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Newswire
PRESIDENT PLEDGING $8-B FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL: President Obama will give $8-billion in economic stimulus money to 13 U.S. rail corridors, mostly for high-speed passenger service. The funds, the biggest single U.S. investment in high-speed rail, will be announced by Obama in Tampa, Fla., today. Announcements by administration officials will also be made at events in Columbus, Durham, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Philadelphia. In all, 31 states will benefit, and a small portion of the $8-billion will go to improvements in existing rail lines, according to an Obama administration official. [United Transportation Union, 1-28-10, from Bloomberg News report]
N.S. PROFIT FALLS 32 PERCENT: Norfolk Southern Corp. says its profit for the fourth quarter fell 32 percent. Net income was $307-million or 82 cents a share for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, down from $452-million or $1.21 cents a share in the same quarter of 2008. Coal revenue dropped 27 percent and intermodal dropped 15 percent. [United Transportation Union, 1-28-10, from Virginian Pilot report]
K.C.S. REPORTS 4-Q EARNINGS: Kansas City Southern reported fourth quarter 2009 revenues of $406.8-million, a four percent decrease compared to the corresponding 2008 period. Notable year-over-year revenue improvements were achieved in chemical & petroleumof 12 percent and intermodal of three percent. Volumes were down just one percent in the quarter compared to fourth quarter 2008. [Kansas City Southern, 1-28-10]
TWO WASHINGTON METRO WORKERS KILLED ALONG RED LINE: Two Metro workers were struck and killed by a piece of track equipment just north of the Rockville Metrorail station early Jan.26. The workers were installing equipment on the tracks that helps trains communicate with each other and with headquarters. There was no information immediately available about why the workers did not get out of the way of the equipment. Red Line service in the Rockville area was disrupted with no train service at the Shady Grove or Rockville stations while the accident was investigated. [United Transportation Union, 1-26-10, from Washington Post report]
C.N. REPORTS 4-Q EARNINGS: CN reported its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2009. Net income and diluted earnings per share for the final quarter of 2009 increased two per cent from the year-earlier period to $582-million and $1.23, respectively. The results included an after-tax gain of $59-million from a line-sale to Metrolinx in Toronto, and a deferred income tax recovery of $99-million. Net income for full-year 2009 decreased two per cent from 2008 to $1,854-million, with diluted earnings per share declining one per cent to C$3.92. The 2009 results included after-tax gains of C$194 million. CN's operating ratio for 2009 increased by 1.4 points to 67.3 per cent when compared to 2008. [C.N., 1-26-10]
BNSF CUTS DOMESTIC INTERMODAL TRANSIT TIMES: BNSF Railway implemented service improvements that cut scheduled trip times for 60 percent of its premium domestic intermodal traffic, saving shippers up to half a day on their long hauls. The railroad said its changes also add 16 more days of domestic service frequency across its network. Changes at the start of 2010 include cutting transit seven to 10 hours on BNSF's main transcontinental route between the Los Angeles area and Chicago. It cut trip times between Los Angeles and Memphis by four to six hours, and at Houston increased inbound and outbound day-of-week frequency. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-26-10, from Journal of Commerce website report]
C.N. ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM: Claude Mongeau, who succeeded E. Hunter Harrison as CN's president and chief executive officer on Jan.1, has installed his new senior team. Mongeau announced the company has appointed Keith Creel, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Jean-Jacques Ruest, EVP and chief marketing officer; Luc Jobin EVP and chief financial officer; Sean Finn, EVP of corporate services and chief legal officer; Kim Madigan, VP of human resources; and Robert Noorigian, VP of investor relations. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-26-10]
AMTRAK CONCERNED ABOUT FLORIDA LIABILITY ISSUE: Amtrak has sent a letter to Florida threatening to end rail service in the SunRail corridor, alleging the state violated an agreement over the use of the shared Orlando-area tracks and over liability for accidents. The dispute stems from a special legislative session in December when lawmakers approved legislation designed to kick-start SunRail, pour more money into South Florida's Tri-Rail and entice the federal government into committing billions to start high-speed rail in Florida. The letter asks lawmakers to pass legislation giving Amtrak the same no-fault liability protections afforded CSX. Without them, the risk of liability exposure in an accident might be too great to continue service. But Florida officials say they won't meet demands for new negotiations. The dispute does not affect current service in the Orlando area and does not apply to other Amtrak rail lines in the state. [United Transportation Uniom, 1-25-10, from Miami Herald report]
AMTRAK CAFE CAR CATCHES FIRE IN INDIANA: At about 7:15 p.m. Jan.23, officials from a train bound for Detroit called the Michigan City, Indiana, fire department and moved the 129 passengers to the front of the train, to get them from the smoke that had erupted in the cafe car. "There was a fire in an overhead motor of the cafe car," MCFD Battalion Chief Mike Osborne said. No one was injured. [United Transportation Union, 1-24-10, from News-Dispatch report]
AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILS IN VIRGINIA, SEVERAL MINOR INJURIES: Amtrak says a train heading to Florida derailed just outside Washington, causing several minor injuries and delaying the train for about four hours. The train derailed about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Fairfax County, Va., and got under way again about 12:40 a.m. Sunday. Several passengers and crew members suffered minor bumps and bruises. The train was a special train headed for West Palm Beach with 712 passengers and 15 crew. [United Transportation Union, 1-23-10, from Associated Press report]
BURKE CENTER, VA., ADDED AS AMTRAK STOP: In an effort to further integrate the new Lynchburg to Washington service into its national network, Amtrak has added the Burke Center stop in Burke, Virginia, as an official stop on its Northeast Regional line. Burke Center had previously served only as a connecting point for VRE passengers. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-22-10]
BNSF REPORTS 4-Q EARNINGS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $1.55 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of $0.25 per share related to the fourth-quarter donation of a portion of a line segment located in Washington State. This compared to fourth-quarter 2008 earnings of $1.78 per diluted share, which included a fuel surcharge lag benefit of about $200 million. Full-year 2009 earnings per diluted share were $5.01. [Burlington Northern Santa Fe, 1-21-10]
BNSF ANNOUNCES 2010 CAPITAL COMMITMENT: BNSF Railway Company announced a planned 2010 capital commitment program of $2.4-billion, which is expected to be approximately $240-million lower than 2009 due to fewer expected locomotive acquisitions in 2010. BNSF currently expects to spend about $2.1-billion for track, signal systems, structures, and freight cars, and to upgrade technologies, including the unfunded mandate for positive train control. The Company also anticipates acquiring approximately 170 locomotives. [Burlington Northern Santa Fe, 1-21-10]
NTSB RECOMMENDS SURVEILLANCE IN LOCOMOTIVES: The federal government should require surveillance cameras in nearly all locomotives, to allow railroad managers to see if engineers are texting or talking on cellphones, sleeping or admitting unauthorized visitors, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended. The recommendation resulted from the investigation into the crash of a commuter train in Chatsworth, Calif., in 2008 that killed 25 people. The engineer, who was among those killed, was apparently composing a text message when he ran a red signal and the train collided with a freight train. MORE.. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-21-10, from New York Times website report]
WEEKLY U.S. RAIL TRAFFIC REPORT: For the week ending Jan. 16, 2010, U.S. railroads originated 264,030 carloads, down .8 percent compared with the same week in 2009 and down 18.5 percent from the same week in 2008. MORE.. [Assn. of American Railroads, 1-21-10]
U.P. REPORTS 4-Q EARNINGS: Union Pacific Corporation reported 2009 fourth quarter net income of $551-million or $1.08 per diluted share, compared to $661-million or $1.31 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2008. Operating income totaled $1-billion, down 12 percent. For the full year 2009, Union Pacific reported net income of $1.9-billion or $3.75 per diluted share. This compares to $2.3-billion or $4.54 per diluted share in 2008. The Company's 2009 operating revenue totaled $14.1-billion, compared to $18-billion in 2008. Operating income decreased 17 percent from 2008 to $3.4-billion. [Union Pacific, 1-21-10]
MARC PENN LINE TRAINS DELAYED BY LOCOMOTIVE FAILURE: The news from MARC today is bad - three canceled trains after a locomotive breakdown on the Penn Line and delays of 30-90 minutes. The breakdown came in one of the AEM-7 electric locomotives that has only recently been returned to the tracks after several years in Amtrak's Wilmington shop. According to the Maryland Transit Administration, the cause of this morning's breakdown has not yet been determined. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-20-10, from Baltimore Sun website report]
MUDSLIDE NEAR SEATTLE DISRUPTS PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE: Sound Transit commuter rail and Amtrak service between Everett and Seattle is shut down at least until Thursday evening, Jan.21, because of a mudslide across the tracks. The slide hit around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in north Seattle. The trains operate on railway owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. [United Transportation Union, 1-20-10, from Herald report]
POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL COULD HAVE PREVENTED METROLINK ACCIDENT, FORMER NTSB HEAD SAYS: The engineer's use of a cell phone has been widely publicized in connection with the head on collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, Calif., in September 2008. Jim Hall, who served as Chairman of the NTSB from 1994 to 2001, expressed concern that focusing too much attention on the cell phone issue may detract from the real lesson to be learned from the Chatsworth collision. Hall believes that positive train control, a system of monitoring and controlling train movements that NTSB identified over three decades ago as the most effective way to avoid train-to-train collisions, could have prevented the Chatsworth accident regardless of other factors. MORE.. [Former NTSB Chair Jim Hall, 1-20-10]
CSX REPORTS 4-Q EARNINGS: CSX Corporation announced fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations of $305-million or 77 cents a share, versus $361-million,or 92 cents a share in the same period last year. Fourth quarter revenue of $2.3 billion was 13 percent down from the prior year. CSX also announced full year 2009 earnings from continuing operations of $1.14-billion or $2.87 a share, versus $1.5-billion or $3.66 a share, for 2008. [CSX, 1-19-10]
JEFFREY MORELAND NOMINATED TO AMTRAK BOARD: President Obama has nominated retired BNSF executive Jeffrey R. Moreland to be a member of Amtrak's nine-member board of directors, which currently has four vacancies. Moreland, an attorney, was BNSF's executive vice president for public affairs prior to his 2007 retirement. [United Transportation Union, 1-19-10]
AMTRAK'S TEXAS EAGLE STRIKES CAR IN ILLINOIS: A nun escaped injury when the Amtrak's Texas Eagle train No. 22 struck the car she was driving Monday afternoon in Lemont, Illinois. No passengers or crew on the train were injured. Lemont police are investigating how the car got on the tracks. The crash delayed the train about three hours. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-18-10, from Chicago Sun-Times website report]
K.C.S. TO RETROFIT FIVE GP40 LOCOMOTIVES: Later this year, Kansas City Southern Railway Co. plans to repower five GP40 locomotives at a diesel shop in Shreveport, La. The locomotives will be equipped with more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, eight-cylinder, 2,000-horsepower engines manufactured by Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD). The retrofit will extend the 30- to 40-year-old units' life another 20-plus years and help the railroad reduce its carbon footprint. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-18-10]
PRESIDENT CHANGING POLICIES FOR SELECTING TRANSIT PROJECTS: The Obama Administration has announced it will change existing policies for selecting transit projects for federal funding, focusing on issues such as economic development opportunities and environmental benefits, as opposed to the existing criteria that are focused on cost and time saved. Trolleys, streetcars, light-rail, bicycle and pedestrian projects are all expected to benefit as transit projects that improve urban mobility without necessarily improving on automobile commute times. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-15-10]
WASHINGTON METRO G.M. TO RESIGN: The Washington, D.C. Metro System General Manager John. B. Catoe Jr. announced on January 14 that he will resign as head of the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA), effective April 2, 2010. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-15-10]
AMTRAK'S SILVER STAR DAMAGED BY PASSING FREIGHT TRAIN: Amtrak's northbound Silver Star experienced severe damage January 12 near Boulogne, Florida, when a loose boxcar door on a passing CSX freight train became airborne after striking the engines, tearing off 20 feet of the roof of the then-unoccupied dining car. There were no injuries. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-15-10]
CONTRACT AWARDED TO REPLACE AMTRAK'S NIANTIC RIVER BRIDGE: Amtrak has awarded a $104.7-million contract to Cianbro/ Middlesex VII for replacement of the 102-year old movable bridge over the Niantic River. The three-year project, set to begin in April, is being funded by Amtrak's annual capital program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The plan is for the existing bridge to remain in operation until the new bridge is built. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-14-10, from The Day website report]
MONTANA RAIL LINK TO CUT JOBS, FREIGHT CAR FLEET: Montana Rail Link will get rid of 46 jobs across Montana. The company cited the closures of Smurfit-Stone container's pulp mill and the loss of lumber mills in Bonner and Pablo as reasons for the cuts. The company also says the freight car fleet will be reduced from 2,200 to just 600 over the next several months. [United Transportation Union, 1-14-10, from KECI website report]
OHIO TO HELP FUND REPAIRS TO W&LE SWING BRIDGE IN TOLEDO: The Ohio Rail Development Commission has approved a $155,000 grant for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway to repair the Maumee River swing bridge in Toledo. Built in 1911, the bridge connects the railroad to CN and the Ann Arbor Railroad, and spans the waterway leading to the Port of Toledo. W&LE will provide matching funds for the repairs, which call for repairing the swing mechanism and installing a new emergency generator. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-14-10]
BNSF'S CROSSING-CLOSURE TEAM ACHIEVES GOALS: BNSF's Field Safety Support and Public Projects employees have achieved 10 years of reaching grade-crossing closure goals. "As of Dec. 31, 2009, the team closed a total of 4,686 grade crossings in 10 years," Mark Schulze, vice president, Safety, Training and Operations Support said. "Closing crossings is important because the closures help improve safety in the community and for our crews." [BNSF, 1-14-10]
U.S. 2009 RAIL CARLOAD TRAFFIC WORST SINCE 1988: The Association of American Railroads reported that 2009 saw total carload traffic on U.S. railroads at its lowest levels since at least 1988, when the AAR's data series began. MORE.. [Assn. of American Railroads, 1-13-10]
CORN PRODUCTION POISED TO SET RECORD THIS YEAR: Good news for railroads' grain traffic: The U.S. Department of Agriculture now projects the nation's 2010 corn production will reach a record 13.2 billion bushels, which would represent a one percent increase from the previous record of 13 billion bushels set in 2007. In December 2009, the USDA forecasted annual corn production of 12.9 billion bushels. The agency still projects annual corn exports at 2.1 billion bushels. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-13-10]
OTTAWA TO PROCEED WITH LIGHT-RAIL PLANS: The Ottawa City Council has voted to proceed with preliminary engineering and environmental review of a $2.1-billion, 7.8 mile light-rail plan for the city. The 13-station line would include a 2-mile tunnel. [Railway Age website report, 1-13-10]
LAS VEGAS MONORAIL COMPANY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY: The Las Vegas Monorail Company has filed with federal bankruptcy court due to falling ridership. The company operates a 4-mile service connecting hotels with the convention center. Operations will continue during the bankruptcy process. [Railway Age website report, 1-13-10]
AMTRAK SETS 1-Q RIDERSHIP RECORD: Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman said that the state of America's passenger railroad is strong and announced it had set a first quarter ridership record carrying nearly 7.2 million passengers during the first three months of fiscal year 2010. In his State of the Railroad remarks, he also said there is reason to be optimistic about the future declaring "the days of wondering if Amtrak is going to survive another year are behind us. This year, and the years ahead are, and will be, focused on growth." Boardman also emphasized "Amtrak is changing and rising to meet the challenge" of a new era of passenger rail and that "the investments we're making and the steps we're taking to improve are designed to secure our leadership position in the industry and to stand out from the competition." [United Transportation Union, 1-12-10, from Associated Press report]
U.S. ANNOUNCES POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SAFETY STANDARDS: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joseph Szabo have announced historic safety regulations requiring Positive Train Control technology. MORE.. [U.S. Dept. of Transportation, 1-12-10]
U.P. SETS INTERMODAL RECORD IN 2009: Union Pacific Railroad achieved a record year of 1.25 million domestic intermodal shipments in 2009. In addition, for the second consecutive year, Union Pacific and UPS achieved a "Perfect Peak Season" by delivering 100 percent of UPS peak season freight without a sort failure. Prior to 2009, Union Pacific's highest domestic intermodal volume was 1.19 million shipments in 2007. [Union Pacific, 1-12-10]
AMTRAK TO BUY NEW LOCOMOTIVES, CARS: Amtrak will buy more than 100 locomotives, along with hundreds of new passenger cars, reports the Journal of Commerce. Amtrak included the purchase plans in a 2010 outlook statement, but gave no details about how much money it will spend on the equipment. The agency said it will later 'announce a comprehensive and detailed plan to replace and expand its fleet.' Separately, Amtrak said it is committed to completing a positive train control system by the end of 2012. [United Transportation Union, 1-11-10, from Journal of Commerce report]
EMPIRE BUILDER RESUMES SERVICE: Amtrak train service in Minnesota will resume Jan.11 after being suspended for four days because of bitter cold temperatures. The westbound Empire Builder will leave Chicago at 2:15 p.m. as scheduled and eastbound trains will leave Seattle and Portland, Ore., in late afternoon as scheduled. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen,m 1-11-10, from Minneapolis Star Tribune website report]
ACELA TO GET WIRELESS INTERNET: Amtrak says that its installation of wireless Internet access on the high-speed trains would be complete in March and initially free to passengers. Amtrak made the announcement as part of a 2010 preview of its activities. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-11-10, from Associated Press report]
U.S. CARLOADS WORST SINCE 1989: The 2009 plunge in bulk U.S. railcar shipments took cargo volume to its lowest level since 1989, said the Association of American Railroads. The five U.S. Class I railroads, plus a few regional lines that report to AAR, ended 2009 with just over 13,812,989 carloads, which was down 16.1 percent from 2008 for a single-year decline of more than 2.6 million shipments. When measured for average capacity changes, the 13.8 million carloads in 2009 would be the lowest since an adjusted level in 1989 of 13,664,142 carloads, and would be slightly below 1990's adjusted 13,820,941, the AAR said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-8-10, from Journal of Commerce report]
CHINA INTRODUCES 'HARMONY' HIGH-SPEED TRAIN: With the introduction of its 680-mile-long Harmony train service, China unveiled arguably the fastest long distance train service in the world. On December 26, the Harmony express ran from Guangzhou to the central city of Wuhan in under three hours - a journey that previously took over 11 hours. The train reached a top speed of 245 mph. The new Chinese service is planned to run 56 times a day and fares will cost roughly $115. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-8-10]
TWO DERAILMENTS OF TEXAS EAGLE TRAINS IN TWO DAYS: The first derailment was Wednesday morning in Arkansas, 45 miles northeast of Little Rock. The Los Angeles bound train derailed at 3 a.m., stranding 212 passengers. The second incident, also involving a southbound train with Los Angeles cars, was Thursday around 9 p.m., two miles north of the St. Louis station. Amtrak characterized that delay as "minor," and expected the train to be moving again in a few hours. However, the train left St. Louis eight hours late and will not run past Fort Worth. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 1-8-10]
AMTRAK PASSENGERS ARRIVE A DAY LATE: After being stranded for a day on the plains, passengers on an Amtrak train finally arrived in Denver early Friday morning. The train was supposed to arrive in Denver at 7 a.m. Thursday. According to Amtrak, the delay was caused by an 8-foot-tall snow drift in Sutton, Neb., around 3 a.m. Thursday. After that, there was drifting snow, whiteout conditions and visibility at almost zero. The 205 passengers always had heat and restroom facilities. Passengers, however, say it took a long time to get food while they were stranded. Amtrak has cancelled Friday's scheduled service between Chicago and Denver because of weather in the central part of the country. [United Transportation Union, 1-8-10, from KUSA website report]
BNSF NAMES DEAN WISE VP NETWORK STRATEGY: Dean Wise has been named vice president, Network Strategy, responsible for BNSF Railway Company's Haulage Management, Interline Management, Network Strategy Development, Public-Private Partnerships and Short Line Business Development functions, effective Feb. 1, 2010. He will report to Matt Rose, chairman, president and chief executive officer. Wise succeeds Pete Rickershauser who will retire on April 30, 2010. [BNSF, 1-8-10]
GALESBURG EYES NATIONAL R.R. HALL OF FAME: Galesburg, Ill., officials are hoping they can combine the attractions of the Quad Cities, Peoria and Galesburg to create a tourism corridor called Tractors, Trains & Tracks, that would include a $30-million proposed National Railroad Hall of Fame. The Tractors, Trains & Tracks corridor would use the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, the proposed Caterpillar visitor center in Peoria and the NRRHOF to create a tourism hub. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood visited Galesburg last October and met with officials. LaHood was supportive of the Tractors, Trains & Tracks idea, as was BNSF CEO Matt Rose. [United Transportation Union, 1-7-10, from Register-Mail report]
U.B.S. DOWNGRADES K.C.S. STOCK: Shares of rail company Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) are down after analysts at UBS downgraded the stock, saying the 42 percent rally in the stock since Berkshire announced its BNSF acquisition in early November suggests 'there's an unhealthy degree of takeover speculation in the name.' The firm's rating went from Neutral to Sell. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-7-10, from Street Insider website report]
F.R.A. DEMANDS STRONGER PASSENGER CARS: Passenger trains in the U.S. must be manufactured to better withstand collisions under a federal rule to be published Jan. 8. The rule, which starts taking effect in March, will cost $4.1-million over 20 years, mostly for engineering and testing development, the Federal Railroad Administration said in a notice. The U.S. will require stronger front-end frames on new passenger railcars and some locomotives to help prevent them from collapsing or telescoping on impact. The rule applies only to orders placed after it takes effect. [United Transportation Uniom, 1-7-10, from Bloomberg News report]
COAST GUARD TO DISCONTINUE LORAN-C COVERAGE: LORAN-C has been used in navigation for 52 years by offering radio navigation signals to determine the vessel's location. For more than a decade, it has basically served as a backup system to GPS, which is more efficient. Effective Febr.8, 2010, LORAN-C will be decommissioned at most locations currently offering the service. MORE.. [U.S. Coast Guard, 1-7-10]
S.T.B. OK'S ALASKA R.R.'S PLAN TO BUILD NORTHERN EXTENSION: The Surface Transportation Board has granted the Alaska Railroad's request to construct and operate an 80-mile line between North Pole and Delta Junction, subject to certain conditions. The railroad plans to build the 'Northern Rail Extension' to provide year-round rail service to the region south of North Pole, Alaska. The line would serve as an alternative to Richardson Highway, and would provide the U.S. military year-round access to training areas. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-6-10]
READING BLUE MOUNTAIN & NORTHERN ACQUIRES TOWANDA-MONROETON LINE: The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Co. (RBMN) has acquired the Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline Railroad Inc., which operates a six-mile line between Towanda Borough and Monroeton, Pa. The company will own a 1.5-mile section of the line and Shaffer's Feed Service Inc. will continue to own the remainder, but RBMN will provide service on the entire six-mile route. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-6-10]
LIRR OPENS BROOKLYN TERMINAL: The new Atlantic Terminal Pavilion has opened. The semicircular outside walls and ceiling of the three-story pavilion are paneled with glass, allowing light to flood through the half-moon shaped atrium. The completion of the $108-million hub coincides with major redevelopment efforts in the neighborhood, including a new mall directly above the station and a proposed $1-billion basketball arena just blocks away. [United Transportation Union, 1-5-10, from New York Times website report]
CSX SEEKS TO DEVELOP RECLAIMED LAND IN INDIANA: A more-than-4,500-acre site stretching across Vigo and Clay counties, Indiana, has been certified as a CSX Transportation Large Industrial/Light Manufacturing Mega Site by a site selection consulting firm. The site, largely reclaimed land from the former Chinook coal mine, is the first property in Indiana, and one of only 15 sites within the entire CSX service area, to hold the certification. [United Transportation Union, 1-5-10, from Tribune-Star report]
STOURBRIDGE RWY GETS STATE GRANT TO REHABILITATE LINE: Pennsylvania is prioritizing rail service with the recent investment of $24.5-million in 39 rail companies, including Honesdale's Stourbridge Railway, which is targeted to receive $3.2-million to rehabilitate 23 miles of track and restore the line to operating standards. Currently used primarily for local tourist excursions, the railroad serves the Honesdale area and may eventually provide freight service as well as customized tourist excursions from outlying areas. On December 15, a shipment of steel made its way to Honesdale via the soon-to-be upgraded line. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-5-10, from River Reporter website report]
K.C.S. REVAMPS OPERATING DIVISIONS: Kansas City Southern Railway Co. has reorganized the transportation and mechanical departments. The changes increasing increasing field divisions from two to three. The new Midwest Division includes territory form East St. Louis, Ill., west to Kansas City, Mo., and south to Shreveport, La. The new Southeast Division includes territory from Counce, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., west to Shreveport and south to New Orleans. The new Southwest Division includes territory from Laredo, Texas, to Shreveport. [Kansas City Southern, 1-4-10]
BNSF URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO VOTE FOR BERKSHIRE DEAL: A colorful 8-page brochure is being mailed by Burlington Northern Santa Fe to its shareholders, urging them to vote for the freight railroad's proposed acquisition by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. MORE.. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 1-4-10, from CNBC website report]
JOSEPH BOARDMAN GETS ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO HEAD AMTRAK: Joseph Boardman will continue to lead Amtrak in the near term. The national intercity passenger railroad's board recently extended his contract as interim president and chief executive officer for one year. Boardman had signed on as Amtrak's interim leader in late 2008. Prior to joining the railroad, Boardman was federal railroad administrator, a post he held since May 2005. [Progressive Railroading website report, 1-4-10]
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