves. But the provisional deal clears the way for construction on the $222.5-million facility, scheduled to start "any day now," according to the state Airport Corporation. Beyond rail service, the six-story station will feature a rental-car concourse and parking garage with spots for commuters traveling to Boston. The facility will straddle the train tracks and connect to the T.F. Green terminal by a 1,250-foot elevated sky bridge that will wind over Post Road. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 8-22-07, from Providence Journal website report]
POUGHKEEPSIE BRIDGE GETS ENGINEERING & DESIGN GRANT: The Dyson Foundation announced August 21 it will spend $1.5-million toward the engineering, inspection and design phase of the planned construction for public access of the Walkway Over the Hudson. The walkway, utilizing the historic 6700-foot Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, will connect Poughkeepsie with Highland offering a panoramic vista of the Hudson River. The bridge has been unused by trains since a fire occurred on the bridge in 1974, and then was abandoned. The project is expected to be complete with a pedestrian walkway atop the bridge in 2009 to serve as a focal point for the 400th anniversary celebration of Henry Hudson's first exploration of the Hudson River.
NEW SECTION OF HERITAGE RAIL TRAIL OPENS: York County, Pennsylvania, officially opened a one and one-half mile section of a new portion of the Heritage Rail Trail with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at John Rudy Park north of York August 20. MORE..
VRE HAS IMPROVED ON-TIME RECORD: Most Virginia Railway Express trains have run on time this summer, thanks in part to a change in CSX Corp. policies on heat restrictions affecting train speeds, the Free Lance Star reports. Even with temperatures reaching into the upper 90s, VRE has managed to deliver Fredericksburg Line trains on time 86 percent of the time in June, and 87 percent in July. That's a gigantic improvement from last summer, when Fredericksburg Line riders had roughly 50-50 odds of pulling into the station on schedule. Flooding and heat restrictions combined last year for an average on-time rate of 60 percent in June 2006 and 47 percent in July 2006. So far this year, the railway had just three days with heat restrictions in May, five days in June and three days in July. "It's sort of a confluence of events that have helped us do this," said Mark Roeber, VRE manager of government relations and public affairs. The Quantico Creek bridge opened, adding track capacity. And CSX has a new dispatch supervisor, he said. [United Transportation Union, 8-16-07, from Free Lance Star report]
SPRINGFIELD, MA, UNION STATION MAY BE RESTORED: Springfield, MA, may see its Union Station revived after the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority received seven proposals this week to move forward with a $350,000 study to examine the feasibility of restoring multimodal passenger service to the long-vacant building (Amtrak has a modest station at track level). If restored, Union Station would be a hub for PVTA, Amtrak, Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines, and future commuter rail service to Connecticut. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 8-10-07]
CASCADES SERVICE RESTORED WITH MODIFIED SCHEDULES: Amtrak has restored Cascades service to normal frequencies effective Aug.9 on a modified schedule utilizing Amfleet and Horizon equipment as well as substitute motorcoach service. This modified service will continue until issues with cracks in the suspension systems of the Talgo trainsets can be resolved. As of press time, Amtrak's reservation system shows the modified schedules as being in effect through Sunday, October 28. Due to Amfleet cars being pulled away from the Northeast Corridor for Cascades service, Amtrak is temporarily canceling certain Regional trains that operate on a less-than-daily basis. Please check with Amtrak for specific service changes. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 8-10-07]
WALTER RICH DIES, N.Y.S.W. OWNER: The short-line industry has lost one of its most "tireless and dedicated" leaders. Walter Rich, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Delaware Otsego Corp., and owner and head of the firm's New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway Corp. (NYSW) subsidiary, died Aug.9 after an eight-month battle with cancer. He was 61. Rich had served holding company Delaware Otsego since 1971 and was chief executive officer of NYSW - a 400-mile short line operating in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania - since 1980. In 1988, he headed an effort to save the bankrupt Delaware & Hudson Railway, which NYS&W operated under emergency orders from the Interstate Commerce Commission until the property was sold to Canadian Pacific Railway. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 8-10-07]
N.J. TRANSIT ADDING MORE MULTILEVEL CARS TO SERVICE: NJ Transit will begin running its new multi-level rail cars on seven new Northeast Corridor trains starting Aug.13. The new six-car set of the multi-level trains will replace an eight single-level cars on trains that leave Trenton for New York at 5:10 a.m., 8:51 a.m. and 2:38 p.m. and trains that leave New York for Trenton at 6:31 a.m. , 11:01 a.m., 4:28 p.m. and 8:07 p.m., NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said. The new trips will bring to 13 the number of daily Northeast Corridor trains on which the multi-level cars are in service. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 8-9-07, from Jersey Journal report]
BALTIMORE CITY RAISES CONCERN OVER FIVE CSX BRIDGES: Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) and city and state lawmakers demanded Aug.8 that railroad conglomerate CSX fix its crumbling bridges in Baltimore before it's too late. Dixon called the condition of the Fort Avenue Bridge a "top priority," while state lawmakers appealed to the governor and Maryland's transportation secretary to throw their weight into the effort. CSX owns the Locust Point bridge that leads to Fort McHenry, as well as four other "structurally deficient" bridges in Baltimore. For more than a decade, the company and the city have argued over whose job it is to maintain the ailing spans. Deputy Mayor Andy Frank said Wednesday that city officials, who will meet with CSX representatives Aug.9, expect the railroad company to produce a list by early next week of exactly what the company is prepared to repair and replace. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 8-8-07, from Baltimore Sun website report]
TALGO EQUIPMENT SHOPPED DUE TO CRACKS: Amtrak removed all Cascades Talgo trainsets from operation last night [Aug.2] after cracks were found in the suspension system of some Talgo cars. Nearly all Cascades trains have been annulled through Sunday, August 5, with no alternate transportation provided. However, trains 510 and 517 (the Seattle-Vancouver, BC, Canada round-trip), which operate with Superliner equipment, will continue to operate as usual, as will the Coast Starlight and Cascades Thruway motorcoaches. [National Assn. of R.R. Passengers, 8-3-07]
TRAIN DERAILS IN CONGO, KILLING ABOUT 100: Officials said Aug.2 that a passenger train derailed in central Congo and eight cars tumbled off the tracks, killing about 100 people and trapping some passengers in the wreckage. The accident occurred after the brakes failed as the train traveled between the city of Ilebo and the provincial capital of Kananga, said Medard Ilunga, head of Congo's state railway agency. Seven cars overturned and an eighth went partly off the tracks just before midnight Aug.1, about 100 miles northwest of Kananga, Ilunga said. The conductor was able to detach the locomotive and go for help. The accident "resulted in a heavy toll of about 100 dead," government spokesman Toussaint Tshilombo Send told The Associated Press. Dozens of people were injured, but officials did not provide a specific figure or give any details of the wounds. [United Transportation Union, 8-2-07, from Associated Press report]
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC DOWN IN JULY: Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off again during July, according to the Association of American Railroads. U.S. railroads originated 1,250,961 carloads of freight in July, down 39,196 carloads (3.0 percent) from July 2006. They also originated 913,590 intermodal trailers and containers during the month, down of 24,570 units (2.6 percent) from July 2006. [Assn. of American Railroads, 8-2-07]
TRAIN COLLIDES WITH VAN IN RAIL YARD, KILLING DRIVER: A Union Pacific train struck a van as it crossed tracks inside a Nebraska rail yard July 28, killing one and injuring two others. Scotts Bluff County officials said Gilbert Weidner, 76, of Mitchell, died after the train struck the van he was driving shortly before 3 a.m. One of Weidner's passengers suffered a broken jaw; the other passenger only suffered minor injuries. The collision happened on a private road Union Pacific owns within the rail yard. [United Transportation Union, 7-30-07, from KETV website report]
U.T.U. LOCAL OFFICIAL SENTENCED IN EMBEZZLEMENT: A federal judge in Baltimore ruled July 27 in Baltimore that a former United Transportation Union local treasurer will spend six months in prison and six months on home confinement after pleading guilty to embezzling $45,000 from the organization. From 1999 through 2004, Walter Fisher served as the secretary-treasurer of the United Transportation Union Local 1949. The local had about 250 members during that time who were yardmasters with CSX, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and Conrail in New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. [United Transportation Union, 7-28-07, from Baltimore Sun report]
ALBANY & EASTERN R.R. SOLD: The Albany & Eastern Railroad Company will have new owners effective August 1. Rick and Bernice Franklin have purchased the privately owned rail line from Mike Root, who has operated the Lebanon (Oregon)-based shortline system since 1998. The railroad carries lumber and plywood, grain, grass seed and wood pellets, among other items, to and from mid-valley businesses. Rick Franklin said the purchase is a natural fit for his other business, Rick Franklin Corp., which since 1974 has assisted the railroad industry with derailment repairs, rail siding repairs, extension and maintenance, rail car dismantling, rail car leasing, heavy hauling, excavation, road building, site cleanup and creating bridges from old railroad cars. The railroad operates on 67 miles of track, from Albany to Lebanon where it splits and goes from Lebanon to Mill City or Lebanon to Foster. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-26-07, from Albany Democrat-Herald website report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN REPORTS 2-Q EARNINGS: For the second quarter of 2007, Norfolk Southern Corporation reported net income of $394-million or $0.98 per diluted share, compared with $375-million or $0.89 per diluted share for the same period of 2006. Income from railway operations increased two percent to $690-million and set a second-quarter record. The railway operating ratio improved from 71.7 to 71.0 percent. [Norfolk Southern, 7-25-07]
BNSF REPORTS 2-Q EARNINGS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation has reported quarterly earnings of $1.20 per diluted share, compared with second-quarter 2006 earnings of $1.27 per diluted share (which included a $0.04 benefit from lower income tax rates). Freight revenues were $3.74-billion for the second quarter and were four percent, or $144-million higher compared with the second quarter of 2006. Operating income was $841-million, compared to second-quarter 2006 operating income of $864-million. The decrease in operating income reflects a $93-million increase in fuel expense principally resulting from a decline in fuel hedge benefit of $122-million. [BNSF, 7-24-07]
BNSF INCREASES ITS DIVIDEND: Directors of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation voted July 19 to increase BNSF's next quarterly dividend by 28 percent or 7 cents per share, to 32 cents per share on outstanding common stock. This represents an annualized $1.28 per share dividend. [BNSF, 7-19-07]
AMTRAK TRAIN STRIKES AUTO IN FLORIDA, KILLING FOUR: Four people were killed when a car was struck by an Amtrak train on tracks on Wabash Avenue in West Lakeland, Florida, July 16. There were no injuries on the train, police spokesman Jack Gillen said. CSX spokesman Gary Sease said a video taken from a nearby business showed the car going around another vehicle that was stopped and waiting for the train at the crossing and then going around the crossing gate and into the path of the train. Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said the train, the Silver Star, was on its way from Miami to New York with 161 passengers aboard. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-16-07, from Lakeland Ledger website report]
BOLIVIA PLANS TO NATIONALIZE ITS RAILROADS: President Evo Morales announced plans to nationalize Bolivia's railroads, continuing his administration's campaign to extend greater state control over key sectors of the Andean nation's economy. Speaking at the inauguration of a restored steam train for tourists outside La Paz, Morales said he intends to recover control of former state rail company Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles, or ENFE, privatized in 1996. "We must begin the rehabilitation of our railways," Morales said, after traveling from the Tiwanaku ruins to Lake Titicaca on the new line. "This inspires us, this obligates us, this is the start of the nationalization of ENFE." Bolivia sold a majority share in ENFE to the Chilean company Cruz Blanca in 1996, which discontinued most passenger routes - including lines to La Paz - in favor of freight service. Cruz Blanca later sold the western portion of the railway to the Chilean company Luksic Group, and in 2000 sold the eastern portion to the U.S. company Genessee & Wyoming Inc. [United Transportation Union, 7-15-07, from Associated Press report]
MICHIGAN CENTRAL TO BEGIN FREIGHT SERVICE IN 2008: The Michigan Central Railway will begin freight service using 384 miles of rail in Michigan and Indiana in 2008. The new Michigan Central Railroad will operate over these segments: Jackson-Lansing; Grand Rapids-Elkhart, IN; and the Ypsilanti-Kalamazoo part of the Chicago-Detroit line Amtrak uses. The Michigan Central also will acquire Norfolk Southern's trackage rights on the Amtrak-owned line between Kalamazoo and the Michigan/Indiana state line. The acquisition must be approved by the Surface Transportation Board, expected later this month. Michigan Central has committed to continue operating-and through the investments mentioned above plans to improve-Amtrak's Chicago-Detroit service. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 7-13-07]
TENNESSEE SOUTHERN ACQUIRES TEN GP10 LOCOMOTIVES: Patriot Rail subsidiary Tennessee Southern has taken delivery of six refurbished GP10 locomotives from National Railway Equipment Co. Newly painted in TS's red, white, and blue color scheme, the locomotives have been upgraded with the N-Force wheel slip system that gives 1,700-h.p. locomotives the traction effort of 2,300-h.p. units. The GP-10s will replace older locomotives in TS's fleet. [RailwayAge.com, 7-13-07]
HIGH-SPEED RAIL WOULD COST BILLIONS, AMTRAK PRESIDENT SAYS: Even if it spent $7-billion on track upgrades, Amtrak couldn't reduce the travel time between Washington and New York to less than 2 hours and 20 minutes, which is only 25 minutes less than the trip now takes, the company's president has told Congress. The statement by Alex Kummant came during a presentation on the federally funded railroad's capital needs July 11. During the hearing, members of the House transportation committee expressed frustration about the lack of truly high-speed rail service in the U.S. The closest thing Amtrak has to high-speed service is the Acela Express, the railroad's premier Washington-Boston train, which travels at an average speed of 82 miles per hour and reaches 150 mph in parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut. In other parts of the country, where Amtrak runs trains on congested tracks owned by the freight railroads, speeds can be far slower and delays are frequent. But even on the northeast corridor, it would be impossible to maintain speeds of 125 to 150 mph on the entire route using the current infrastructure, which Amtrak shares with numerous commuter lines and some freight carriers, Kummant has said. Such speeds - which could cut the trip from Washington to New York down to about an hour and a half - would require a dedicated line, he reiterated. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-11-07, from Associated Press report]
TOWER OPERATORS KEEP RAIL TRAFFIC ON TRACK: High up and out of sight, three men in a brick tower push the levers that move trains through a crucial, high-speed junction of the Northeast Corridor - the line that carries more railroad passengers than any other in the country. Now that most train movements are controlled remotely by computer, the old-fashioned job of train signaling may seem like a long-lost art. But at this tower in Rahway, men operating levers, gears and switches still do work that has become a point-and-click exercise almost everywhere else. MORE.. [United Transportation Union, 7-9-07, from Herald News feature]
FLORIDA FAULTS CSX BILLING: A recent audit from the Florida Department of Transportation's inspector general says CSX railroad billed south Florida's transportation agency for nearly $290,000 of "unreasonable and unallowable" costs. The auditors found, in part, that the company applied overtime pay rates to regular hours. It also charged for workdays exceeding 24 hours. A series of stories in The Tampa Tribune has found similar problems in government road projects involving CSX Transportation in the Tampa Bay area. In several cases, there were discrepancies between CSX labor charges and contractor time sheets, a problem auditors noted in the South Florida project. The South Florida audit raised so many questions that the auditors plan to examine the rail company's charges on projects elsewhere, audit director Joe Maleszewski said July 6. The agency has yet to select a project for review. [United Transportation Union, 7-7-07, from Tampa Tribune report]
HISTORICAL MARKER TO HONOR MONON RAILROAD: Stretching 525 miles, the Monon Railroad's size wasn't a good measure of how much it benefited Indiana. The railroad that began in 1847 in New Albany and eventually connected the Ohio River to Lake Michigan helped farmers get produce to markets that otherwise were nearly impossible to reach during that time, historians said. On July 14, the railroad - originally the New Albany and Salem Railroad - will be recognized, with a state historical marker being placed where it started. The railroad started when area farmers could trade only within their communities and needed a way to reach other cities. So James Brooks and other businessmen from New Albany and Salem built the railroad. By 1854, it connected New Albany and Michigan City. [United Transportation Union, 7-6-07, from Courier-Journal report]
LOCOMOTIVE RESTORATION GAINS STEAM: Heber Valley Railroad is raising money to restore its 100-year-old steam locomotive, No. 618. It is one of three steam and two diesel engines the railroad operates for special events and regularly scheduled excursions. No. 618 was built in 1907 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. It carried freight in Utah, Idaho and Montana until 1957, when Union Pacific donated it to Utah and it was put on display at the state fairgrounds. In 1971, Utah lawmakers created what is now the Heber Valley Railroad and appropriated $1-million to restore and start the line. Since then, HVRR has been financially independent. Now, good ol' No. 618 is due for major work at an estimated cost of $725,000. The railway received a grant to fund half of the project with the stipulation that HVRR must raise all the money 30 months after the restoration work begins. The Heber Valley Railroad currently has $500,000, and hopes to begin work this winter. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-6-07, from Salt Lake Tribune website report]
U.S. RAIL TRAFFIC DOWN IN JUNE: U.S. freight railroad carload traffic fell 2.7 percent in June 2007 compared with June 2006, while intermodal traffic fell 1.8 percent compared with the same month last year, the Association of American Railroads has reported. Overall, U.S. railroads originated 1,344,296 carloads of freight in June 2007, down 37,679 carloads (2.7 percent) from June 2006. U.S. railroads also originated 961,545 intermodal units in June 2007, a decrease of 17,956 trailers and containers (1.8 percent) from June 2006. [Assn. of American Railroads, 7-5-07]
CSX TO MOVE DISPATCHING POSITIONS FROM JACKSONVILLE: CSX Corp. plans to idle up to 300 local jobs as it shunts the majority of its train dispatch operations outside Florida. The Jacksonville work will, over the next two years, be moved to existing offices in Baltimore; Nashville; Huntington, W. Va.; Cincinnati; Florence, S.C.; and Atlanta. Once the transfer of work is completed in August 2009, the Jacksonville operation will employ about 54 train dispatchers. Jacksonville-based CSX has four dispatch centers, located in the Midwest and East Coast, responsible for routing trains along its tracks. Most dispatchers have been concentrated in Jacksonville since 1988, when the company established a centralized operating facility that oversees the entire network. The relocation will improve the productivity and efficiency of train dispatching operations, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said July 6. "We're taking these dispatching functions out of headquarters," Sease said, "and putting them into field offices, closer to where the train operations occur." The realignment will result in more effective and efficient decision-making, improved system reliability and improved train performance, CSX said in a notice to train dispatchers. [United Transportation Union, 6-30-07, from Florida Times-Union report]
SIX UNIONS OK PACT WITH RAILROADS: Six of seven unions representing workers at major U.S. railroads have agreed to a contract that includes a 17 percent general wage increase over five years, labor groups said. The contract includes a cap on health-care contribution costs and at least a temporary halt to rail companies' efforts to reduce train crews to one person, union officials said. Negotiations on the contract concluded in May after more than two years of bargaining. The unions submitted the tentative agreement to their members for ratification, and final results were received June 25. The contract will remain effective until Dec. 31, 2009. Wage increases included retroactive pay, said John Bentley, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The rail unions had formed a labor coalition to negotiate with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which negotiates on behalf of the railroads, including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX Corp. and Kansas City Southern. Approving the contract were the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU, and the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association. The American Train Dispatchers Association did not ratify the agreement. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-26-07, from Omaha World-Herald website report]
GENESEE & WYOMING TO LIQUIDATE MEXICAN OPERATIONS: Railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc. said it started liquidating its Mexican operations as the business was not financially viable without the reconstruction of hurricane-damaged Chiapas rail line. The company's unit expects to wind down operations and discontinue rail service over the next four weeks, apart from ending a 30-year concession from the Mexican government. The company expects charges of about $12-million, or 30 cents a share, in 2007, majority of which will be recorded in the second quarter. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-25-07, from Reuters report]
CANADIAN NATIONAL ORDERS 65 NEW LOCOMOTIVES: Canadian National Railway Company said it will acquire 65 new high-horsepower locomotives in 2007 and 2008, in addition to 65 locomotives already on order for delivery this year. CN's latest orders are for 40 ES44DC locomotives from GE Transportation Rail, a unit of General Electric Company, and 25 SD70M-2 locomotives from Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. [Canadian National, 6-21-07]
SWITZERLAND OPENS WORLD'S LONGEST RAIL TUNNEL: Switzerland opened the 21.5-mile Lotschberg Tunnel beneath the Alps, the world's longest railway land tunnel and part of the country's plan to shift freight traffic off the roads and speed up passenger transportation. It joins Frutigen near the capital, Bern, in the north with Raron in the Rhône Valley to the south, cutting travel time for trains crossing from Germany to Italy by about 90 minutes and bringing skiers to resorts like Zermatt more quickly. [United Transportation Union, 6-16-07, from Bloomberg News report]
N.J. TRANSIT TO BUY 45 MORE MULTILEVEL CARS: NJ Transit will buy 45 new multilevel rail cars rather than spend millions overhauling single-level cars that have been in service since 1990. The agency's board voted June 13 to exercise an option in a contract with Bombardier Transportation to buy the additional cars for $67.3-million. The order brings to 279 the number of multilevel cars Bombardier will deliver to NJ Transit by the middle of 2009. [United Transportation Union, 6-14-07, from Star-Ledger report]
AMTRAK TO ADD SECOND CASCADES TRAIN INTO B.C.: An agreement between Washington State, British Columbia, BNSF Railway Company and Amtrak to make infrastructure improvements will permit a second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. An announcement regarding the service was made at the King Street Station in downtown Seattle on June 8, by Gov. Chris Gregoire and Premier Gordon Campbell. The Province of British Columbia, Amtrak, and BNSF are funding the $7-million project, which includes construction of a new 11,000-foot siding track near Colebrook Road in Delta, B.C. The new siding track will allow for passenger and freight trains to pass one another at this location. The new passenger rail service could begin operating in summer 2008. Construction is scheduled to begin next month. [Amtrak, 6-13-07]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN PROPOSES $2-BILLION RAIL CORRIDOR: Norfolk Southern Corp. is proposing a $2-billion-plus rail corridor stretching from Louisiana to New Jersey to capture more cargo being moved by trucks on highways. The project, called the I-81 Crescent Corridor, would speed cargo shipments while reducing congestion on such highways as Interstate 81 in western Virginia, the railroad said. The plan involves upgrading and expanding existing rail lines to accommodate more, faster trains; purchasing new locomotives and railcars; and building new terminals in Maryland and Tennessee and improving others. It is far more ambitious than the roughly $253-million Heartland Corridor that Norfolk Southern is building to shave a day's transit time off cargo shipments between the port of Hampton Roads and the Midwest. As with the Heartland Corridor, Norfolk Southern says public dollars are necessary for the Crescent Corridor. The federal government and several states are bankrolling $163-million of the Heartland Corridor's cost, including $22-million from Virginia. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-7-07, from Virginian-Pilot website report]
CSX HIRING IN MARYLAND: CSX Transportation is recruiting 34 conductors in the Frederick County, Md., area, the Frederick News-Post reports. The employees are needed because of increased demand for rail freight transportation, CSX spokeswoman Meg Saks said. Brunswick's CSX location is 100 S. Maple Ave. Recruited conductors from the Frederick area would travel to Brunswick, 33rd Street Southwest in Washington, or Gaithersburg. Applicants must apply using the careers link at the company's website, www.csx.com. Conductors assist train engineers in reading and obeying signals, safety and operating rules, track speed, and communications, Saks said. They also operate switches, inspect trains and make minor repairs. [United Transportation Union, 6-6-07, from Frederick News-Post report]
TRUCK STRIKES TRAIN IN AUSTRALIA, 11 KILLED: At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured in Australia's worst rail crash in 30 years June 6 when a huge truck ploughed into a passenger train at a level crossing, police said. Witnesses reported the fully-laden truck slammed at high speed into the train, made up of an engine and three carriages, leaving 'a big gaping hole' in the side of one carriage and almost derailing the others. About 24 people were hurt, five seriously, when the semi-trailer cut the train in two as it crossed the Murray Valley Highway on its way to Melbourne, police said. A Victoria Police spokesman said the death toll rose to 11 after nightfall and could rise further as rescuers searched the wreckage of the train under floodlights for missing passengers on the manifest. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-5-07, from Thompson Financial report]
AMTRAK DEAL BRINGS BACK THE LUXURY OF TRAIN TRAVEL: In an attempt to increase ridership, Amtrak is reaching back to the luxurious train journeys of the past. Beginning this fall, travelers with an extra few days and money to spare will be able to climb aboard seven richly equipped vintage Pullman cars attached to Amtrak trains on three routes. The promotion is a test of a partnership between Amtrak and GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, an Evergreen, Colo., company formerly known as the American Orient Express. It is the first time that the national passenger-rail service will be an active participant in promoting luxury travel, said Cliff Black, an Amtrak spokesman. Although Amtrak has partnered with private companies as a vendor in the past, this is the first time it will be involved in a joint marketing plan. During the test period from October until January 2008, the service will be provided on Amtrak's Silver Meteor, which travels from Washington to Miami through West Palm Beach, Fla.; the Southwest Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago; and the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. The trips' prices will range from $789 to $2,000 per person for one-to two-night journeys. The new price makes luxury train travel more accessible to a larger audience of train fans who cannot afford the traditional GrandLuxe nationwide tours that cost up to $7,000 per person. Luxury sleeping cars equipped with hotel-like comfort, a lounge with a live pianist and a dining car that offers five-course meals are just some of the amenities of the seven-car train set. Each combined train can carry up to 47 GrandLuxe passengers. Both Amtrak and GrandLuxe expect to profit from the partnership by expanding their market reach, company officials said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-31-07, from Cox News Service report by Brittany Levine]
JOHN SYTSMA DIES, FORMER BLE PRESIDENT: John Frederick Sytsma, former international president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, died May 29. He was 85. Funeral services will be held in Salt Lake City June 2. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-31-07]
USDOT SELECTS CSX LINE 'TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR OF THE FUTURE': The U.S. Department of Transportation recently chose CSX Transportation's I-95 corridor as one of 14 finalists for a 'Corridor of the Future' program. A component of the USDOT's transportation congestion reduction strategy formulated in May 2006, the program aims to identify key transportation corridors. The agency will select up to five Corridors of the Future in summer. CSXT has established a long-term plan to address increasing passenger and freight traffic on the 1,200-mile I-95 corridor between Washington, D.C., and Miami. As part of its capital spending budgets of $1.5-billion in 2007, $1.6-billion in both 2008 and 2009, and $1.7-billion in 2010, the railroad will build and improve track and facilities along the route. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 5-31-07]
CHINA SUSPENDS MAGLEV PROJECT OVER RADIATION CONCERNS: State media reported May 26 that China has suspended a planned magnetic levitation rail route linking Shanghai and Hangzhou, partly because of residents' concerns that the trains would emit radiation, according to this Reuters report. Shanghai's talks with German suppliers, including Siemens, to extend the high-speed line to neighboring Hangzhou were already complicated by recent accidents involving maglev trains and by cost concerns. The Xinhua news agency said thousands of residents living on the proposed route had been petitioning for a suspension of the $4.5-billion project, fearing the high-speed trains would produce radiation. The project was designed to span 100 miles, and trains on the track would run at a maximum speed of about 280 miles per hour. [United Transportation Union, 5-27-07, from New York Times report]
AMTRAK TRAINS LOSING RAILFONES: Railfones will be removed from Amtrak trains that still have them effective June 1. The proliferation of personalized cell phones has rendered the service not cost effective. Phone service on board trains could be found as early as the 1920's (by physically connecting a cord to the train at longer station stops), but it was the original Pennsylvania Railroad/Penn Central Metroliners of the 1960's that helped pioneer what we now know as cell phone technology. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-25-07]
BNSF GETS NEW-DESIGN BALLAST CARS: FreightCar America, Inc. has announced delivery of 162 electrically operated all-steel ballast cars to BNSF Railway from its railcar production facility in Johnstown, Pa. These are the first ballast cars BNSF has acquired in over 20 years. They have higher capacity at 110 tons and feature a new technology operating system for the discharge doors. The cars are designed with a new electric, solar-powered activation system, whereby ballast can be dumped remotely by radio control. [FreightCar America, 5-25-07]
G.E. UNVEILS FIRST HYBRID ROAD LOCOMOTIVE: GE has announced the debut of its one-of-a-kind hybrid road locomotive at its Ecomagination event in Los Angeles. GE's Evolution Hybrid locomotive will be unveiled May 24 at LA's historic Union Station to demonstrate the progress that GE's Transportation business is making in developing a freight hybrid locomotive that is capable of recycling thermal energy as stored power in on-board batteries. This demonstration hybrid unit will be one of many technologies featured at the Ecomagination event that are developed and used in the rail industry to reduce smog-causing emissions, including Nitrous Oxide emissions, and particulate matter. Ecomagination is GE's initiative to bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet their most pressing environmental challenges. [GE, 5-23-07]
SPIRIT OF WASHINGTON DINNER TRAIN SEEKS NEW ROUTE: The popular Spirit of Washington Dinner Train's 15-year run between Renton and Woodinville's Columbia Winery must end July 31. A widening of Interstate 405 through Bellevue will sever the tracks by wiping out the Wilburton Tunnel, which carries southbound freeway traffic beneath the railway. Insiders are optimistic that ongoing talks between the Dinner Train operator and BNSF Railway will yield a new route between Woodinville and Snohomish. If all goes well, the train and its 100,000 yearly riders could be heading into the historic riverside city by fall. Meanwhile, King County, the Port of Seattle and BNSF continue to hash out a complex, three-way deal involving Boeing Field, $169 million from Port coffers and 42 miles of track between Snohomish and Renton. That stretch of rail includes both the existing and hoped-for Dinner Train routes. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-23-07, from Seattle Times website report]
METRO-NORTH STATION TO SERVE YANKEE STADIUM: MTA Metro-North Railroad and New York City are close to finalizing agreements for a new commuter-rail station to be built on the Hudson Line near Yankee Stadium. Scheduled to open in second-quarter 2009, the station will feature two 10-car island platforms with four staircases and two elevators that connect the platforms to a 10,000-square-foot covered mezzanine. From the mezzanine, a 450-foot overpass will lead to the stadium. Metro-North has agreed to provide $52-million to fund the station construction, ticketing facilities, customer information center and half the cost of the mezzanine. The agency would operate and maintain the station and mezzanine. New York City would provide $39-million to pay for the other half of the mezzanine's cost and a pedestrian overpass. Metro-North projects between 6,000 and 10,000 people will use the station on game days. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 5-22-07]
MASSACHUSETTS ADVANCES SOUTH COAST RAIL PROJECT: The state of Massachusetts is moving forward with plans to provide commuter-rail service between Boston and the state's south coast by 2016. Last week, Gov. Deval Patrick's administration launched a $2-million economic development and land use study of the corridor, and named Kristina Egan of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance the South Coast Rail project manager. The 18-month study, which will analyze employment opportunities and new housing potential along the line, will be conducted by a working group comprising representatives from the governor's administration, regional planning agencies and community groups. The study team will be co-chaired by Egan and Bob Mitchell, special assistant for planning initiatives for the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 5-21-07]
AMTRAK RIDERSHIP UP: Amtrak's Fiscal year-to-date ridership is up 5 percent versus last year. President and CEO Alex Kummant said, "Amtrak has seen record ridership increases for each of the past three years, and these mid-year numbers suggest that they will continue." [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-18-07]
TOWER BEING BUILT FOR VIEW OF NEBRASKA RAIL YARD: Ground was broken May 17 for Nebraska's latest tourist attraction. There are lots of train enthusiasts eager for a bird's-eye view of North Platte's Bailey Yards from atop the $4.5-million Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center. "Ask any Union Pacific worker and they'll tell you there's tremendous, in fact extraordinary, fascination with railroads," Gov. Dave Heineman told a crowd of about 100 people attending the groundbreaking ceremony. The event was 11 years in the making because of changes in the tower's design and location, increased costs and harsh opposition from some North Platte residents, who went to court in a bid to stop it. The Golden Spike initially was conceived to compete with Kearney's Great Platte River Road Archway Monument and to capitalize on the lure of the Bailey Yards, where 140 trains a day pass through and 10,000 railroad cars are sorted on a maze of tracks. [United Transportation Union, 5-17-07, from Omaha World-Herald report by Paul Hammel]
NORTHERN CENTRAL RAILROAD TRAIL DEDICATED TO ENVIRONMENTALIST: Torrey C. Brown, retired physician and one-time secretary to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, was honored on May 16 as the Northern Central Railroad Trail was dedicated in his honor. At ceremonies attended by about 150 people at a trail parking lot near Ashland, Dr. Brown was praised by John Griffin, current secretary of Natural Resources, and by others, for his role in spearheading the development of the 20-mile trail during his tenure with the department in the 1980's, and for his leadership in environmental issues. The trail, which uses the former roadbed of the one-time Northern Central Railway, connects Ashland with the Pennsylvania State Line where the trail continues northward as the Heritage Rail Trail to York, Pennsylvania.
TWO SEPTA TRAINS CRASH IN TUNNEL, 35 HURT: Two SEPTA Regional Rail trains crashed during last night's [May 14] rush hour in the tunnel shortly after leaving Market East Station, resulting in dozens of people reporting injuries and delays in train service. "There were approximately 35 minor injuries," said SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax. After the crash, SEPTA ordered the trains to continue to the next stop - Temple University Station, near Berks and Ninth Streets in North Philadelphia - so the injured would be closer to medical care and the passengers would not have to evacuate the trains in the tunnel, Fairfax said. Outside Temple University Station, the street was thick with ambulances and other aid vehicles that had rushed to remove those needing help. Emergency workers carried several passengers on stretchers down the station steps. Some were in neck braces. Most appeared to be commuters. The cause of the crash was still under investigation last night, but Fairfax said that at about 5 p.m., an R6 train bound for Norristown crashed with an R5 train headed for Doylestown. Both northbound trains were on the same track. Fairfax said he did not know whether both trains were moving at the time of the accident. If they were, they did not appear to be moving at a high speed, he added. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-15-07, from Philadelphia Inquirer website report]
SIX KILLED IN CROSSING ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA: An Amtrak train collided with a compact sports utility vehicle May 8 near Modesto, killing a woman and all five children inside the car. None of the 70 passengers or crew members aboard the Oakland-bound train was injured, Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said. Shortly after 2 p.m., the driver of a Chevrolet Tracker stopped on the tracks before the railroad crossing arms came down, said Steve Mayotte, chief of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District. She attempted to back up and then drive forward to escape the approaching train, he said. The four-car train was traveling from Bakersfield to Oakland when it collided with the vehicle about nine miles northeast of Modesto. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-8-07, from Associated Press report]
FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP AGREES TO BUY FLORIDA EAST COAST: Fortress Investment Group LLC, the first U.S. manager of private equity and hedge funds to go public, agreed to buy real estate developer and railroad operator Florida East Coast Industries Inc. for $3.5-billion. The $84-a-share offer represents a 13 percent premium over yesterday's [May 7] $74.13 closing price for Florida East Coast, the company said. Investors pushed up the shares to one percent more than the proposal from Fortress, suggesting another bidder may emerge. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-8-07, from Bloomberg News report]
USED RAIL COACHES RELIEVE CROWDING IN CONNECTICUT: The Connecticut Department of Transportation says it is repairing used rail cars from Virginia for use on Metro-North Railroad and Shore Line East Commuter Rail, but it is still short of adding the 2,000 seats promised for the New Haven Line. Since a $3.2-million deal to repair and refurbish 33 used cars was reached a year ago, the contractor, Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. in Yonkers, N.Y., has delivered 24 cars to the state, said Eugene Colonese, rail administrator in the DOT's rail bureau. The state has added 13 cars to Shore Line East and Metro-North's Waterbury branch and is testing 11 more for service, Colonese said. The state agreed to purchase 33 used rail cars from Virginia Railway Express three years ago as part of an initiative to add seats to the overcrowded New Haven Line before new rail cars arrive in 2009. [United Transportation Union, 5-7-07, from Stamford Advocate report]
PATRIOT RAIL CORP. BUYS MONTANA SHORT LINE: Patriot Rail Corp., a freight railroad holding company, has announced the purchase of Rarus Railway Corp., a short line railroad headquartered in Anaconda, Mont., according to this release issued by Patriot. Rarus provides freight service over 26 miles of main line track between Anaconda and Butte, Mont. In addition, it operates 40 miles of rail line located in four switching yards and numerous passing sidings along the route. Rarus also operates a fully equipped 20-bay locomotive roundhouse, wheel shop and machine shop in West Anaconda. In 2006, the railroad hauled 11,512 carloads, primarily copper tailings, impacted soils, copper concentrates and slag with its fleet of 12 locomotives. The acquisition includes the Copper King Express, a popular excursion train that last year carried approximately 10,000 round-trip passengers between Anaconda and Butte. Patriot said it will continue to operate the express and is developing a program to expand ridership and provide additional services. [Patriot Rail Corp., 5-1-07]
U.P., N.S. TO IMPROVE EASTBOUND TRANSCON SERVICE: Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway will significantly improve eastbound domestic transcontinental service from Los Angeles to the Southeast on May 21. The service improvement in this important high-volume lane will result from shifting traffic from the Memphis gateway to the new Shreveport, La., gateway. This new route, combining Union Pacific's Sunset Route between Los Angeles and Texas with Norfolk Southern's and Kansas City Southern's joint venture line between Shreveport and Meridian, Miss., is nearly 150 miles shorter than the current route, making it the shortest, fastest and most reliable intermodal route between Los Angeles and the Southeast. [Joint NS/UP press release, 4-30-07]
RAILROAD MUSEUM IN MEDINA, N.Y., GETS PAIR OF E-8 LOCOMOTIVES: Back in the day, about 40 or 50 years ago, the locomotives ran on the New York Central route from New York City to Chicago. Now a pair of E-8 Heritage locomotives are coming to the Medina Railroad Museum, having been retired from their posts on the Central route. The machines will be unveiled April 29 in nearby Lockport, Niagara County, before moving to the museum in June. The locomotives have their original numbers - 4068 and 4080 - and original paint schemes, said railroad museum president Jim Dickinson. The museum opened in 1999 in what organizers say is the one of the largest wooden freight depots in the country - 301 feet by 34 feet. The place now has more than 6,000 artifacts, such as railroad lanterns, keys and watches, as well as an enormous model train layout and diorama. The E-8 locomotives have not run for two or three years and need some sprucing up, Dickinson said. Once that work is done, he hopes to offer longer excursions, to places such as Cleveland. [United Transportation Union, 4-29-07, from Rochester Democrat & Chronicle report]
NEW LUXURY TRAIN ON TRANS-SIBERIAN ROUTE: The 5,800-mile Trans-Siberian Railway, from Moscow to Vladivostok, is about to have a new train on its tracks. On May 6, the Golden Eagle, a luxury private train with 21 carriages, including two restaurants and a bar car, will make its inaugural 14-night journey on that route, which has been in service since 1916. The train's gold-class passengers will stay in 77-square-foot rooms with flat-screen TVs, DVD and CD players, air-conditioning and bathrooms. Silver-class berths, 60 square feet, are similarly appointed. An English company, GW Travel, plans to run two trains on the line from May to November. The gold-class fare on the Golden Eagle is $11,995 a person, double occupancy, each way, while silver class is $9,995 a person, double. Fares include meals on board and excursions in Kazan, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Khabarovsk, among other stops. [United Transportation Union, 4-29-07, from New York Times report by Jennifer Conlin]
SEPTA TO BUY 16 ADDITIONAL SILVERLINER CARS: At its regular monthly board meeting April 26 the SEPTA Board approved a staff proposal to add an additional 16 Silverliner V regional rail cars to its initial purchase of 104. An option for the purchase of the additional cars was included in the original contract with United Transit Systems, LLC (a Consortium of Sojitz Corporation of America and Rotem Company) for the purchase of the railroad cars which was initially approved by the Board in March 2006. [SEPTA. 4-26-07]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN REPORTS 1-Q EARNINGS: Norfolk Southern Corp. said April 25 its first-quarter profit fell seven percent, despite the railroad's efforts to trim operating costs with fewer automakers and home builders shipping parts and building materials. Quarterly earnings dropped to $285-million or 71 cents per share in the quarter ending March 31, from $305-million or 72 cents per share during the same period last year. Revenue declined two percent to $2.25-billion from $2.3-billion. Chief Executive Wick Moorman said the results were encouraging in light of the softness in the economy. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-25-07, from Associated Press report]
BNSF REPORTS 1-Q EARNINGS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation has reported quarterly earnings of $0.96 per diluted share, which included a $0.14 charge for additional environmental expenses and a technology system write-off, compared with first-quarter 2006 earnings of $1.09 per diluted share, which included a $0.04 per share line sale gain, according to this release issued by the company. [BNSF, 4-24-07]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN TO PURCHASE FUEL-EFFICIENT YARD ENGINES: Railpower Technologies Corp., a leader in specialized energy technology systems for the transportation industry, has announced that Norfolk Southern Railway purchased two Railpower RP-series multi-engine, low-emission, fuel-efficient kits to build yard locomotives, for delivery in 2007. The purchase order includes an option for Norfolk Southern to purchase additional units in the future. Under the terms of the purchase order, Norfolk Southern will complete the conversion of two conventional locomotives using SW1500 platforms with Railpower-supplied kits for the model RP14BD, the Company's newest yard locomotive. The kits will include all components, drawings and necessary engineering support. The work will be performed by Thoroughbred Mechanical Services ("TMS"), at Norfolk Southern's Juniata Locomotive Shop located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. [Railpower Technologies, 4-20-07]
UNION PACIFIC PROFITS UP IN 1ST QUARTER: Union Pacific Corp. has reported a 24 percent jump in net income in its first quarter, driven by improved pricing and increased efficiency. Net income for the three months ended March 31 was $386-million or $1.41 per share, compared with $311-million or $1.15 per share in the same quarter last year. The results beat projections the Omaha-based railroad made in January, when it forecast first-quarter earnings per share of $1.25 to $1.35. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-19-07, from Omaha World-Herald website report]
RAILAMERICA REORGANIZES WITH FIVE OPERATING REGIONS: RailAmerica Inc. continues to make operational and personnel changes since Fortess Investment Group L.L.C. acquired the firm in February. The owner of 42 regionals and short lines in the United States and Canada announced plans to reorganize from three business units into five operating regions led by regional vice presidents. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 4-19-07]
CSX REPORTS 1-Q EARNINGS: CSX Corporation has reported first quarter 2007 earnings of $240-million or 52 cents per share, including insurance recoveries of $18-million or 2 cents per share. Last year the company reported first quarter earnings of $245-million or 53 cents per share. [CSX, 4-17-07]
CSX GETS OK TO BUILD INTERMODAL YARD IN PENNSYLVANIA: CSX Transportation has a green light in Guilford Township, Pa., to begin constructing a rail-truck yard expected to add about $1-billion to the regional economy within 10 years, the Chambersburg Public Opinion reports. Guilford Township Supervisors approved final plans for a 114-acre yard where tractor-trailer-sized containers will be unloaded from trains onto trucks. The yard is between Kriner and Country roads on the southwest side of the existing railroad. The yard initially will employ 35 people, but by 2017 will be responsible for 1,500 to 5,000 additional jobs along the Interstate 81 corridor, according to an economic impact analysis by HDR/HLB Decision Economics Inc., Silver Spring, Md. Excavation is to begin before the end of April and should be operating in October. [United Transportation Union, 4-10-07, from Chambersburg Public Opinion report]
WARREN BUFFETT'S FIRM ACQUIRES 10.9 PERCENT STAKE IN BNSF: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought a 10.9 percent stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. to become its largest shareholder at a time when rail stocks were hovering close to their all-time highs. Berkshire had accumulated 39 million shares of the second-largest U.S. railroad as of April 5, paying between $81.18 and $81.80 for the final 1.6 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, made his investment name by transforming Berkshire from a failing textile manufacturer into a $168-billion holding company by buying stocks that were out of favor. He told investors in his annual letter in 2000 that what gets Berkshire's attention is "a comfortable business at a comfortable price." Buffet told CNBC that he bought stakes in two other major North American railroads. Buffett, who declined to identify the companies, said he invested $700-million in one railroad and slightly less in the other. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-9-07, from Bloomberg News report]
FRENCH TRAIN REACHES 357 MPH IN TEST RUN: A double-decker train raced through the French countryside at a record 357 mph April 3., the Associated Press reports. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, said she was the only American on board when a train operated by the French high-speed rail system surpassed the previous mark for conventional rail of 320.2 mph, which was set in 1990 by another French train. A magnetically levitated Japanese train holds the ultimate speed record of 361 mph. Ma said the approximately 15 minute ride was "pretty amazing." "It felt like we were ready to take off on the runway in a plane," she said. "That steady acceleration ... feeling and force." [United Transportation Union, 4-4-07, from Associated Press report]
RICHARD SARLES NAMED N.J. TRANSIT DIRECTOR: The board of New Jersey Transit has named as its new executive director an employee who has shepherded a massive $7.5-billion tunnel the state is building with New York. Richard Sarles, 62, has worked at the transit agency for five years overseeing all capital programs, said state Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri, who serves as NJ Transit's board chairman. He previously worked at Amtrak for six years and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 28 years. Sarles takes over for George D. Warrington, who left last month after five years in the job. [United Transportation Union, 4-2-07, from Associated Press report]
CN RAIL SEES 1ST-Q PROFIT DECLINE: Canadian National Railway Co. said on March 29 it expects its first-quarter profit to decline five to 10 percent from year-earlier results because of bad weather and a strike. CN said it expects diluted earnings to fall five to 10 percent below the 2006 first-quarter figure of 66 Canadian cents a share. Severe weather and landslides in western Canada, and a strike by train conductors in February have hampered the railway's plans to get operations back on track, it said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-29-07, from Reuters report]
FRA FINDS VIOLATIONS BY CSX: Federal railroad officials said March 27 that an investigation found more than 3,500 problems with CSX railroad properties in 23 states, a probe started in response to a series of accidents involving the company's trains. The Federal Railroad Administration's inspection, conducted over four days in January after a derailment on Jan 16 in East Rochester, N.Y., recommended that CSX be fined for 199 violations, including failure to replace defective rails, failure to make repairs and improper handling of hazardous materials. Joseph Boardman, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, said in a prepared statement that CSX "is still not doing enough to make safety a top priority." The agency's inspectors, he said, "identified problems in every area of the company's safety performance, including track, hazardous materials and on-track equipment." In the inspection, federal railroad inspectors found 3,518 defects, or less-severe problems with railroad equipment or operating practices - such as not using radios or switches properly. A violation is a more serious infraction that usually mean a penalty. CSX, in a prepared statement, said it would "continue to work closely and promptly" with federal railroad officials to solve the issues identified. The company said its safety record has been improving with an overall 24 percent reduction in train accidents last year. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-28-07, from Associated Press report]
END OF LINE FOR RAIL TOWER: The historical structure called the Elvas Tower in Sacramento, unremarkable in appearance but noteworthy for its importance to railroading, is no longer needed, having been replaced by computers. Plans to move the little tower, which in its heyday was manned 24 hours a day, never materialized. The relocated tower was to stand in a future railroad technology museum in the downtown railyard, said Paul Hammond, director of public programming for the state Railroad Museum. But the museum does not yet have title to the property where the tech museum would be situated. So, windows, signs and artifacts have been salvaged by the California State Railroad Museum crews to be used for a future Elvas Tower replica building. The building also was measured and photographed for replication. A Union Pacific spokesman said he did not know when the shell of the building would be torn down. The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento was given the building by the Union Pacific Railroad and had plans to move it. To relocate the building, organizers wanted to saw off the second story and move it. But that didn't happen for several reasons, including lack of a place to relocate it in the downtown railyard and also because there was still some live signal wiring inside the tower. The museum now has the Elvas Tower historic interlocking console in its possession for future placement in a replicated tower. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-26-07, from Sacramento Bee report]
BROKEN RAIL MAY HAVE CAUSED ONEIDA EXPLOSION: Federal investigators have discovered possible internal defects in a section of broken rail where a freight train left the tracks and several tank cars exploded in Oneida March 12. The National Transportation Safety Board found "pieces of rail at the accident site that were broken ... and showed signs of internal defects near the point of derailment," according to an NTSB memo written March 22. Investigators recovered the broken rail pieces, including about two feet of rail on either side of the broken track, and sent them to the NTSB laboratory to be analyzed, the memo said. Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in Washington, said it will take "a few months" for the laboratory to make any conclusions. [United Transportation Union, 3-25-07, from Post-Standard report by Mark Weiner]
1ST GENERATION JAPANESE BULLET TRAINS RETIRING: When they first appeared they promised to rocket Japan into the future, but now the first generation of Shinkansen bullet trains is set to retire. The 0 series trains, known for their round noses, have been in service since the bullet train made its debut on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in 1964. The 0 series, the world's first commercial train that clocked a speed of more than 200 kph, earned the moniker, "dream super express." Only six trains, each consisting of six cars, are running as the Kodama service on West Japan Railway Co.'s Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata. JR West, which will introduce the latest-generation N700 series in July, plans to draw the curtain on the aging 0 series cars. A total of 3,216 cars were made up to the end of 1986, when the 0 series went out of production. [United Transportation Union, 3-21-07, from Asahi Shimbun report by Tetsuji Hamada]
CREW ERROR BLAMED IN 2005 MISSISSIPPI HEAD-ON COLLISION: By failing to stop at a signal, a northbound CN train may have caused the fatal, head-on collision with another CN freight train traveling south near Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 2005, according to documents in a federal investigation. That crash in Anding on July 10, 2005, killed four crew members who were operating the trains and touched off a massive fire fueled by 24,000 gallons of spilled diesel. About 50 residents were evacuated from Anding as a precaution. The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings on March 21. The northbound train involved in the crash consisted of four locomotives and 137 cars, most of them empty. It was traveling at 45 mph when it hit the southbound train. The southbound train, composed of two locomotives and 107 cars, was traveling at 23 mph when it approached the site of the accident. The crash resulted in more than $10-million in losses, mostly to the railroad. The NTSB has spent more than 18 months investigating the crash, interviewing dozens of witnesses and collecting information on the trains and their crew members. The crash occurred about 4:15 a.m. in a curve. "The dispatching plan called for the northbound train to hold the main track at Anding siding while the southbound train passed through the siding," according to documents. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-21-07, from Jackson, Miss., Clarion-Ledger website report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN TO ENLARGE TUNNELS ON HEARTLAND CORRIDOR: Norfolk Southern Railroad officials are working on a major project that will enlarge train tunnels along the Heartland Corridor. Joe Maynard, assistant superintendent of Norfolk Southern's Pocahontas Division, and Jim Carter, chief engineer of bridges and construction for the railroad company, explained the project to the members of the Williamson, W.Va., Kiwanis Club and other community leaders March 19. Carter explained that tunnels from Walton, Va., to Columbus, Ohio, will be enlarged to accommodate the need for double stack clearance. He explained that cargo trains are now stacking cars two-high and the existing tunnels must be altered to allow passage by the trains. Carter said NS officials have been working on the project since spring 2001 after the Rahall Institute at Marshall University published a study about the benefits of double stacking. [United Transportion Union, 3-21-07, from Appalachian News-Express report by Leigh Ann Wells]
LORAM BUYS TANGENT RAIL-GRINDING DIVISION: Pittsburgh-based Tangent Rail Corp. announced that it has sold its rail grinding division to Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc., of Hamel, Minnesota. Loram acquired Tangent Rail's rail grinding fleet and hired most of the personnel associated with its operation, said an announcement. Tangent Rail said it would now focus on its core business of supplying the railroad industry with treated wood products and preservatives, switching and track maintenance services, and tie pickup and disposal. [RailwayAge.com, 3-21-07]
FEDERAL AGENCY TO INSPECT CSX TRACKS IN UPSTATE N.Y.: The Federal Railroad Administration said March 19 that it was speeding up inspection of 1,300 miles of track in New York operated by CSX Transportation after several derailments upstate in recent months. The agency, which enforces rail safety regulations nationwide, took the step less than a week after a CSX train with several cars carrying liquid propane derailed in Oneida and burst into flames, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and the closing of a stretch of the New York Thruway. The inspection was scheduled for next month, but the head of the railroad administration, Joseph H. Boardman, who is a former commissioner of the New York Department of Transportation, ordered it moved up. After tracks in New York are examined, the agency will inspect the rest of the 21,000 miles of track that CSX operates in 23 states around the country, as well as networks operated by other freight rail companies. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-20-07, from New York Times website report by Ken Belson]
KCS INTRODUCES NEW LOCOMOTIVE PAINT SCHEME: KCSM 4650, the first locomotive to be painted with the Kansas City Southern's new, heritage paint scheme, made an appearance at an event on March 16 in San Luis Potosi. The new locomotive's presence at the event accentuated the company's commitment to investing in Mexico, while illustrating KCS and its subsidiaries' bright future and reverence for its rich and colorful history. A formal unveiling event and photo opportunity will take place in Kansas City in April. As part of an aggressive capital investment program in the U.S. and Mexico, the KCS subsidiaries have committed to purchase 30 Electro Motive Diesel SD70ACe locomotives and 30 General Electric Transportation System (GETS) ES44AC locomotives. The first 30 ES44ACs were delivered to Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (KCSM) in primer in December 2006 and January 2007. KCS' subsidiaries have signed letters of intent to purchase an additional 70 locomotives from Electro Motive Diesel and an additional 80 locomotives from GETS, all of which would receive the heritage paint scheme. [Kansas City Southern, 3-20-07]
BLET, CSXT REACH TENTATIVE 'SINGLE-SYSTEM' AGREEMENT: The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and CSX Transportation reached a tentative on-property, single system agreem