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Newswire
CP RAIL REPORTS LOWERED 2-Q RESULTS: Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (TSX/NYSE: CP) announced its second-quarter results today. Net income in the second quarter was $155 million, a decrease of 40 percent from $257 million in 2007, and diluted earnings per share was $1.00, a decrease from $1.64 in the second quarter of 2007. [Canadian Pacific Railway, 7-22-08]
AMTRAK'S DOWNEASTER RIDERSHIP GAINS 28 PERCENT: Rail officials say high gas prices played a role in a 28 percent gain in ridership for Amtrak's Downeaster during the latest fiscal year. Executive Director Patricia Quinn of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says the gain was the biggest of any Amtrak train in the period ending June 30. On average an additional 947 passengers rode the Downeaster every day, and ticket revenue was up by 33 percent for the year. Quinn credits increased frequency and a better schedule, in addition to rising fuel costs, for the growth of the Portland-to-Boston rail service. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-21-08, from Associated Press report]
CN REPORTS 2-Q RESULTS: CN has reported its financial and operating results for the second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2008. Diluted earnings per share declined six per cent to C$0.95. Net income declined 11 per cent to C$459 million. Revenues increased four per cent to C$2,098 million. Operating income declined 13 per cent to C$707 million, with the Company's operating ratio rising by 6.3 points to 66.3 per cent. [Canadian National, 7-21-08]
COGENERATION LOCOMOTIVE BEING TESTED AT HAGERSTOWN ON CSX: Following a three-month test in Roanoke, Va., with Norfolk Southern, Brookville Equipment Corp.'s BMEX 259 CoGeneration triple-engine genset switcher locomotive has begun its second Class I demonstration at CSX Transportation's Hagerstown, Md.., Yard. BMEX 259 has been scheduled for short demonstrations on other railroads and transit properties in the next few months, and will begin making its way west after completing its test with CSXT. [RailwayAge.com, 7-17-08]
HEDGE FUND CANDIDATES WIN FOUR SEATS ON CSX BOARD: CSX Corp. says preliminary results of the railroad's contentious board vote show that four out of five directors nominated by activist hedge fund shareholders TCI and 3G Capital have been elected to its board. The company said shareholders elected TCI Founder Chris Hohn, 3G Managing Director Alexandre Behring, Gilbert H. Lamphere and Timothy T. O'Toole. The only candidate nominated by the activist shareholders not elected was Gary Wilson, a former chairman at Northwest Airlines Corp. Existing CSX board members who were re-elected include Donna M. Alvarado, John B. Breaux, Steven T. Halverson, Edward J. Kelly III, John D. McPherson, David M. Ratcliffe, Donald J. Shepard and Michael J. Ward. The results, which are subject to a review and challenge period, were tallied by an independent proxy examiner. They will not be final until the completion of a pending CSX appeal of a prior U.S. District Court ruling on the proxy battle, Ward said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-16-08, from Associated Press report]
N.S. OPERATION LIFESAVER TRAIN INVOLVED IN FATAL ACCIDENT: A Norfolk Southern train struck and killed a man Tuesday night [July 15] in Roanoke. Ironically, the train is the same one Norfolk Southern uses to promote rail safety. The man was hit by the Operation Lifesaver train as it pulled into Roanoke for an educational trip to Lynchburg. The death is exactly what Norfolk Southern is trying to prevent. Five people were killed along Virginia tracks last year. Operation Lifesavers says railroad deaths have dropped dramatically since the program started in 1972. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-16-08, from WDBJ7 website report]
TRAIN COLLISION IN EGYPT KILLS 40: A train plowed into three vehicles in a northern Egyptian town July 16, killing at least 40 people and injuring 50, a police official said. The collision occurred after a large truck slammed into the three vehicles, pushing them onto the tracks, he said. The train en route from Matruh to Alexandria crushed the cars as it reached the intersection. Thirty-five people were declared dead at the scene, while five died in a hospital. [United Transportation Union, 7-16-08, from Associated Press report]
COMPOSITE BRIDGE TESTED AT R.R. TEST TRACK: HC Bridge Co. LLC, a firm specializing in the development of hybrid-composite structural alternatives to satisfy accelerated bridge construction requirements, reports that a locomotive pulling 26 heavy axle load coal cars traversed the first composite railroad bridge in the world. The live load test was conducted on the 2.7-mile loop at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colorado. According to John Hillman, senior associate with Teng & Associates in Chicago, the bridge supporting the locomotive is a 30-foot span comprised of eight hybrid-composite beams. In its simplest embodiment, the bridge is composed of three main sub-components: shell, compression reinforcement and tension reinforcement. The compression reinforcement consists of self-consolidated concrete that is pumped into a profiled conduit within the beam shell. The tension reinforcement consists of Hardwire steel reinforcing fabrics that run along the bottom flanges of the beams. A consortium of Class 1 railroads shouldered the substantial cost of the live test. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-14-08, from Rocky Mountain Construction website report]
PETER CANNITO, METRO-NORTH PRESIDENT, RETIRING: Peyter Cannito, Metro-North's longest-serving president, retires July 15. His retirement caps a 40-year career in the rail industry. He became Metro-North's president in 1999 after holding executive posts at Amtrak, ABB Traction and Raytheon Infrastructure Inc. He is the latest in a line of mechanically minded presidents at Metro-North, "the kind that could put a locomotive together with their teeth," aid Metro-North spokesman Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker. Meeting an exploding demand for rail service will be the chief challenge facing the incoming president, Howard Permut, commuter advocates say. Permut will likely have to deal with various challenges related to strain on the Metro-North system, members said. Brucker said Permut is ascending to the presidency at the right time because his planning and marketing background will help Metro-North keep its growing number of riders, many of whom are seeking an alternative to high gas prices. [United Transportation Union, 7-14-08, from Stamford Advocate report]
AUSTRALIA OPENS WORLD'S HEAVIEST-HAUL RAILWAY: A remarkable iron ore railway has been built across the Pilbara region of Australia in record time. The railway is built for 40 ton axleloads, making it the heaviest haul railway in the world. For comparison, the other Pilbara railways operate with axleloads of 35 ton and 37.5 ton, while the trans-Australian main line was recently upgraded to operate at just 21 ton. The key design objectives and philosophy of the railway were to limit its impact on the environment, to make the line as short as possible, to minimise adverse gradients and to ensure efficient maintenance to the highest standards. Construction began in November 2006 with infrastructure specialist Laing O'Rourke's rail team in charge. The completion deadlines were tough - the entire railway had to be built from scratch and operational in less than 18 months. In full operation, the line will run 2.5-km long trains of up to 240 cars hauled by two GE Dash 9-4400CW diesel locomotives. Setting a new benchmark in heavy haul railways, the cars have a tare weight of 23 ton and can carry up to 137 ton of ore. Each trainload will consist of about 30,000 ton. [United Transportation Union, 7-14-08, from Railway Gazette report]
SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES $1.65-BILLION FOR AMTRAK: The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $1.65-billion in passenger rail funding for Fiscal 2009, including a record $1-billion in capital and debt service funds for Amtrak, $550-million for Amtrak operations and retroactive wages (for a total of $1.55-billion for Amtrak), and $100-million for state matching capital grants. The committee said that $550-million in operating assistance "will keep all Amtrak routes operational and ensure the availability of funds for the retroactive wage payments called for under Amtrak's newly-ratified labor contracts." This back pay was also called for by Presidential Emergency Board 242. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 7-11-08]
MEMPHIS DEPOT SINKHOLE TO BE REPAIRED: The City of Memphis and Canadian National Railway have announced a $1-million agreement to split the costs of repairing the sinkhole that has plagued Memphis Central Station and forced Amtrak to detour and provide substitute motorcoach service since April. Amtrak says that, if repairs progress significantly this month, City of New Orleans service could be restored in Memphis by next month. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 7-11-08]
SAN BERNARDINO TRAIN STATION OPENS WITH VOLUNTEERS: The San Bernardino Historical and Railroad Museum opens July 12 in the baggage portion of the Amtrak/Metrolink (former Santa Fe) San Bernardino station. Volunteers from the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society will staff the museum and act as station hosts in the main waiting room when the Southwest Chief pulls through. Amtrak left the station unstaffed since it was closed for a $15.6 million restoration and reopened in 2004. SBRHS eventually hopes to permanently house operating steam locomotive Santa Fe 3751 near the station. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 7-11-08]
F.R.A. RULES ON RAIL RELOCATION & IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM: The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a Final Rule detailing the eligibility requirements and selection criteria for capital grants under the Rail Line Relocation and Improvement program created in the SAFETEA-LU legislation. In order to be eligible for grant funding, a project must mitigate the adverse effects of rail traffic on safety, motor vehicle traffic flow, community quality of life or involve a lateral or vertical relocation of any portion of the rail line. Under the law, half of all grant funds are reserved for projects costing no more than $20 million each. A state or other eligible entity will be required to pay at least 10 percent of the shared costs of the project. [Federal Railroad Administration, 7-11-08]
BOARD APPROVES CALIFORNIA BULLET TRAIN ROUTE: The California High Speed Rail Authority's board has approved a siting plan for the main route of a bullet train they envision for the state should voters in November back a $9.95-billion bond to launch the $40-billion system. San Francisco would mark the northern terminus, and Anaheim would be its last Southern California stop, said Rod Diridon, a member of the authority's board and executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute. The route would link San Francisco to nearby San Jose and then cross into the Central Valley, including a tunnel, to connect with Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield. Additional tunnels would be needed in mountains near the Los Angeles area. The route would stop in Los Angeles at its downtown Union Station before proceeding to Anaheim. If voters approve the general obligation bond measure in November to initially fund the high-speed rail system, its authority will still require additional funding. The system is expected to take about a decade to build. [United Transportation Union, 7-10-08, from Reuters report]
RAILROAD LOGISTICS CENTER TO BE BUILT IN N.Y. STATE: A $40-million logistics center and terminal will be built through the towns of Halfmoon, Mechanicville and Stillwater, N.Y., anchoring the western end of Pan Am Railways and linking the Capital Region with Boston. State and local officials gathered at the now defunct Norfolk Southern railyard this morning [July 8] to announce the project, slated to be launched early next year and completed by April 2010. As many as 250 local jobs will be created when the terminal and warehouse facilities open. The high-speed freight rail will transport consumer products - primarily automobiles - across the region, alleviating highway travel by trucking companies. Railway transportation is now considered 3-1/2 times more efficient as shipping goods by highway. The joint project, called Pan Am Southern, will serve as the primary distribution center for the company's Patriot Corridor, including a 155-mile main line and 280 secondary and branch lines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-8-08, frtom Gazette website report]
SEVEN INJURED WHEN TRUCK HITS AMTRAK TRAIN: Seven people were injured Sunday evening [July 6] after a truck ran into an Amtrak train 10 miles east of Suisun, California, a train official told the Contra Costa Times. The furniture delivery truck slammed into the dining car of Amtrak Capitol Corridor Train No. 736 where Fry Road crosses the train tracks shortly before 5 p.m., Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said. The train, carrying 220 passengers, was traveling from San Jose to Sacramento. It had two stops left in Davis and Sacramento when the truck hit it. The collision caused significant damage to the train car, she said. Truck driver Anthony Aguas, 22, of Vacaville, told CHP officials that he attempted to break when the lowering arm descended, but skidded and crashed through the barrier and into the train. He suffered only minor cuts and bruises, but his truck was totaled, emergency crews said. Two Amtrak employees and five passengers were transported to VacaValley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Romero said. [United Transportation Union, 7-7-08, from Contra Costa Times report]
AMTRAK SERVICE RESTORED ON TWO ROUTES AFFECTED BY FLOODS: Normal service has resumed on two of three Amtrak routes between the West Coast and Chicago disrupted by flooding in the Midwest. Although the Amtrak Empire Builder and Southwest Chief are again operating on their routes in Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, service is still disrupted on the Amtrak California Zephyr between Chicago and Denver, according to a release from Amtrak. Through July 5, passengers are urged to call Amtrak at (800) USA-RAIL if they have travel plans through the affected areas of the San Francisco Bay-Chicago route of the Zephyr. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 7-2-08, from Chicago Sun-Times report]
AMTRAK COMPLETES BRIDGE WORK IN CONNECTICUT: Amtrak has resumed regular service between New York and Boston after completing work on a 90-year-old bridge in Connecticut. Workers installed a new vertical lift span on the Thames River Bridge between New London and Groton last week. Amtrak says upgrading the bridge was one of its largest-ever engineering projects, which spanned several years and cost $83-million. The bridge is scheduled to open to marine traffic by July 10. [United Transportation Union, 7-1-08, from Newsday report]
NEVADA LOSES BID TO DELAY NUCLEAR-WASTE RAIL LINE: The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has turned down a motion by Nevada to reject as incomplete an application by the of U. S. Department of Energy for authority to build a 300-mile line in the state to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to a repository at Yucca Mountain. DOE says the line, which would connect with Union Pacific at Caliente, is also intended to provide common carrier service to on-line communities. In a decision handed down June 27, STB found DOE's request to be "sufficiently complete" at this stage of the proceeding. The decision permitted the state to amend its filing, refused to extend the procedural schedule to include an oral hearing on Nevada's objections. [RailwayAge.com, 6-30-08]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN BEGINS VIRGINIA EXPANSION PROJECT: Norfolk Southern has begun its project to expand 15 miles of tracks in Warren County, Va. The company has started grading work and clearing trees along the proposed expansion route in the first phase of the project. It hopes to widen 15 miles of existing tracks by 20 feet to allow two trains to pass at once, and has already acquired the right of way for the project. The company also wants to expand its siding, tracks that allow a train to pull off to let another pass. The project is part of an overall effort by the company to expand a rail corridor from the Northeast into the South. The line under consideration would run from Culpeper County, through Rappahannock County, and link up with existing tracks in Warren County to the Inland Port. [United Transportation Union, 6-27-08, from Northern Virginia Daily report]
VIRGINIA CONSIDERS NEW PASSENGER TRAIN ROUTING NORTH OF RICHMOND: Officials in Virginia are considering how best to improve the Washington-Richmond corridor. Specifically, the Commonwealth is considering rerouting passenger trains from Doswell (just north of Ashland) to Richmond by way of the Chesapeake and Ohio's former passenger mainline, now operated by the Buckingham Branch Railroad. This would end passenger rail service to Ashland, and require construction of a new suburban Richmond passenger station, but segregate passenger and freight operations that are currently now a bottleneck in Richmond. A study has been released that said the bypass would cost $167-million more than making improvements along the existing right of way. Officials in Ashland and Henrico Counties oppose the Buckingham Branch option. Whichever option is chosen north of Richmond, it is assumed that all trains will eventually serve Main Street Station after restoration of the connection from there south towards Petersburg. Currently, Main Street is served only by trains traveling to and from Newport News. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 6-27-08]
CSX SHAREHOLDER VOTE LEFT IN LIMBO: A battle over the future of one of the nation's largest railroads was joined June 26 in a rail yard on the outskirts of New Orleans. For more than four hours, under a white tent surrounded by walls of freight cars, executives of the CSX Corporation sought to persuade shareholders to rebuff an attempt by two powerful hedge funds to gain several seats on the company's board through a proxy fight. After the shareholders cast their votes, the funds, which together control at least 8.7 percent of CSX, claimed four of five contested seats and said that CSX had held the voting open in the hope of wrangling a few more votes. But CSX said that the vote was too close to call and that the results would take a month to tally and certify. At stake is the future of CSX, a once-struggling company that has turned its fortunes around. CSX has argued that it must devote its capital to expanding its railroad lines, especially at a time when fuel costs have soared, threatening to ratchet up the prices of food and other goods. The company reported $2.3-billion in operating income last year, and its stock price has tripled since Mr. Ward became chief executive in 2003. But T.C.I. has said that the company lags behind its peers in several key measures and that its corporate governance needs revamping. Nothing about the meeting was typical, not even the location. To reach CSX's Gentilly rail yard, shareholders had to drive several miles outside New Orleans's city center, then follow a series of signs that CSX had planted along the exit from Interstate 10. Though T.C.I. had at one point accused CSX of holding its shareholder meeting in a "swamp," the place was dry - at least until rains came. Several flat-screen TVs dotted the interior of a vast air-conditioned tent, as did several tables overflowing with food. CSX executives said holding the meeting at Gentilly would let shareholders see the progress that the company had made in rebuilding the yard after Hurricane Katrina nearly three years ago. But the dozens of individual shareholders who showed up were not allowed near the heart of the rail yard operations because of safety concerns. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-26-08, from New York Times website report]
RAILROAD BRIDGE COLLAPSES INTO IOWA RIVER: A railroad bridge collapsed into the flooded Iowa River, dropping a locomotive and two tanker cars into the water, authorities told the Associated Press. Three employees of the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad were on the train and one of them was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, company spokesman Herb Jones said. The Louisa County sheriff's office said the railroad called late June 24 to report the collapse near Columbus Junction in southeastern Iowa. Columbus Junction, population 2,000, suffered record flooding last week because it sits downstream from the confluence of the Iowa and Cedars rivers, which both caused widespread flooding. [United Transportation Union, 6-26-08, from Associated Press report]
AMTRAK RESTORES SOME SERVICE TO MIDWEST: Amtrak says it's restoring some service along its Chicago-to-Los Angeles route that was suspended because of flooding in the Midwest. The rail company suspended service between Kansas City and Chicago on June 17th because of flooding in Iowa. Only one station along the route - in Fort Madison - remains closed. Meanwhile, Amtrak service between St. Paul and Chicago, and between Chicago and Denver will continue to be temporarily suspended. Amtrak is providing rides by chartered motorcoach for some destinations but isn't offering any travel alternatives to or from cities in Iowa. Passengers are urged to call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL for more information. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-26-08, from Associated Press report]
CSX INCREASES DIVIDEND: On June 24, 2008, the Board of Directors of CSX Corporation approved a 22 percent increase in the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 22 cents per share. The dividend is payable on September 15, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 1, 2008. [CSX, 6-24-08]
AMTRAK BRIDGE REPLACEMENT MOVES AHEAD: In Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, a 90-year-old drawbridge across the Thames River in eastern Connecticut was scheduled to carry its last train on Monday evening (June 23), as a four-day, round-the-clock marathon to replace the span was to begin. The $83-million project, delayed for years by lack of money, is supposed to be completed by Friday night. Until then, most trains between New York and Boston will be canceled, but a few will detour through Hartford and Springfield, Mass. Amtrak will run some buses between New Haven and two locations east of the bridge, in Providence, R.I., and Kingston R.I., to connect with trains on either end. The railroad also was directing travelers to Greyhound and Peter Pan bus lines. The bridge being replaced, connecting New London and Groton, was built from 1917 to 1919 for the old New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Several bridges of that vintage are in use around the country, but this one had exceptionally heavy traffic, both in terms of trains crossing over and shipping on the river below. [United Transportation Union, 6-24-08, from New York Times report]
RUSSIA PLANS RAILROAD LINK TO JAPAN: Russia is poised to begin one of its biggest-ever investment projects to link Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East with the mainland. The ambitious plans could one day result in a direct link between Russia and Japan, RussiaToday reports. Sakhalin is rich in natural resources and has vast potential for economic growth. But its isolation makes transport, especially by sea, vitally important. The current transport infrastructure cannot even meet the demands of the existing local economy. Almost all the cargo moving between Sakhalin and the mainland is delivered by cargo ships, with no permanent land link. The marine link between Sakhalin and mainland Russia is already overloaded and is working close to full capacity. It can even be held up by bad weather for up to a month. So with the cargo turnover expected to grow, the region desperately needs a firm railway connection between the two points. The idea of building a fixed link here is about 80 years old, and in the 1940s a failed attempt was made to connect the island via a tunnel under the sea. Now the government and Russian Railways are reviving the ambitious project, considering either a tunnel, a railway bridge or a seawall 6.5 kilometers long. But whatever option they go for, huge finance will be needed. [United Transportation Union, 6-23-08, from RussiaToday website report]
COAL OUTLOOK REMAINS GOOD, N.S. CHIEF SAYS: Norfolk Southern Corp. expects its coal exports to increase more than 50 percent this year over 2007, said Wick Moorman, the Norfolk-based railroad's chairman and chief executive. The bulk of those exports, 20 million tons, is projected to move via its Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk. Another five million tons probably will ship through the port of Baltimore, said Moorman, speaking at the Merrill Lynch Global Transportation Conference in New York June 19. Driving the export surge are the weak U.S. dollar, tight coal supplies worldwide and higher costs for shipping coal from Australia, a major coal exporting country, Moorman said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-20-08, from Virginian-Pilot website report]
AMTRAK HALTS SERVICE ON MIDWEST ROUTES: Amtrak is scrambling to reroute customers in Denver and other cities in the face of service disruptions tied to flooding in the Midwest. The railroad said June 17 that it has halted service on its California Zephyr route between Denver and Chicago; it has temporarily suspended the Kansas City, Mo.-Galesburg, Ill., part of its Southwest Chief route; and the St. Paul, Minn.-Chicago leg of its Empire Builder service. Amtrak is providing alternate service in Denver using a combination of chartered buses and other train lines, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. Amtrak said the disruptions could last for several days. [United Transportation Union, 6-18-08, from Rocky Mountain News report]
FLOODING DISRUPTS AMTRAK SERVICE: Amtrak has suspended service on two routes between Chicago and the West Coast because of flooding in Iowa and Wisconsin. The company said flooded highways have made providing bus transportation impossible in some areas. The Empire Builder normally connects Chicago to Portland, Ore, and Seattle by way of Milwaukee and St. Paul. Until the flooding subsides, passengers will travel by bus from Chicago to St. Paul. All service on the California Zephyr has been suspended in Iowa. Bus service is available from Chicago to Nebraska and Denver. Amtrak is substituting buses for trains between Kansas City and Jefferson City, Mo., on the Missouri Mules because Union Pacific has detoured freight trains to the line. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-14-08, from UPI report]
UNIFORMED MILITARY GET PREFERENCE IN AMTRAK TICKET LINES: Amtrak has instituted a new policy that allows uniformed military personnel to go to the front of the line at all Amtrak ticket windows. The policy is in place permanently and for all staffed stations nationwide. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 6-13-08]
HOUSE PASSES AMTRAK FUNDING MEASURE: A nearly $15-billion Amtrak bill passed the House June 11. The bipartisan bill, which passed by a margin of 311 to 104, would authorize funding for the national passenger railroad over the next five years. Some of the money would go to a program of matching grants to help states set up or expand rail service. Besides the $14.9 billion provided for Amtrak and intercity rail, an amendment to the bill would authorize $1.5 billion for Washington's Metro transit system over the next 10 years. The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill doesn't hold Amtrak accountable for its spending. But similar legislation has passed the Senate, also with enough support to override a veto. Amtrak's previous authorization expired in 2002. The railroad's supporters say a new authorization will allow Amtrak to make long-range plans and take advantage of what they say is a growing appetite for passenger rail. [United Transportation Union, 6-12-08, from Associated Press report]
FIVE KILLED WHEN TRUCK HITS TRAIN IN FLORIDA: Authorities say five people were killed when the truck they were in slammed into a stopped freight train in Sanford. The Florida Highway Patrol says the driver of the Chevy Avalanche was likely speeding when the truck crashed late Tuesday night [June 10] between two train cars. The crossing arms were down and the lights had been flashing at the railroad crossing. It took six hours to remove four bodies from the smashed truck. The fifth person died at the hospital early Wednesday morning. [United Transportation Union, 6-11-08, from Associated Press report]
LOUISIANA & NORTH WEST R.R. BOUGHT BY PATRIOT RAIL: Patriot Rail Corp. said it has bought Louisiana & North West Railroad, a short line freight railroad based in Homer, La. This transaction marks the fifth railroad acquisition by the Boca Raton-based short line and regional freight railroad holding company since its inception in November 2006. Patriot now operates a total of 321 miles of rail line in seven states. Incorporated in 1889, the LNW operates 68 miles of track from Gibsland, La., to McNeil, Ark. [United Transportation Union, 6-11-08, from South Florida Business Journal report]
KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT: Kansas City Southern has announced that David L. Starling is the company's new president and chief operating officer. Starling, who begins his new role July 1, has been president and director of the Panama Canal Railway Co., a joint venture of Kansas City Southern and Mi-Jack Products. Starling takes the place of Art Shoener, who has resigned. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-10-08, from Kansas City Star website report]
NTSB ISSUES REPORT ON 2005 METRA CRASH: The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its final report on the Metra accident in Elmwood Park in November 2005 that injured 16 people. The train was travelling at up to 70 miles an hour when it smashed into several cars, destroying six and damaging a dozen more. The NTSB cited a number of factors that caused the crash. They say this is an unusually wide-grade crossing with an acute angle where vehicles pass. And even alert drivers can easily get caught between lowered crossing gates. It was Thanksgiving eve, and traffic was heavy at the Grand Avenue crossing. The board watched a presentation that included a picture of a school bus trapped between lowered crossing gates. A study identified the Elmwood Park crossing as the most dangerous in the state. But NTSB staffers defended the state, saying it would cost $100-million to separate the crossing from traffic. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-10-08, from abc7chicago website report]
METRO TRAIN DERAILS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA: A Metro train derailed June 9 in Northern Virginia, and about 400 people had to be rescued from a tunnel, officials said. No injuries were reported. The third car of a six-car train derailed about 2:45 p.m. between the Rosslyn and Court House stations, Metro spokeswoman Emily Heppen said. The cause was under investigation. There were no injuries, but Metro General Manager John Catoe said a pregnant woman who described "a strange feeling in her stomach" was taken to a hospital as a precaution. The derailment occurred when one wheel of the third car came off the track, Catoe said. Most of the 400 people on board chose to continue traveling to their destinations on a rescue train that linked up to the derailed train. [United Transportation Union, 6-9-08, from Baltimore Sun report]
NORTH CAROLINA TO EXPAND AMTRAK SERVICE: The N.C. Department of Transportation will add a third train between Raleigh and Charlotte to the Amtrak services to meet growing demand and ridership increases. The new train will run midday and stop in Greensboro, Burlington and High Point, as do the other two trains. Officials estimate it will take six months to a year to make the third run operational. Rail cars and locomotives will need to be refurbished for the service. The estimated cost to operate the additional route is $3-million a year. The federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program will provide the money for the first three years. [United Transportation Union, 6-6-08, from News Record report]
AMTRAK TRAIN INVOLVED IN TWO CROSSING ACCIDENTS, TWO KILLED: Southbound train City of New Orleans struck a car Wednesday afternoon (June 4) in McComb, Miss., injuring the driver, and later hit another car 40 miles away in Independence, La., killing two people, the Clarion Ledger reports. The driver of the car in the McComb accident did not appear to be seriously injured but was taken to a Jackson hospital, police said. McComb police said McEwen attempted to go over the tracks at the Nehi Circle crossing despite its flashing lights. Killed in the Louisiana crash were Beverly Barnett, 48, and Draymond Vinning, 53, both of Independence, said the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Department. [United Transportation Union, 6-5-08, from Clarion Ledger report]
UNION PACIFIC BLOCKS CALIFORNIA BULLET-TRAIN PLAN: Five months before voters decide whether to approve bonds for a 200-mph bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the $30-billion project has hit an obstacle. The Union Pacific railroad is declining to share its right-of-way. Officials at the railroad recently told the California High Speed Rail Authority that they have safety and operational concerns about running a bullet train close to lumbering freight trains. High-speed rail promoters say the freight hauler's hard-line stand may simply be a bargaining ploy, and could be overcome in any case by buying adjacent land. [United Transportation Union, 6-5-08, from Los Angeles Times report]
SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION REJECTS CSX'S ARGUMENTS IN TCI LAWSUIT: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has weighed in on a legal dispute between CSX Corp. and two money managers trying to wage a proxy fight at the company, saying it disagrees with the railroad's interpretation of disclosure rules. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York, who is expected to issue a decision soon on the litigation, the SEC deputy director for corporation finance said his office disagreed with CSX's interpretation of disclosure rules around equity swap transactions. SEC official Brian Breheny wrote he did not believe swap transactions carried out by hedge fund The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) with bank counter-parties made the money manager the beneficial owner - with voting powers - of those shares and violated reporting requirements by failing to disclose beneficial ownership. The swaps were not "not sufficient to create beneficial ownership" under federal securities laws, Breheny wrote. Separately, six U.S. lawmakers asked the Treasury Department to review TCI's investment in CSX, saying they were concerned it leaves the ownership and control of critical U.S. infrastructure in the hands of unknown investors. CSX is engaged in an acrimonious proxy battle with TCI and 3G, which have proposed an alternate slate of five directors for CSX's 12-member board with the aim of improving the railroad's operating performance and corporate governance. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 6-5-08, from Reuters report]
U.S. RAIL CARLOADS UP, INTERMODAL DOWN IN MAY: Carload freight was up but intermodal volume was down on U.S. railroads during May in comparison with May 2007, the Association of American Railroads has reported. Carloads of freight originated on U.S. railroads rose to 1,315,354 in May 2008, a 0.5 percent (7,061 carloads) increase compared to last year. U.S. railroads also originated 901,380 intermodal units in May 2008, a decline of 0.9 percent (8,577 trailers and containers) from May 2007. Nine of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in May 2008 compared to May 2007. [Assn. of American Railroads, 6-5-08]
NEW LIFE FOR A GP9 LOCOMOTIVE: Fifty-four years after it first saw Canadian Pacific rails, one of the railroad's GP9s has been given new life by Electro-Motive Diesel and has returned to service on CPR as a 710ECO Repower. GP22ECO No. 7102, rebuilt and repowered with a U.S. EPA Tier 2-compliant, 8-710G3A-T2, 2,150-hp, single-turbocharged eight-cylinder diesel, "allows railroads to leverage their fleet investment by updating older yard and road switchers with the latest microprocessor-controlled locomotive engine technology, for lower emissions, increased fuel economy, greater reliability, easier serviceability, and predictable maintenance costs," according to EMD Product Manager Kevin Bahnline. [RailwayAge.com, 6-5-08]
FUND ESTABLISHED TO MOVE GRASSELLI TOWER: The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, North Judson, Indiana, has a fundraising goal of $50,000 to move Grasselli Tower from East Chicago. The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad decommissioned the tower during the later part of 2007 and promptly offered the tower to the museum, on the condition that it be moved off site. Grasselli is one of the last remaining railroad towers in Northern Indiana. Once the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum gets Grasselli Tower moved to North Judson, the museum intends to make it into a working tower. For further information go to www.grassellitower.com.
AMENITIES ENCHANCED ON COAST STARLIGHT: Amtrak unveils a new look on the Coast Starlight just in time for the busy summer travel season. This legendary train (operating daily between Los Angeles and Seattle) features refurbished Parlour Cars, new Arcade rooms and enhanced amenities. The new features and amenities include at seat meal options for Coach passengers and new arcade rooms equipped with arcade-style video games and board games. Sleeping Car passengers will experience a refurbished Parlour Car with enhanced services such as alternative dining, daily wine tasting with regional wines, a specialty coffee bar and a newly redesigned theater with 50-inch plasma HD monitors. The redesigned theater features family and classic movies three times a day. Parlour Car menu items include regional cuisine such as Pacific Bay scallops and Santa Maria beef short-ribs. Complimentary library and board games are also available in the Car. [Amtrak, 6-3-08]
AMTRAK BENEFITTING FROM HIGHER GASOLINE PRICES: Amtrak has seen a windfall from ballooning gas prices that are sending increasing numbers of Northeast travelers from cars to trains. The company served 6,333,027 riders in the Northeast corridor between October and April, 11.2 percent more than during the same months the year before, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said. Nationally, the company had a 10.6 percent ridership increase during that period. Gas prices continue to break records each day, with the average price for regular gasoline hitting $3.98 Sunday in the Washington metro area, up from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Although Amtrak's October-to-April increase in ridership was particularly dramatic, the company has seen moderate ridership growth over the past five years. Commuter rail service Virginia Railway Express had a 12 percent increase in riders in April, and officials are also attributing that to the price of gas. [United Transportation Union, 6-2-08, from D.C. Examiner report]
GENESEE & WYOMING BUYS CAGY INDUSTRIES: Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has completed its acquisition of CAGY Industries, Inc. for approximately $78.4-million in cash, to be adjusted for final working capital. In addition, GWI has agreed to pay contingent consideration of up to $18.6-million upon satisfaction of certain conditions over the next two years, it said. CAGY is the parent company of three short line railroads: Columbus & Greenville Railway in Mississippi; Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway in Georgia and Tennessee; and Luxapalila Valley Railroad in Mississippi and Alabama. GWI owns and operates short line and regional freight railroads in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands and owns a minority interest in a railroad in Bolivia. Operations currently include 51 railroads organized in nine regions, with more than 6,000 miles of owned and leased track and approximately 3,000 additional miles under track access arrangements. [Genesee & Wyoming, 6-2-08]
RENOVATION SLATED FOR AMTRAK'S WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, STATION: Amtrak will undertake a $30-million renovation of its Wilmington, Delaware, station on the Northeast Corridor. Built in 1907, the station has already been stripped of many historical features and will feature more modern fixtures by the time Amtrak completes the makeover in 2011. Amtrak is categorizing the work in Wilmington as being for State of Good Repair and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-30-08]
AMTRAK TO RELAUNCH ITS 'REGIONAL' SERVICE ON N.E.C.: Amtrak is in the process of 'relaunching' its Regional Service in the Northeast Corridor, a process that is expected to be publicized in June. Already, changes have included standardization of the food service car to recently refurbished all-table dinettes, positioned in the middle of the consist. A new cafe menu has been rolled out. Amtrak plans to overhaul more Amfleet coaches, make further modifications to food service cars, increase the available fleet, and make variable consist sizes a standard practice to meet demand. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-30-08]
COMMUTER TRAIN COLLIDES INTO ANOTHER IN MASSACHUSETTS, KILLING ONE: Federal investigators arrived May 29 at the tracks outside Bostonwhere two commuter trains collided and derailed during rush hour a day earlier, trapping and killing a train operator and injuring more than a dozen passengers. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were trying to determine what caused Wednesday's above-ground crash, which killed 24-year-old Terrese Edmonds near a station in suburban Newton, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The two-car train Edmonds was operating struck the back of another two-car train approaching Woodland Station during the evening rush hour, Pesaturo said. The trains had about 200 passengers combined. [United Transportation Union, 5-29-08, from Associated Press report]
CHICAGO ELEVATED TRAIN DERAILS, 24 INJURED: Multiple injuries have been reported in a train derailment on the Chicago Transit Authority's Green Line May 28. The crash happened in the South Side Washington Park neighborhood. A total of 24 people were reported to be injured, Fire Media Affairs Asst. Director Eve Rodriguez said. Four were reported in fair to serious condition and 20 people were reported in good to fair condition, Rodriguez said. [United Transportation Union, 5-28-08, from WMAQ-TV website report]
AT LEAST SEVEN HURT AS AMTRAK TRAIN STRIKES TRUCK IN MISSISSIPPI: An Amtrak passenger train, the southbound City of New Orleans, collided with a garbage truck on a rural stretch of central Mississippi track May 27, injuring at least seven people, authorities said. A fire broke out after the collision, authorities said, damaging the engine. The train's final car, which was empty, left the track in Copiah County, south of Jackson. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train left Chicago on Monday night and was due in Louisiana Tuesday afternoon. He said there were 96 passengers aboard the train and 11 Amtrak employees. "Two of the injured were waste management employees and five were from the train," said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn. The remaining passengers aboard the train were moved to a nearby school and were to be taken to their destinations by bus, Magliari said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-28-08, from Associated Press report]
USA RAIL PASS IS NOW AVAILABLE DOMESTICALLY: Amtrak has removed the purchasing restrictions on its USA Rail Passes. U.S. citizens may now purchase the passes, which were formerly available only to international visitors. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-23-08]
WILLISTON, N.D., TO IMPROVE ITS AMTRAK DEPOT: Williston, North Dakota, has approved a plan to improve its Amtrak station, served daily by the Empire Builder. The first phase will cost $108,000, while the second phase will cost $109,000. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-23-08]
RAILROADS FOUR TIMES MORE FUEL EFFICIENT THAN TRUCKS, AAR SAYS: For every 27 gallons of diesel consumed by trucks to haul one ton of freight, railroads burn seven gallons to reach a similar distance, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). As part of its "Freight Railroads Go the Distance" campaign, the association notes that U.S. railroads last year moved a ton of freight an average of 436 miles per each gallon of fuel, a 3.1 percent improvement vs. 2006 and "astonishing" 85.5 percent improvement vs. 1980, the AAR said. "That's the equivalent of moving a ton of freight all the way from Baltimore to Boston on just a single gallon of diesel fuel," said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger in a prepared statement. Railroads continue to take steps to further reduce fuel consumption and air emissions, such as by working with suppliers to develop technologies that reduce locomotive idling, as well as hybrid and gen-set switchers for yards, and other hybrid and fuel-cell locomotives, the association said. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 5-22-08]
AMTRAK TO UPGRADE N.E.C. TRAFFIC CONTROL: Amtrak has awarded a contract to ARINC to develop a centralized electrification and traffic control (CETC) system for the Northeast travel corridor that runs from Washington through Baltimore; Wilmington, Del.; Philadelphia; Trenton and Newark, N.J.; New York; New Haven, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; and Boston. The system will be based on ARINC's Advanced Information Management (AIM) platform, which the company has deployed for several transit agencies in the Northeast travel corridor, including the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority; New Jersey Transit; and the Metro North, Long Island and Mass Bay Commuter railroads. The AIM system will provide enhanced blocking capabilities by integrating the Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee Form D and blocking functions, enhanced graphics and field communications tools, and other functionality enhancements. The project is expected to run for approximately three years, with the first transition to the new CETC scheduled to occur in March 2010. [United Transportation Union, 5-21-08, from gcn.com report by Dan Campbell]
BNSF OPENS QUADRUPLE TRACK IN POWDER RIVER BASIN: Last week, BNSF Railway Co. marked history in Wyoming. The railroad placed into service 21 miles of fourth mainline in the Powder River Basin (PRB) - the world's longest stretch of quadruple mainline devoted exclusively to freight service, BNSF believes. On May 14, the company placed the track into service under the "super highway" concept, which calls for completing mainline track first and adding universal crossovers later to make the new trackage available sooner. This section of the PRB line - a portion of which BNSF shares with Union Pacific Railroad - averages from 132 trains to 150 trains daily during peak periods. The addition of the fourth track will boost capacity to about 200 trains per day, BNSF said. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 5-21-08]
CSX PLANS NEW FREIGHT TERMINAL IN PITTSBURGH: CSX Corp. plans to build a freight terminal in the Pittsburgh area and make its corridor through the region able to accommodate double-stacked trains as part of a $700-million project to connect Mid-Atlantic ports with the Midwest. CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the planned Pittsburgh terminal and another terminal in Chambersburg could translate to thousands of new jobs in Pennsylvania. And the ability to bring freight through the region on double-stacked trains could also be a boon for the economy, Sullivan said. CSX's so-called National Gateway project will make improvements along three of its corridors, including the Interstate 76/Interstate 70 corridor between Washington, D.C., and the Pittsburgh area and continuing to northwest Ohio. The other corridors run along I-95 between North Carolina and Baltimore. To provide ample clearance for double-stacked trains along the corridors, Sullivan said, there are about 80 areas where tracks will have to be lowered, overpasses raised or tunnels redone. CSX, which already has $300-million set aside to build new terminals as part of the Gateway project, will seek funding from private and public sources to do the clearance work. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-20-08, from Beaver County Times website report]
HISTORIC CABOOSE FINDS NEW HOME AT WESTERN PACIFIC R.R. MUSEUM: The Feather River Rail Society welcomed the latest addition to its collection of historic railroad equipment at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola on May 17 with the arrival of Central California Traction Company (CCT) caboose #24. CCT 24 was built in 1927 for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, where its original road number was ATSF 1547. It was acquired by CCT in 1967 and was the last caboose used by their railroad, finally retiring from regular service in 1998. It was acquired by the Feather River Rail Society through an equipment trade with CCT in 2007. Its last journey over what once were the rails of the Western Pacific saw it arriving at its new home in Portola on May 16, 2008. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-20-08, from Reno Gazette-Journal website report]
JOHN MCCAIN WOULD KILL AMTRAK, UNION SAYS: Overall, most Republicans in Congress have not been helpful to the labor agenda. The White House staff and George Bush frequently treat us with contempt. Let me talk about one of the presidential candidates, Senator John McCain, whom I have spent a lot of time with on Capitol Hill. He is a man of strong beliefs, a military hero, the son of a decorated Navy admiral, and well respected on both sides of the Senate aisle. He also has sponsored legislation to repeal the Railway Labor Act and require compulsory arbitration of disputes. And that arbitration, no doubt, would be by carrier-friendly arbitrators, because Sen. McCain sponsored that legislation at the request of railroads. John McCain also would eliminate Amtrak. He is a man who, once he makes up his mind, refuses to listen to additional facts. If you try to provide those facts, his well-known temper kicks in. If John McCain is elected president, we will be looking back on the George Bush years as the good old days. There are Republicans who deserve the support of working families. We will be inspecting the voting records and history of all political candidates before Election Day. [United Transportation Union, 5-19-08, excerpted from article by James M. Brunkenhoefer, National Legislative Director]
NEW BUFFALO, MICHIGAN, GETTING NEW AMTRAK STATION: New Buffalo, Michigan, will soon break ground on its new Amtrak station following an official announcement from Amtrak and Mayor Bob Westergren. The station will be a significant improvement from the current platform. The central location will allow Blue Water and Wolverine trains to serve the city. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 5-16-08]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN WINS 19TH STRAIGHT HARRIMAN GOLD SAFETY AWARD: Norfolk Southern Corp. has been awarded the rail industry's top honor for employee safety for the 19th consecutive year. The railroad received the gold E.H. Harriman Memorial Safety Award for its performance last year against other big U.S. railroads. The award was given by the E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Institute, whose directors include representatives from the Association of American Railroads and the National Transportation Safety Board. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-15-08, from Virginian-Pilot report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN, GUILFORD IN JOINT CORRIDOR RAIL DEAL: Norfolk Southern and Guilford Transportation (also known as Pan Am Railways) will share costs in creating a joint subsidiary, Pan Am Southern Railway, that will include an upgraded rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area, to be called the Patriot Corridor. Guilford's Springfield Terminal Railway will operate the joint venture, which will require approval by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. A joint press release by the two railroads promises improved track quality and customer service, faster train speeds and reliability, and increased capacity over the new corridor. No timetable for completion was announced. Guilford will transfer to the joint venture its 155-mile main line track that runs between Albany, N.Y., and Ayer, Mass., along with 281 miles of secondary and branch lines, including trackage rights, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. NS will transfer cash and other property valued at $140-million to the joint venture, $87.5-million of which is expected to be invested within a three-year period in capital improvements on the Patriot Corridor. [Joint press release, 5-15-08]
MUNI TO TAP SOLAR POWER FOR OPERATIONS: San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission has authorized a 5-megawatt solar power project that, among other items, will provide power to the city's MUNI light rail system. The facility will be placed on the roofs of the newly retrofitted Sunset Reservoir, and on Pier 96, which houses a recycling center. The PUC expects the project to generate enough electricity for both buildings, and for other buildings including San Francisco General Hospital, as well as for MUNI. [RailwayAge.com, 5-15-08]
SIEMENS WINS $2-B BELGIAN TRAIN ORDER: Siemens has announced that its Mobility Division has received an order from Belgian National Railways (SNCB) for 305 multiple-unit trains valued at more than $2-billion. It's the largest rolling stock order Siemens has ever received. Scheduled for use in Belgium's regional service,the trains will be built to the Desiro ML design. Each will accommodate 280 passengers and will have a top speed of 100 mph. [RailwayAge.com, 5-15-08]
AMTRAK WALL CALENDAR PHOTO CONTEST: Amtrak's fifth annual "Picture Our Train" photo contest is underway. Amtrak employees and rail fans are invited to submit their best photograph of an Amtrak train, with the winning image to be featured on Amtrak's 2009 wall calendar. Winner will receive a $1,000 travel voucher and a photo credit on the calendar. The four runners-up will receive travel vouchers ranging from $100 to $500. A panel of judges will review each entry and select the best original color photograph featuring a train with the current Amtrak logo and livery visible, or trains displaying Amtrak Acela, Amtrak Cascades, Amtrak California and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner paint scheme. Contestants must submit an 8x10 original photo suitable for enlargement up to 25 inches. Contestants are reminded to stay away from tracks, moving trains, yards, railroad structures (such as bridges, trestles, towers and wires) and the railroad right-of-way. Photographers must not trespass on railroad property or on private property adjacent to the railroad. To enter, mail photograph to: Amtrak Wall Calendar Contest, 60 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 4E-315, Washington, DC, 20002. Digital photos will be considered, provided the resolution permits enlargement to poster size. All entries must be postmarked no later than July 11. [United Transportation Union, 5-14-08, from Webwire.com report]
FEDS BLAME NORFOLK SOUTHERN FOR FIERY 2006 CRASH IN PENNSYLVANIA: Federal investigators have pinned the blame for the 2006 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Corp. ethanol train in New Brighton, Pa., on an "inadequate" rail inspection and maintenance program. That substandard rail program at the Norfolk-based railroad caused a section of rail to fracture, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The Federal Railroad Administration's lack of oversight of the rail inspection process and its insufficient requirements for rail inspection also contributed to the accident, the board concluded. About 20 of the 23 derailed tank cars released ethanol, causing a huge fire that burned for two days and forced roughly 100 residents to be evacuated. Several of the rail cars fell into the Beaver River, as the derailment occurred on a bridge near Pittsburgh. There were no injuries or fatalities in the Oct. 20, 2006, incident. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-14-08, from Virginian-Pilot website report]
PORT OF SEATTLE BUYS SNOHOMISH LINE FROM BNSF: BNSF and the Port of Seattle have signed an agreement allowing the port to acquire a 42-mile rail route between Renton and Snohomish, Washington, for $107-million. King County is contributing $2-million toward the purchase, and has been granted the right for a future trail along the southern 32 miles of the right-of-way. Rail freight service is envisioned for much of the route, as is potential commuter rail service. [RailwayAge.com, 5-13-08]
COMPANY SEEKS TO REOPEN RAIL LINE IN PENNSYLVANIA: The R.J. Corman Railroad plans to file a request with the Surface Transportation Board to reactivate 20 miles of rail line that could serve a landfill and industrial park another company wants to build in Rush Township, Pennsylvania. The proposed rail line would cover about 20 miles from Wallaceton in Clearfield County through Rush Township to the Gorton area in Snow Shoe Township. Resource Recovery, a company that wants to build a municipal waste landfill and industrial park in the northern corner of Rush Township, is the prospective shipper that could use the line. The railroad was active from the mid-1880s until about 15 to 20 years ago. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-13-08, from Centre Daily Times website report]
CANADIAN NATIONAL INTRODUCES NEW INTERMODAL SERVICE: CN has announced that it is introducing intermodal service connecting the Eastern Quebec region with Toronto and western Canada. CN said the new service will appeal to forest products producers and other shippers of heavy products "who can load 66,000 pounds in a 40-foot container, which has the equivalent of a 53-foot truck trailer." CN will offer Quebec City shippers daily service to Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. "We believe there is a strong interest in this intermodal option in the Quebec City area and beyond, including Johnquiere, Chicoutini, Montmagny, La Pocatiere, and Riveire-du-Loup," said Stan Jablonski, the railroads senior vice president sales. [RailwayAge.com, 5-12-08]
CSX TO BUILD $80-MILLION HUB IN OHIO: In just a few years southern Wood County, Ohio, will be home to a major transportation hub, a rail line and trucking hub for the Village of North Baltimore. CSX Corporation met with Wood County leaders in Bowling Green May 7 to brief them on the national gateway project. Lisa Mancini, CSX vice president for strategic infrastructure, updated those in attendance on the so-called intermodal hub planned for North Baltimore. The company says it will be a significant part of a complex transportation network bringing double-stacked rail cars into Wood County, and then back out to destinations all over the country. The hub itself will employ about 100 initial top-dollar railroad jobs, and could bring thousands of additional jobs to the county, an area that's been hard hit with factory closings. But the land, which is currently being cleared, is scheduled to hold more than just a railyard. Warehouses and a distribution center are expected to be constructed near the hub, possibly bringing another 2,00-3,000 jobs with them. [United Transportation Union, 5-8-08, from MyFoxToledo website report]
U.S. RAIL TRAFFIC MIXED IN APRIL: U.S. railroads reported mixed results in April, with carload freight up and intermodal traffic down, the Association of American Railroads has reported. A total of 1,668,255 carloads of freight were originated during the month, up 14,883 carloads (0.9 percent) from April 2007. U.S. railroads also originated 1,117,511 intermodal units in April 2008, a decline of 24,323 trailers and containers (2.1 percent) from April 2007. Seven of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in April 2008 compared to April 2007. [Assn. of American Railroads, 5-8-08]
CASA GRANDE TO GET DEPOT FROM UNION PACIFIC: Casa Grande, Arizona, has approved its part of a $35-million, four-government agreement that provides help from Union Pacific Railroad with new crossings needed for double-tracking between Yuma and Tucson. In return for not opposing the railroad's double-tracking during hearings by the Arizona Corporation Commission, Casa Grande will receive money toward improvements, including encasing its water pipes near Anderson Road, and will be given the old railroad depot building on Main Street. The agreement says the city and railroad "shall negotiate in good faith" for removing the depot from UP's right of way within a reasonable time, at city expense. It adds that "from and after donation to the city, the city shall fence off the depot as reasonably requested by UPRR and shall be solely responsible for all future maintenance and upkeep of the depot and fencing." [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-8-08, from Casa Grande Valley Newspaper website report]
AMTRAK'S MINOT DEPOT GETTING FACELIFT: The Amtrak depot in Minot, N.D., will get a new roof and new brick exterior this year. There will be a ribbon cutting May 10, National Train Day, with refreshments and an exhibit showing how the new depot will look. There will be a drawing for two free Amtrak tickets to Chicago. This is the first National Train Day sponsored by Amtrak. It recognizes May 10, 1869, as the date the "golden spoke" was driven into the final tie at Promontory Summit, Utah, to join the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads, completing the first transcontinental railroad. The restoration of Minot's depot also has historical overtones. The reconstruction will restore the building to its original condition. The exterior will be the same old-style brick from North Dakota's Hebron Brick Co. as existed on the original building. The committee heading up the restoration hasn't determined what type of interior work will be done because the remodeling will depend on available money. The committee would like to reproduce the wainscoting and tin ceiling of the original depot. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad owns the depot, which is leased by Amtrak. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-7-08, from Minot Daily News website report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN EXHIBIT CAR TO TOUR 23 CITIES: The Norfolk Southern Exhibit Car, a traveling showcase highlighting the Thoroughbred of Transportation, will tour 23 cities in 2008. The nine-state May-December itinerary for the rebuilt passenger coach will include a five-city whistle-stop train operated by Norfolk Southern to promote safe transportation of hazardous materials, as well as three special trains supporting Operation Lifesaver, the national rail safety education group. The Exhibit Car, which has hosted some 1.5 million people in several hundred communities since 1971, houses interactive displays featuring Norfolk Southern's transportation network. New for the 2008 tour is an updated locomotive simulator that puts guests in the engineer's seat in control of a virtual train. [Norfolk Southern, 5-6-08]
UNION PACIFIC'S OREGON RAIL REPAIRS DONE: After 105 days and 19 million cubic feet of mud, Union Pacific has completed the herculean task of restoring all rail service through the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. The mudslide occurred on Jan. 19, 2008, eight miles southeast of Oakridge, Ore., and wiped out 3,000 feet of track in three different areas. Union Pacific employees and contractors worked around the clock to remove logs and unsuitable material from the site, and bring in rock to rebuild the mountain. Crews will be working on clean-up efforts for the next month. A slide fence, which activates a warning if there is a subsequent slide, will also be constructed on the mountain. Until the fence is complete in early June, the area will be continuously monitored to ensure the tracks are safe for rail traffic. [Union Pacific, 5-6-08]
CALIFORNIA NORTHERN R.R. ENDS SERVICE: California Northern Railroad is no longer running trains into Vallejo, a company spokesman said. After nearly 140 years of freight and passenger rail service in Vallejo, an era has ended. The final rail cars serving Vallejo delivered steel beams and other goods and equipment to four Mare Island companies. Rail service stopped on March 31 on tracks between American Canyon and Vallejo due to the steep $11-million costs of meeting California Public Utilities Commission standards. [United Transportation Union, 5-5-08, from Times Herald report]
FLORIDA SENATE AXES CSX LEGAL PROTECTIONS DEAL: Senate leaders have announced they were stripping a transportation bill of the legal protections CSX Corp. says it needs to pave the way for Central Florida's commuter rail deal. Claiming the huge bill loaded with projects for other regions like South Florida was being weighted down by the controversial rail deal, Senate Transportation Chairman Carey Baker, R-Eustis, said he would gut the CSX legal protections and framwork for the deal to buy the 61-mile line. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-2-08, from Orlando Sentinel website report]
COAST STARLIGHT TO RETURN TO FULL SERVICE: Full service will resume next week on Amtrak's Coast Starlight, which has operated on a truncated route since a mudslide buried a stretch of tracks in Oregon on Jan. 19, Amtrak officials announced May 1. An enormous slide on Coyote Mountain, north of Chemult, Ore., deposited mud and rocks as deep as 200 feet atop the Union Pacific rails used by the Coast Starlight. It's taken crews three and a half months to remove the debris and replace the tracks. The first full-service Coast Starlight will depart Los Angeles next Tuesday [May 6], but the southbound train leaving Seattle on May 7 will pass through the restored area first, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. "We're excited," she said. "It's been a lot longer than any of us anticipated." [United Transportation Union, 5-1-08, from San Francisco Chronicle report]
BIRMINGHAM SEEKS BIDS FOR STREETCAR SYSTEM: The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority in Alabama says it seeks proposals for the design and construction of its planned $33-million, 2.5-mile streetcar system. Birmingham hopes to start construction on the line by November. The proposed route would begin at the intermodal facility on Morris Avenue and wind through the city, passing cultural hotspots, such as the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. City and transit authority officials may travel to Milan, Italy, to view Peter Witt-style heritage streetcars in operation there; Birmingham is mulling use of such cars for its project. [RailwayAge.com, 5-1-08]
UNION PACIFIC APPROVES 2-1 STOCK SPLIT: Union Pacific Corp.'s board has approved a plan to split the railroad company's stock later this month. The railroad's board approved the plan May 1 before the company's annual shareholder meeting in Salt Lake City. All Union Pacific investors who own stock on May 12 will receive one additional share of stock for every share they own. The company's board also approved a plan to repurchase 20 million shares of its stock by April 2011. [United Transportation Union, 5-1-08, from Associated Press report]
GENESEE & WYOMING REPORTS 1-Q EARNINGS: Shortline railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming has reported its first-quarter profit tumbled 27.3 percent to $10.4-million or 29 cents per share, from $14.3 million or 34 cents per share in the prior year. Income from continuing operations fell to $11.2-million or 31 cents per share, from $16.1 million or 38 cents per share. Weather-related costs reduced earnings by five cents a share, acquisition-related expenses related to the company's recently announced acquisitions of Rotterdam Rail Feeding in the Netherlands and CAGY Industries in the United States and a legal settlement related to a liability claim from the late 1990s slashed earnings by another three cents. The results also included a gain of one cent a share from the sale of assets, the company said. Revenue jumped 12.5 percent to $140.7-million from $125.1-million. [United Transportation Union, 4-30-08, from forbes.com report]
AMTRAK N.E. CORRIDOR POSTS INCREASED RIDERSHIP: Amtrak's Northeast corridor posted January ridership and revenue numbers well ahead of both last year and the national passenger rail company's budget. Amtrak cited improved on-time performance, faster service, higher gasoline prices and poor competition from the airline industry as factors in the increases. The Northeast corridor includes stops along the route that runs from Boston to Washington. Revenue climbed 18 percent over last year for the month of January, according to recently released figures. That beat the budget by 14 percent. The Acela high-speed service posted a 22-percent gain over last year, with Northeast regional trains seeing a 14-percent increase. Amtrak's January revenues in the Northeast corridor were $67.7-million, 57 percent of the company's total revenues of $119.1-million for the month. Amtrak's total January revenues were up 15 percent compared with a year ago and 11 percent compared with budget projections. Revenues also climbed because of a fare increase that did not dampen ridership, which increased 13 percent versus last year and 12 percent versus the budget. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-30-08, from Providence Journal website report]
EXCESSIVE SPEED CAUSED TRAIN CRASH IN CHINA, INVESTIGATORS SAY: Investigators on April 29 blamed speeding for China's worst train accident in a decade, a disaster that killed at least 70 people and injured more than 400. The finding was announced by an investigation panel set up by China's Cabinet, the State Council, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It came just a little more than 24 hours after the two passenger trains collided in Shandong province in eastern China. The investigation found one of the trains was traveling at 81 miles per hour before the accident, far over the section's speed limit of 50 mph, Xinhua said. The government has already sacked two railway officials over the accident. Seventy of the 416 people injured in the crash were in critical condition in hospitals, according to Xinhua. [United Transportation Union, 4-29-08, from Associated Press report]
MISSOURI TO CONTINUE AMTRAK SUBSIDY: Amtrak gets the money to keep two passenger trains chugging back and forth across Missouri. House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to provide $8-million in subsidies for the twice daily trains that run between St. Louis and Kansas City with several stops in between. When the budget passed the House in March, members had cut the subsidies nearly in half. That could have forced Amtrak to eliminate one of the trains. House members complained of frequent delays for Amtrak, because of congested freight travel along the tracks. Senators said eliminating one train only would have caused a larger drop in ridership and inconvenienced travelers. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-29-08, from Associated Press report]
BNSF'S 1-Q INCOME RISES 30 PERCENT: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.'s first-quarter net income rose 30 percent, as the commodities boom translated into increased volume and better prices on shipments of agricultural products and coal. The gain came even as the company spent more than $1-billion on fuel, up 55 percent from a year earlier. The company, however, was able to collect an additional $280 million in fuel surcharges from its customers. BNSF reported net income of $455-million or $1.30 a share, compared with $349-million or 96 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 17 percent. [United Transportation Union, 4-29-08, from Dow Jones Newswires website report]
CONTRACT AWARDED FOR WORLD'S LONGEST RAILROAD TUNNEL: A $1.64-billion contract to install infrastructure for the world's longest rail tunnel - the Gothard Base Tunnel in Switzerland - has been awarded to the Transtec Gothard Consortium. The consortium is responsible for completing the infrastructure for two single-track tunnels 35.3 miles in length as well as nearly seven miles of surface track north and south to connect the new tunnel with the existing ail network. The tunnel is scheduled to be ready for commercial operation in 2017. [RailwayAge.com, 4-29-08]
TRAINS COLLIDE IN CHINA, AT LEAST 66 DEAD: A predawn collision between two passenger trains in Eastern China has killed at least 66 people and injured 247, according to Xinhua, the state news agency, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in recent years. The two trains, one heading from Beijing to Qingdao and the other traveling between Yantai and Xuzhou, collided at 4:40 a.m. in the town of Zibo, Shandong Province. Witnesses said one train derailed at a bend and then struck the other, throwing at least ten cars into a ditch. [United Transportation Union, 4-28-08, from New York Times report]
TRUCK DRIVER CHARGED IN CSX DERAILMENT, 4 WORKERS HURT: Four CSX employees were rushed to the hospital after their train derailed in Arlington, Tennessee, around 3:30 p.m. April 25th. A spokesperson with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department says the accident happened when the train slammed into a tractor-trailer that was crossing the tracks along Jetway Avenue near Highway 70. The truck driver, 33 year-old Marlin Liggins, was not injured and faces charges in the incident. Investigators say the train hit the rear of Liggins' trailer, which was carrying corn syrup. The train, carrying a shipment of automobiles, derailed in an industrial section of Arlington where several factories are located. The crossing where the accident happened has warning signals but no gates. Sheriff's deputies charged the driver with disregarding a railroad signal. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-26-08, from My EyeWitnessNews website report]
F.R.A. SAYS CSX HARASSED WORKERS: Federal rail regulators, in a stinging report on safety practices at CSX Transportation, say the officials at the railroad created a "chilling" atmosphere discouraging workers from reporting injuries and that actions by CSX officials likely have violated the law. The Federal Railroad Administration said the alleged violations "cannot be treated as proven." But the report said the agency's Office of Safety is recommending 30 civil penalty violation assessments against the railroad and a single assessment of individual liability against a CSX officer. The FRA said it is issuing warning letters to CSX officials, including warning letters from the FRA's Office of Chief Counsel. CSX, in a letter by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tony Ingram sent to the FRA last October and included in the report, said it has undertaken "remedial actions" in response to the incidents that were investigated and "to prevent such conduct from occurring." A spokesman for the railroad said the railroad "does not tolerate harassment and intimidation of employees" and "we have taken appropriate action where we have identified isolated instances of that behavior." [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-25-08, from Traffic World website report]
OREGONIANS CRITICAL OF RAIL SHUTDOWN: Regional shippers and several members of Oregon's Congressional delegation say the owner of a closed railroad line has shirked its duties and urged federal regulators to increase their oversight of carriers, the Associated Press reports. Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith and Rep. Peter DeFazio testified April 24 before the federal Surface Transportation Board, along with Allyn Ford, representing the Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition of shippers. All complained about the problems the state has faced since Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad - and its parent company, RailAmerica - abruptly closed the line that runs between the Eugene and Coos Bay areas last fall. RailAmerica officials declined comment, but are expected to speak before the board Friday. The Surface Transportation Board held the two-day hearing to assess the obligation of carriers on railroads. There is some discussion in the U.S. Senate of increasing federal regulation of railroads. The federal board has given RailAmerica a month to justify its actions in closing the line. If the board determines RailAmerica abandoned the line, someone else could come in and operate it. [United Transportation Union, 4-25-08, from Associated Press report]
MAINE SENATE PASSES FUNDING TO EXTEND DOWNEASTER: Maine's Senate has passed additional transportation funding that will include capital funds to extend Amtrak's Downeaster from Portland to Brunswick, which could happen within two years. Once Brunswick is reached, the plan is to expand Brunswick-Bath-Wiscasset-Rockland service from seasonal to year-round. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 4-25-08]
AMTRAK TO MOVE SOME POSITIONS FROM BEECH GROVE: Amtrak will shift 80 maintenance positions away from its Beech Grove shops by the summer as the company implements a new maintenance program called Life Cycle Preventive Maintenance that involves phasing overhaul requirements so they are met when the units would normally be out of service anyway. Twenty-seven positions specializing in wheels will go to the shops in Chicago while 53 locomotive maintenance positions will move to Wilmington, Delaware. Amtrak told the Indianapolis Business Journal that 475 workers will remain at Beech Grove. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 4-25-08]
UNION PACIFIC REPORTS INCREASED EARNINGS: Union Pacific Co.'s first-quarter net income increased 15 percent to $443-million or $1.70 a share, from $386-million or $1.41 a share, a year ago, due in part to record revenue from all six of the company's business groups. Total operating revenue increased 11 percent to $4.27-billion from $3.85-billion the year before. The company said it expects a "record" year, despite a soft economy and high fuel prices expected in the second quarter and beyond. [United Transportation Union, 4-24-08, from money.cnn.com report]
CINCINNATI OK'S STREETCAR PLAN: By a 6-2 vote, Cincinnati's City Council has approved a proposed streetcar plan linking the city's downtown, Over-the-Rhine, and Uptown. The proposal authorizes the city manager to seek private contributions for the project. Private-sector funds must be guaranteed before any project work begins. But the addition of Uptown to the proposal adds $35-million to the project's original $102-million estimate, or $137-million, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. [RailwayAge.com, 4-23-08]
CSX UNVEILS $40-MILLION JACKSONVILLE TRACK EXPANSION PLAN: CSX Corp. has announced a $40-million plan that it hopes will untangle truck congestion along Jacksonville's Heckscher Drive as the region braces for a shipping boom. The company plans to upgrade tracks and build a link through Nassau County to connect the rails along U.S. 17 to the main line running north toward Waycross, Ga. The idea is to divert cargo containers from the road while also avoiding rail congestion downtown. Jacksonville Port Authority officials have stressed a need for rail, as projections call for a tripling of cargo in coming years largely because of the TraPac terminal under construction at Dames Point and a pending agreement with Korean shipping company Hanjin. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-22-08, from Florida Times-Union website report]
IOWA INTERSTATE BUYS 12 EVOLUTION SERIES LOCOMOTIVES: Regional carrier Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd. (IAIS) has announced a $26.4-million purchase of 12 new General Electric Evolution Series locomotives; the cost includes tooling and warranties, IAIS Chairman Dennis H. Miller said. The locomotives will be manufactured at GE's Erie, Pennsylvania plant and we expect them to be delivered by October 1 of this year. Miller said the locomotives will help IAIS, a subsidiary of Railroad Development Corp., cope with traffic growth spurred by "five new ethanol plants starting up over the next year." The railroad expects traffic to grow 25%-to-30% as a result. [RailwayAg.com, 4-22-08]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN POSTS HIGHER 1-Q PROFIT: Railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp. said April 22 its first-quarter profit rose two percent as higher revenue per shipment offset an overall decline in traffic and soaring fuel prices. Norfolk Southern said it earned $291-million, or 76 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31. The company earned $285-million, or 71 cents per share, in the same period of 2007. Revenue increased 11 percent to $2.5-billion, compared with $2.25-billion in first-quarter 2007. Railroad operating expenses, however, rose 12 percent to $1.9-billion, compared with first-quarter 2007. The company blamed a $156-million, or 63 percent, jump in fuel prices for much of the increase. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-22-08, from Associated Press report]
BART USING RECYCLED PLASTIC FOR R.R. TIES: Bay Area Rapid Transit officials showed how plastic bags and bottles can strengthen the train tracks and help the environment by replacing wooden train-track products with recycled ones. BART needs to replace about 14,000 ties, and instead of using traditionally wooden ones, the agency is using compacted bottles and bags. The new ties are compiled of about 2,800 plastic bags and about 600 bottles, which last up to three times longer, according to BART spokeswoman Luna Salaver. "It's so much better than having them fill our landfills," said Salaver. The recycled ties also save trees from being cut down for the sake of wooden ties, she said. The plastic tie can also be recycled again at the end of its lifespan, about 50 to 60 years, unlike the wooden ties with a 15- to 40-year lifespan, which are soaked in a tar-like substance, stated BART spokesman Linton Johnson. [United Transportation Union, 4-21-08, from KPIX-TV website report]
ALASKA R.R.'s MOODY TUNNEL BLASTED INTO HISTORY: The historic Moody Railroad Tunnel is gone, blasted to smithereens April 17 by a carefully controlled explosion that left a pile of rubble on the mountainside above the Nenana River. Almost immediately, heavy equipment operators began excavating the estimated 4,000 cubic yards of rock and debris. The longterm result of this year-long project, according to railroad engineers, will be a safer section of track. But it also marks the end of an era. Moody Tunnel was the last of the 1921 Alaska Railroad Tunnels, and the last of three tunnels along this section of track. One of the tunnels, at Mile 354.7 was abandoned in the 1940s after it caved in, due to continual erosion. The Garner Tunnel, at Mile 356.2, was "daylighted," or opened up, in 2005, after years of maintenance problems. [United Transportation Union, 4-17-08, from News-Miner report]
U.S. ADOPTS ROUTING REGULATIONS FOR HAZMAT TANK CARS: Federal transportation officials have announced regulations Wednesday that require railroads to use the "safest and most secure route" for shipments of deadly chemicals like chlorine and ammonia. "The goal of this rule is not to prohibit the movement of these hazardous materials," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters during a conference call with the media. "Moving commodities such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia by rail is absolutely vital to our national economy." The new rules call for railroads on June 1 to begin evaluating all routes used to ship "highly hazardous" substances, which include a variety of breathable gases, explosives and radioactive materials. By September 2009, the railroads must adopt safe routes based on a list of 27 criteria, such as population density, quality of tracks and proximity of iconic targets. The rules call for railroads to cooperate with local communities in doing their analysis. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-16-08, from Inside Bay Area website report]
CSX REPORTS 1-Q EARNINGS: CSX Corporation has reported first-quarter earnings of $351-million or 85 cents per share, versus $240-million or 52 cents per share last year. This represents a 63 percent improvement in earnings per share over last year. [CSX, 4-15-08]
SILVER SPRING MARC TICKET OFFICE TO CLOSE JUNE 6: With the start of construction of the new Silver Spring Transit Center, MARC will be closing the MARC ticket office on Friday, June 6, 2008. There will no longer be a ticket agent available after this date. However, MARC riders will still be able to board their train at this location. One way fares can be purchased onboard with cash without a penalty, after June 6th. [Maryland Transit Administration, 4-11-08]
CSX TO EXPAND TERMINAL AT ERWIN, TENNESSEE: CSX Transportation Inc. has announced facility expansions and enhancements at its Erwin, Tenn., facility. Erwin is the former headquarters of the CSXT predecessor Clinchfield Railroad. Approximately $6-million in track and structure work will be performed at the Erwin terminal during 2008. This work will accommodate a growing volume of coal and some grain trains that will be using distributed power at the rear of those trains. In addition, about $3 million will be spent on communications and technology upgrades in the region to support distributed power, and eight additional employees will join the Erwin locomotive team. Distributed power refers to locomotives placed in the middle or rear of the train and controlled by the engineer from the lead locomotive. The locomotive servicing facility also will receive upgrades. [CSX, 4-10-08]
MARC TO ACQUIRE 26 LOCOMOTIVES: The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved the purchase 26 GPS 40, 3600 horsepower, remanufactured diesel locomotives from the Utah Transportation Authority. The locomotives will be completely overhauled with all new equipment. When overhauled, they will provide additional power enabling them to pull longer trains and come equipped with electronic fuel injection making them more fuel efficient. [Maryland Transit Administration, 4-9-08]
EUROTUNNEL NOTCHES FIRST EVER ANNUAL PROFIT: Fourteen years after establishing rail passenger and freight service between Great Britain and the European continent, Eurotunnel has reported its first annual net profit ever, $1.6-million, for the year 2007. The profit is attributed to Eurotunnel's debt restructuring program, following a revised agreement in 2007 with the company's creditors. The agreement cut Eurotunnel's debt levels from 9.2-billion euros to 4.2-billion euros, as shareholders swapped older shares for shares in a new company called Groupe Eurotunnel. [RailwayAge.com, 4-9-08]
ELLISTON, VA., CHOSEN FOR SITE OF NORFOLK SOUTHERN CARGO TERMINAL: The best location for Norfolk Southern Corp. to build its proposed Roanoke-area cargo terminal is Elliston, a village just west of Roanoke, state officials said Monday in a long-awaited decision. The railroad wants to build an $18-million facility in that area to switch cargo containers between trucks and trains. It would be part of the roughly $260-million Heartland Corridor, a project Norfolk Southern is building to speed container trains between the port of Hampton Roads and the Midwest. In 2006, Norfolk Southern identified Elliston as its preferred location for a terminal. However, strong community opposition resulted, prompting the state to step into the dispute. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-7-08, from Virginian-Pilot website report]
CHILDREN'S INVESTMENT FUND ALLEGES INSIDER TRADING AT CSX: The hedge fund pursuing strategic reform at CSX Corp. has leveled allegations of insider trading against the chairman and board members of the U.S. railroad operator. The Children's Investment Fund made the allegations in a 62-page federal court filing, countering charges made last month by CSX against the London-based hedge fund. CSX immediately responded that TCI's "counterclaims are without merit," though it didn't provide comment on the individual charges made against its officers. TCI is seeking to nominate a slate of five new directors to the 12-member board at a shareholders' meeting on June 25. The fund, which has a history of shareholder activism in Europe, has challenged capital allocation and investment priorities at CSX. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-4-08, from Dow Jones report]
K.C.S. TO BUILD DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS: Kansas City Southern plans to build a distribution center and railroad facility in Fort Bend County, Texas, that could create up to 2,000 jobs in the region. An official with the railroad said the development plan includes a 636-acre industrial park and an intermodal facility with up to 7.5 million square feet of industrial warehouse space for storing rail and truck containers. Construction is set to begin immediately, and the first phase could be complete as early as May, officials said. The railroad is also spending about $120-million to rebuild a rail line between Rosenberg and Victoria that has been out of operation for decades. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 4-2-08, from Associated Press report]
CSX TO OPEN WEST VIRGINIA DISPATCHING CENTER IN AUGUST: CSX Transportation is establishing a new dispatching center at Huntington W.Va., with approximately 80 train dispatcher and related positions being relocated there. CSXT is spending about $4.5-million to create the dispatching center at the railroad's Huntington Division headquarters. Construction is scheduled for completion in late May and the center is scheduled to begin operation in August. [CSX, 4-1-08]
F.R.A. PROPOSES NEW HAZMAT SAFETY RULE: The Federal Railroad Administration is proposing a "sweeping and revolutionary" new rule to improve the safety of railroad tank cars hauling the most dangerous hazardous materials. US DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters said a proposed performance-based standard would increase by 500 percent, on average, the amount of energy the tank car must absorb during a train accident before a catastrophic failure may occur. As described by the FRA: "The proposed rule requires tank cars carrying poison Inhalation Hazard commodities such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia to be equipped with puncture-resistance protection strong enough to prevent penetration at speeds of 25 mph for side impacts and 30 mph for head-on collisions - more than double the speed for existing tank cars. The proposal allows flexibility in reaching that goal, but it is expected the outer tank car shell and both head ends will be strengthened, the inner tank holding the hazmat cargo will be better shielded, and the space between the two will be designed with more energy absorption and protection capabilities." [RailwayAge.com, 4-1-08]
LANCASTER STATION GETS FUNDING FOR RENOVATION: Lancaster, Pa., County Commissioners have approved $400,000 to match federal and state funds for a $12-million renovation of the Lancaster Amtrak station. Work will begin this fall and should wrap up by 2010. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 3-28-08]
HELL GATE BRIDGE REPAIRS BEGIN: Amtrak began $10-million in repairs to the Hell Gate Bridge in New York March 25. The project had been delayed since 2006 due to contract procurement issues. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 3-28-08]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN BOOSTS SPENDING BUDGET BY $64-MILLION: Norfolk Southern Corp boost its 2008 capital expenditures budget by $64-million to speed up the purchase of new coal cars and take advantage of a tax deduction, the company said in a regulatory filing. The purchase of 750 new coal cars is part of on an ongoing program to replace its coal fleet, Norfolk Southern said. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-28-08, from Reuters report]
PORT DIGS UP OLD PESTICIDE-FILLED TANK CAR: Port of Galveston officials may never know who buried an entire railroad tank car filled with thousands of gallons of liquid, including a degraded form of the pesticide DDT. "Maybe the carriage was damaged, and they needed a storage tank," said Port Director Steve Cernak. "They disconnected the carriage from the tank and decided to reuse an asset." Cernak and other port staffers looked on early Thursday afternoon [March 27] as crews used a crane and chains to resurrect the railcar - about 40 feet long and 10 feet in diameter - that workers nearly two months ago found when they were removing track to install a storm drain for a parking lot just west of Cruise Terminal No. 2, north of Harborside Drive near Pier 27. Whatever the motive, the consequences will be costly for the port. The port will spend about $55,000 to remove the car and dispose of its contents. Initial samples taken by the port's environmental consultants detected DDE, a breakdown product of DDT. The federal government banned DDT in the 1970s. Crews hoisted the tank onto a flatbed truck, which will take it to an authorized disposal facility. [United Transportation Union, 3-28-08, from Galveston County Daily News report]
DELHI METRO AWARDS $137-MILLION ORDER TO BOMBARDIER: India's Delhi Metro Railcorp. has exercised an option to purchase an additional 84 MOVIA railcars from Bombardier Transportation at a cost of approximately $137-million. This bring Bombardier's total contract to 424 cars. The cars are to be used on Delhi Metro's Phase II, 37-mile expansion, carrying a projected four million passengers a day in the East-West and North-South corridors of the city. The cars will be built at a new Bombardier facility in India. [RailwayAge.com, 3-28-08]
FIVE RAILROADS ACCUSED IN PRICE-FIXING LAWSUIT: Agricultural firm Archer Daniels Midland has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit accusing the five largest U.S. railroads of a price-fixing conspiracy. ADM named BNSF Railway Co.; Union Pacific Railroad Co.; CSX Transportation; Norfolk Southern Railway Co.; and Kansas City Southern Railway Co. According to ADM's lawsuit, the railroads got together through their membership in the Association of American Railroads and agreed to a scheme that fixed fuel surcharges. The surcharges are supposed to help railroads recover unanticipated costs when fuel prices spike. But ADM alleges that the railroads used them to extract profits from shippers. ADM joins a growing chorus of companies that have filed such claims against the railroads since last year. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-27-08, from Minneapolis Star Tribune website report]
GERMANY SCRAPS MUNICH MAGLEV LINE: German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee says a planned Transrapid maglev line linking Munich and its airport has "collapsed because costs have nearly doubled to an estimated $5.37-billion." German industry, led by Siemens, has developed 300-mph magnetic levitation technology during the last several decades, but so far only one commercial Transrapid line has been built: a mid-city to airport connector in Shanghai. [RailwayAge.com, 3-27-08]
METRO-NORTH ADDING 67 TRAINS TO WEEKLY LINEUP: Metro-North Railroad has announced that as of April 6, it will add 67 more trains each week to its Hudson Valley service. The Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines will all see additional trains. Metro-North ridership has steadily grown in recent years with riders not only using the trains to commute south for work, but to travel between Hudson Valley points for employment, reverse commuting, and even for leisure travel. [United Transportation Union, 3-25-08, from Mid-Hudson News Network report]
COMMUTER TRAIN IN MASSACHUSETTS SIDESWIPED BY CARLOAD OF LUMBER: A train car loaded with lumber hit a stationary commuter train during the Tuesday afternoon [March 25] rush hour, injuring dozens of people, authorities said. About 50 people reported mostly minor injuries, and 10 passengers and crew members were taken to hospitals, said Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail. He said he did not know the extent of those injuries. The commuter train's locomotive was not moving when it was hit by a CSX freight car that had rolled from a branch onto a main track south of Boston, said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The engineer saw the approaching freight car and stopped the commuter train before the impact, Farmelant said. It was not immediately known how many people were aboard the train. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-25-08, from Associated Press report]
DON HAHS REMOVED AS PRESIDENT OF BLET: By order of Teamsters International President James M. Hoffa, Don H. Hahs has been removed as president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, fined $43,963.97, and suspended from membership in the BLET and the teamsters for one year, during which BLET members are "cautioned" against having any contact with him. The BLET announced that Ed Rodzwicz, first vice president, assumed the duties of president on March 20. "Brother Hahs has appealed the decision," said BLET. Hoffa's decision must be reviewed by the union's Independent Review Board and by the federal court. Removal of Hahs was recommended by a hearing panel that BLET said "was unwilling to conclude that Brother Hahs committed embezzlement; however, it determined Hahs violated his fiduciary duties to the BLET and its members with the use and control of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball tickets purchased with union funds, travel expenses for his wife, and other personal expenses, thereby bringing reproach on the IBT [International Brotherhood of Teamsters] in violation of the IBT constitution." [RailwayAge.com, 3-24-08]
CSX COAL TRAIN DERAILS IN CHICAGO, IGNITES FIRE: Flames of up to 15 feet high shot out of tons of coal after a train in the Chicago South Side's Englewood neighborhood derailed Sunday morning [March 23], rupturing an underground gas line. The train derailed at 73rd Street and Bell Avenue about 10:45 a.m., according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford. Four cars of the train carrying coal derailed, resulting in a ruptured underground gas line, which, in turn, ignited the tons of coal, he said. Flames of up to 15 feet high shot from the underground gas line which ignited the coal from the train. There were no injuries, and no evacuations. [United Transportation Union, 3-23-08, from Chicago Sun Times report]
FIRED PRESIDENT OF GREENBRIER RESORT SUES CSX: The former president of The Greenbrier has filed a $50-million lawsuit against railroad giant CSX Corp. - the resort's parent company - alleging he was fired by CSX President Michael J. Ward for uncovering and trying to stop the "unethical" and unaccounted for practices of "fringe benefits" by "current and retired CSX executives," which included "free medical examinations at the resort's clinic, free rooms and meals, excessive discounts from the food and beverage outlets and greatly discounted merchandise from (retail) shops." Paul Ratchford, who headed the world-famous resort for less than a year in 2006 and 2007, also named CSX Hotels Inc., Bruce Rosenberger, Howard Shapiro and Ward, and the Georgia-based company Head Coach Inc. as co-defendants in the lawsuit. CSX spokesman Gary Sease told The Register-Herald Friday that "the allegations are without merit and the company will defend its position vigorously in court." Ratchford also alleges past and present CSX officials were benefiting from the luxurious lifestyle offered by The Greenbrier, despite the fact the resort was losing "approximately $15 million per year." In all, the 15-page lawsuit charges the defendants with seven separate counts of wrongdoing, including fraud, breach of contract, wrongful discharge, violation of California labor laws, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of the West Virginia wage and payment act. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-21-08, from Beckley Register-Herald website report]
CANADIAN NATIONAL TO SPEND $1.5-BILLION ON CAPITAL PROGRAMS THIS YEAR: CN Rail will spend $1.5-billion in its North American capital program, the railway announced March 18. The railway didn't announce specific project details, but in a news release it said $450-million to be spent in Western Canada was to "maintain a safe railway and improve the productivity and fluidity of its network." CN will be spending money on "basic maintenance" including replacement and upgrades to bridges, rails and ties, switching yards and extending sidings - notably in support of the new container terminal at Prince Rupert. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-19-08, from Vancouver Sun website report]
CSX BOOSTS QUARTERLY DIVIDEND: CSX has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share from $0.15 per share. The company is also targeting a $3-billion share repurchase plan to be completed by the end of 2009, worth approximately 15 percent of the company's current market capitalization. [United Transportation Union, 3-17-08, from news.briefing.com report]
CSX FILES SUIT AGAINST TCI AND 3G HEDGE FUNDS: CSX Corporation has filed a lawsuit against The Children's Investment Fund ("TCI") and 3G Capital Partners ("3G") alleging violations of federal securities laws. TCI and 3G are hedge funds that have formed a group to nominate a slate of directors to stand for election at the 2008 CSX annual meeting. CSX filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging violations of federal securities laws, including violations of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that TCI has employed swap agreements in order to evade the filing requirements of Section 13(d), and that TCI's disclosures concerning its 11.5 percent swap position in CSX shares are materially misleading because they fail to disclose that, by virtue of agreements, understandings or relationships with TCI, swap counterparties intend to vote CSX shares in accordance with TCI's wishes. The lawsuit further alleges that TCI and 3G's disclosures concerning their formation of a Section 13(d) group are false and misleading and, therefore, material information that the investing public should have regarding the group and its intentions with respect to the Company is currently unavailable. [CSX, 3-17-08]
SENATE CONFIRMS NOMINATIONS OF CARPER AND NAPLES TO AMTRAK BOARD: Thomas C. Carper and Nancy Naples have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. Carper is the former mayor of Macomb, Ill. As mayor from 1991-2003, Carper led the fight to preserve passenger rail service in the region and state. In 1991 he was appointed by the Amtrak Board of Directors to the Amtrak Mayors' Advisory Council and served as its chair from 2000 to 2001. Nancy Naples is the former Commissioner of Motor Vehicles in New York. A strong partisan Republican, she was appointed State Motor Vehicles Commissioner by then-Gov. George Pataki in January 2006 following a 12-year political career in Western New York. She served as a Cabinet member for the final year of Pataki's term. [United Transportation Union, 3-17-08]
JOHN REED DIES, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF SANTA FE: John Shedd Reed, former chairman and chief executive officer of Santa Fe Industries, and Railway Age's 1970 Railroader of the Year, died March 16 at his home in Lake Forest, Ill. He was 90. After Amtrak took over operation of U.S. long-distance passenger trains, Reed revoked Amtrak's use of the name of the Santa Fe's Super Chief, its legendary luxury streamliner, declaring, "It is no longer super." [RailwayAge.com, 3-17-08]
E.P.A. INTRODUCES NEW LOCOMOTIVE EMISSION STANDARDS: Federal air emission standards for locomotive engines will be stricter in less than four years. On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled new Tier 3 and 4 emission regulations governing locomotive and marine engines that begin taking effect in 2012. When fully implemented in 2015, the regulations will require the engines to reduce particulate matter by 90 percent and nitrogen oxides by 80 percent. Tier 3 standards take effect in 2012 and Tier 4 standards, in 2015 - two years earlier than previously outlined in EPA regulation proposals. The standards are comparable to those the EPA set for large diesel trucks and buses, and construction, mining and agricultural equipment. Railroads will need to adopt ultra-low sulfur diesel and advanced engine systems to comply with the regulations. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 3-17-08]
RAILAMERICA, FLORIDA EAST COAST SEEK APPROVAL TO MERGE: Fortress Investment Group L.L.C. is seeking Surface Transportation Board approval to merge RailAmerica Inc. and Florida East Coast Railway. Under an "Exemption for a Transaction Within a Corporate Family" filing submitted to the STB on March 3, Fortress proposes to combine its two holdings and make FECR a wholly owned subsidiary of RailAmerica. Fortress acquired RailAmerica - which owns and operates 41 U.S. and Canadian regionals and short lines - in February 2007 and obtained STB approval in September 2007 to control the 351-mile FECR per an acquisition agreement with Florida East Coast Industries Inc. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 3-13-08]
CHINA PLANS LUXURY TRAIN SERVICE: China will launch 'the most luxurious train in the world' to ply the route from Beijing to Tibet's capital Lhasa, state media reported March 9. A ride on the train, which will begin operations on September 1, will be about 20 times more expensive than the ordinary fare of about $280, Xinhua news agency said. "The interior of the train will be decorated according to the standards of a five-star hotel," said Zhu Mingrui, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corp. "Such a train can only seat 96 passengers." he said. There will be three trains, which will head from Beijing to Lhasa every eight days. The journey will take five days. Each train will have 12 passenger cars, two dining cars and a sightseeing car. Each passenger car will have four 108-square-foot suites featuring a double bed, a living room and bathing facilities. [United Transportation Union, 3-10-08, from AFP media report]
BILEVEL CARS ORDERED FOR NORTHSTAR SERVICE: The Metropolitan Council of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., has awarded Bombardier Transportation a $44-million contract for 17 BiLevel railcars for the Northstar 40-mile commuter service. The contract includes options for up to 64 additional cars. Delivery is expected to take place between May and August 2009. Northstar, expected to begin service in late 2009, extends northwest from downtown Minneapolis along one of the region's most congested traffic corridors. Over 900 Bombardier BiLevels are in operation or on order with transit authorities in 13 cities across Canada and the U.S. [RailwayAge.com, 3-10-08]
AMTRAK CASCADES RIDERSHIP UP RECORD 7.4 PERCENT: Amtrak Cascades ridership in 2007 increased to 676,670 - a 7.4 percent increase over 2006 and the highest annual ridership total since the inception of Amtrak Cascades service. Officials said more convenient schedules and better connections, along with rising fuel prices for motorists influenced ridership growth. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) expects ridership to continue to increase with the extension of the current Portland-Seattle-Bellingham service to Vancouver, B.C in mid-2008. [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 3-10-08, from Tacoma Daily Index website report]
CITY BUYS SEATTLE'S KING STREET STATION: The City of Seattle has purchased the historic King Street Station from BNSF for the sum of $10, Mayor Greg Nickels (D) announced on March 6. Amtrak and Washington DOT have already restored certain elements of the 1906 structure, which was architecturally marred by "modernizations" such as false ceilings and plastic chairs ahead of the 1962 World's Fair. But further restoration (including seismic retrofitting) should be completed within the next three years. $10-million in city funds will match $16.5-million in federal and state monies to fund the improvements. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 3-7-08]
SAN BERNARDINO DEPOT OPENS: The historic ATSF station in San Bernardino, California, is open to passengers once again after Amtrak reached an agreement with the city to partially fund a Station Host volunteer program. Amtrak removed agents from the station while it was being rehabilitated, and did not return them when the building renovation was completed a few years ago. Under terms of an agreement with the city, Amtrak will pay $500 per month for the next 20 years; $400 will go towards building a museum in the lobby, while $100 will go to San Bernardino Associated Governments to coordinate the Station Hosts. [National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, 3-7-08]
METRO-NORTH PRESIDENT TO RETIRE: MTA Metro-North President Peter A. Cannito has announced his intention to retire in July. Cannito, Metro-North's third president, has served in this post since June 1999. [RailwayAge.com, 3-7-08]
K.C.S. REALIGNS ITS THREE DIVISIONS: The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR), has realigned the territories of its three transportation divisions, named new managers of those divisions, and made three senior management changes. The Midwest Division now covers East St. Louis, Ill., west to Kansas City and south to Shreveport, La. The new general manager for this division is Kevin D. McIntosh. The Southeast Division covers Dallas, Tex., east to Shreveport, including Shreveport terminal, east to Meridian, Miss., and north to Counce, Tenn., as well as the line from Hattiesburg to Gulfport, Miss. The new general manager for this division is Claude N. Friesland. The Texas Division covers Laredo, Texas, north to Shreveport and from Shreveport south to New Orleans, La. The new general manger for this division is Mark A. Redd. KCSR's senior management has also undergone changes. David R. Ebbrecht was promoted to vice president-transportation. Jeff M. Crandall has moved to vice president-engineering. Mitchell S. Whitmire was promoted to general manager-locomotive operations. [RailwayAge.com, 3-7-08]
HALL AT GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL CLOSING SEVEN MONTHS FOR CLEANING: Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall is to undergo a $3.6-million cleaning that will close it to the public for seven months. Metro-North Railroad officials say the cleaning, which begins March 4, involves repairing and replacing, as needed, the stone walls, the marble floors, the white marble wainscoting and every surface in the 12,500-square-foot room. During the cleaning project, travelers will be able to walk between the main concourse and 42nd Street through a plywood tunnel. Vanderbilt Hall, formerly known as the Main Waiting Room, once had seating for more than 600 long-distance travelers. As long-distance train travel declined, the room became obsolete. Since 1992 it's been used as a venue for parties, fashion shows, art exhibits and other events. [United Transportation Union, 3-4-08, from Associated Press report]
NORFOLK SOUTHERN OPENS INTERMODAL TERMINAL IN OHIO: Norfolk Southern on March 3 opened the Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal near Columbus, Ohio. The $68.5-million facility allows Norfolk Southern to significantly expand its intermodal business in central Ohio by providing customers with improved service and increased capacity. The terminal is part of the Rickenbacker Global Logistics Park, one of the largest integrated logistics complexes in the U.S. The Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal in its initial phase occupies approximately 175 acres and has the capacity to handle more than 250,000 containers and trailers annually. The terminal was designed with significant expansion capability as traffic volumes grow, and also has adjacent property potentially available for ancillary operations such as container yards. [Norfolk Southern, 3-3-08]
F.R.A. ISSUES RAIL PLATFORM SAFETY GUIDELINES: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a guidance document to help minimize accidents due to gaps between the edge of a passenger station platform and the threshold of a passenger train door. FRA Approach to Managing Gap Safety addresses the use of engineering evaluation and analysis to establish gap standards and the application of strategies to prevent and reduce gap accidents. While most gap incidents involving rail passengers result in relatively minor injuries, FRA believes the most effective way to address the potential risks is for railroads to develop and adopt a comprehensive program to manage gap hazards, and establish and maintain uniform gap and boarding conditions. [Federal Railroad Administration, 2-29-08]
EJ&E TESTS ULTRA-LOW EMISSIONS LOCOMOTIVE: The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway has completed a successful one-week operational test of a three-engine 2100 HP (3GS-21B) N-ViroMotive GenSet locomotive at its switch yard in Gary, Inc., according to National Railway Equipment Co. The unit is EPA certified and CARB recognized as an ultra-low emitting GenSet locomotive, NREC says, adding that the locomotives offer an 80-plue percent reduction in nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter emissions, 50 to 65 percent improved tractive effort adhesion efficiency, and fuel savings of more than 50 percent in switching and road switching service, among other benefits. [RailwayAge.com, 2-28-08]
AMTRAK TO REPLACE CONCRETE TIES ON N.E. CORRIDOR: Amtrak says it must spend tens of millions of dollars to replace defective railroad ties on the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor. The concrete ties were purchased beginning in the 1990s and have already begun to crack, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black. Concrete ties normally last about 50 years. The ties are manufactured by Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. at a plant inside an Amtrak maintenance yard in Bear, Delaware. Amtrak said that under the terms of the contract, the supplier must replace the defective ties for free, but won't reimburse the railroad for the labor. "Amtrak and Rocla are working together to ensure that the replacement ties that they are providing us are top quality," Black said. "Amtrak is comfortable that the manufacturer has corrected the problem." [Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 2-27-08, from Associated Press report]
M-8 MOCKUP UNVEILED IN CONNECTICUT: MTA Metro-North Railroad and the Connecticut Department of Transportation have spent the past several months working with Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. to finalize design of the new M-8 rail cars ordered in 2006. Last week, the parties unveiled a mock-up of the cars, which will run on the New Haven Line. The design incorporates input from Metro-North customers. In November, the agency conducted a survey on all New Haven Line afternoon and evening trains departing from Grand Central Terminal. In addition, Metro-North created customer focus groups. Kawasaki soon will begin testing various electrical and mechanical system components. The car builder is scheduled to deliver the first prototype M-8 in late 2009. [ProgressiveRailroading.com, 2-27-08]
AMTRAK REQUESTS $1.67-BILLION: Amtrak has requested $1.67-billion in federal funding for the next fiscal year, 26 percent more than it is receiving this year. The Bush administration has asked for only $800-million for Amtrak, the same amount it proposed last year. Chief Executive Alex Kummant told Congress the passenger railroad's largest cost increase would be in benefits, which are expected to rise by $50-million. He said the increase was primarily due to rising health care costs and would have been larger if not for cost-sharing agreed to in the recent labor negotiations. Kummant also cited rising fuel costs as another reason Amtrak wants more federal funding despite increases in ridership and revenue last year. [United Transportation Union, 2-26-08, from Associated Press report]
N.J. TRANSIT EXPANDING ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE FLEET: New Jersey Transit's fleet of 29 ALP-46 electric locomotives will grow to as many as 89 units following a contract award to Bombardier Transportation for 27 more, plus options for an additional 33. The initial order of 27 units, designated ALP-46A, is worth $229-million. The ALP-46A procurement is one of several NJ Transit locomotive programs. The agency, the nation's third largest, is also in the midst of a joint procurement with Montreal's AMT for dual-power (a.c.-catenary/diesel-elec