The Illinois Commerce Commission issued an order this week granting EJ&E Railroad permission to install a second track between Joliet and New Lenox Township to accommodate an increase in rail traffic.
Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae was named Woman of the Year by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), an international organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women in the transportation field. With 35 years of knowledge and expertise, Karen was selected to receive this top honor by her peers in transportation for her decades of leadership building transit and passenger rail systems across the country.
Stan L. Hasselbusch, president and chief executive officer of L.B. Foster Co., plans to retire on December 31, 2011. Hasselbusch joined the company in 1972 and held successfully progressing positions ultimately becoming president and CEO in 2002.
Lee B. Foster, Chairman of the Board, stated, "Stan has done an outstanding job during his long career with L.B. Foster and on behalf of the Board of Directors and all our employees I want to convey our sincere appreciation for so many significant contributions that have left an indelible mark on the Company. Stan indicated that he had been contemplating this move for some time and felt that the end of this year, with the Portec acquisition successfully integrated, would be the perfect time to make the move."
Siemens Industry, Inc., has been awarded a $17.2 million contract from Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), on behalf of the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, to provide Atlanta with four new streetcars. The first car is expected to be delivered in September 2012 with revenue service beginning in early 2013. These will be the first streetcars in Atlanta since 1949 and will mark Siemens entry into the streetcar market in the United States.
Invensys Rail Corporation in Louisville, Ky., will expand its Jefferson County headquarters operation, which will add 75 new engineering jobs and cost more than $3.2 million. The company will lease an additional 4,000 square feet in addition to its existing 120,000 square-foot Louisville facility, located at 2400 Nelson Miller Parkway in Eastpoint Business Center.
Union Pacific Railroad representatives, customers and community leaders from western Wyoming officially opened a new $24 million rail yard about 20 miles west of Green River on May 19. The rail yard provides vital support for the nation’s economic growth and shipping the products American families and businesses use every day.
According to the Association of American Railroads, 2010 was the safest year ever for railroads, with significant reductions achieved in train accidents and employee casualties. The E.H. Harriman Award recognizes those railroads that accomplish exceptional safety records and this year marks Norfolk Southern’s 22nd consecutive win.
In 2010, train accidents on U.S. Class 1 freight railroads were down three percent with the rate per-million-train-miles falling 9.6 percent from the previous record established in 2009. The number of employee casualties on U.S. Class 1 freight railroads fell by 14.2 percent, while the employee casualty rate measured per-hundred full-time equivalent employees declined 16 percent from the previous record set in 2009.
The 2010 E.H. Harriman Awards winners are as follows:
In Group A, comprising line-haul railroads whose employees worked 15 million employee-hours or more, Norfolk Southern received the gold award for the 22nd year in a row. CSX Transportation won the silver award and Union Pacific the bronze award.
In Group B, line-haul railroads whose employees worked fout to 15 million employee-hours, the gold award went to Kansas City Southern for the fifth year in a row. The silver award went to Canadian Pacific (U.S. Operations), while the bronze went to Canadian National (U.S. Operations).
Group C includes railroads whose employees worked between 250,000 and four million employee-hours. The gold award went to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, while the Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroads took the silver and the Paducah and Louisville Railway the bronze.
In Group S&T, for switching and terminal companies with more than 250,000 employee hours, the Gary Railway took the gold, while the silver award went to the Port Terminal Railroad Association and the Union Railroad received the bronze award.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has won the E.H. Harriman Gold Award for the best safety record among railroads working less than four million man-hours in 2010. This is the second-consecutive E.H. Harriman Gold Award for the BPRR, a Class 2 freight railroad with 368 miles of track in western New York and Pennsylvania and the third-consecutive year that a GWI railroad has won the award.
For 2010, 53 of 62 GWI railroads worldwide achieved zero reportable injuries and GWI’s combined injury-frequency rate was 0.5 per 200,000 employee hours, compared with a shortline railroad peer-group average of 3.9 per 200,000 employee hours. From 2006 to 2010, GWI’s derailments, grade crossing incidents and personal injuries have declined 55 percent, 49 percent and 74 percent.
"Our number one priority is for every Genesee & Wyoming employee to return home safely each day and these awards are wonderful recognition of our employees’ personal commitments to working safely," said GWI President and CEO Jack Hellmann. "We remain focused on our ultimate goal of becoming an injury-free company."
Kevin Riddett has accepted the role as president and CEO of Invensys Rail. Riddett has been chief operating officer of Invensys Rail since November 2010, having previously spent two years leading Invensys Rail North America.
Wayne Edmunds, chief executive of Invensys plc, said, "Invensys Rail has an exciting future and I look forward to working with Kevin to build on division’s success."
Riddett will be replacing James Drummond, who has been president and CEO since 2006 and has accepted the position of group CEO of the INAER group of companies, provider of helicopter emergency services and maintenance aircraft.
BNSF Railway honored 76 shippers with BNSF’s Annual Product Stewardship Award for the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail during 2010.
These 76 award-winning companies have successfully implemented the ethics of Product Stewardship under the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care initiative.
"We are honoring these 76 customers because of their commitment and focus to the safe transportation of hazardous materials," said John Lanigan, BNSF executive vice president and chief marketing officer, at a special presentation at BNSF’s corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. "Our top priority is to ensure safety of our employees, our customer’s shipments, the communities we serve and the environment."
A complete list of winners can be found at www.bnsf.com/media/news-releases/2011/may/2011-05-18a.html
In turn, BNSF received two logistics service awards for performance in 2010 at the annual Toyota Logistics Partners meeting. The Toyota Logistics President’s Award is given to one railroad with the highest combined scores in quality, customer support and on-time performance. BNSF also received the On-Time Performance Award for rail transportation, which recognizes high achievement in service performance. BNSF is a first time recipient of these particular awards.
"Toyota is very proud of the relationship and exemplary finished vehicle transportation performance that the BNSF has provided over the past year and we look forward to many more to come," said Lee Hobgood, Toyota corporate vehicle logistics and administration manager.
During 2010, BNSF handled more than 165,000 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles throughout the United States and Canada.
John Kirwan, a machinist with Union Pacific in Hinkle, Ore., has been named the 2010 winner of the Harold F. Hammond Award. Under his leadership, Union Pacific’s Hinkle facility has achieved more than 1,400 injury-free days in 2010 and a Federal Railroad Administration reportable injury rate of zero since January 2007, the equivalent of more than 1.7 million working employee hours.
In nominating him for the Hammond Award, Union Pacific Chairman, President and CEO Jim Young described Kirwan as a coach and mentor whose safety-first attitude is contagious and inspirational to other employees.
Elected by his peers to lead the facility’s safety efforts, Kirwan has worked hard to consistently raise the bar and create a culture of safety at the Hinkle facility.
Known for his innovative and proactive approach to safety, Kirwan developed the facility’s "Smoke Detector Program" based on the concept that analysis of employee safety observations can help to address small problems before they become big ones. He also has worked to implement a terminal-wide emergency alert system that will go online at the end of 2011. In addition, Kirwan actively participates in "LEAN" continuous improvement initiatives and in Hinkle’s Critical 5 Team, which establishes best-practice procedures for safe working habits.
CSX will invest $160 million over the next several years to complete what it calls one of the most important transportation projects in the country – the National Gateway. This project will deliver substantial public benefits, including thousands of jobs.
The Federal Transit Administration awarded a $6.7 million grant for construction of a new Montaño Intermodal Center in New Mexico that will connect Albuquerque residents to commuter rail service and enhanced priority bus service and provide relief from high gasoline prices.
"With gasoline prices at the levels they are today, the Obama Administration is committed to providing Americans with energy efficient transportation alternatives," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "The new Montaño Intermodal Center will provide Albuquerque with greater access to affordable transportation options and create opportunities for economic development."
Located in the heart of Albuquerque, the Montaño Intermodal Center will be an integral piece to the regional transportation network, linking ABQ Ride buses and New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail, as well as a catalyst for redevelopment in the area.
The four-acre center is strategically located on Montaño Road, a major connector that crosses the Rio Grande and is one of only a few streets that spans the entire city from east to west.
Flanked by a 300-space parking lot, the pueblo-revival style building will offer transit riders real-time rider information, electronic information kiosks, bike racks and lockers and free wi-fi service, as well as video camera surveillance to keep riders safe.
Residents will enjoy the cost-saving measures of the many "green" features proposed in the design, including LED lighting, solar panels and rainwater capture design elements.
Pacific Harbor Line has received the Harriman Certificate of Commendation for the most improved employee safety record among more than 500 smaller U.S. railroads. Association of American Railroads President Ed Hamberger presented the award at a special luncheon in Washington, D.C., honoring this year’s award winners.
To earn the award, PHL achieved a continuous gain in employee safety from 2008 through 2010 and showed the greatest improvement in the last two years among regional and short-line railroads working between 250,000 and four million man-hours annually.
PHL President Mike Stolzman said, "This is a tremendous achievement and recognition of the hard work by our employees to improve our safety record and make Pacific Harbor Line a safer place to work."
This is the first Harriman award earned by an Anacostia & Pacific company, a regional railroad development firm. Other Anacostia rail affiliates include: Chicago South Shore & South Bend, Gulf Coast Switching Company, Louisville & Indiana, New York & Atlantic and Northern Lines Railway.
Upgrading of approximately 96 miles of railroad track, including installation of a 250,000 railroad ties for future high-speed Amtrak trains, will resume May 20. This work will lead to the substitution of chartered motorcoaches for some Lincoln Service trains and the detour of the Texas Eagle between Chicago and St. Louis.
The temporary changes will allow Union Pacific crews to improve infrastructure to allow Amtrak service at speeds up to 110 mph, an increase from the current maximum of 79 mph. The Illinois Department of Transportation anticipates operation of some Lincoln Service trains at speeds up to 110 mph next year between Dwight and Pontiac.
Until the new trains arrive in a few years, Lincoln Service trains will continue to operate with the current Amtrak cars and locomotives, which are capable of higher speeds.
Passenger Service Notices are posted at stations and will be displayed as part of the booking process on Amtrak.com, with updates on the Official Illinois High-Speed Rail Chicago to St. Louis project website, www.idothsr.org.
The Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority will hold a series of public meetings to discuss the expansion of Single Person Train Operation to the Red Line. Similar to Single Person Train Operation mode on the Blue and Orange Lines, motorpersons will perform all functions once shared with train attendants, including door operation and station announcements. The MBTA has successfully operated in single person train operation mode on the Orange line since June 2010 and on the Blue Line since 1996 with no degradation to safety, service or security.
As recommended by the Federal Transit Administration as an approach to minimize operating costs, savings from Single Person Train Operation will be reinvested in improving frequency of service for customers and alleviating crowding. Since the late ‘60s, new transportation systems have been designed and built for Single Person Train Operation including transit systems in San Francisco, Miami, Washington and Atlanta. Of the six cities with subway systems existing before 1996, Boston is the fourth to convert to Single Person Train Operation.
The MBTA has scheduled four public meetings to provide the community a forum to discuss the expansion of Single Person Train Operation to the Red Line.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011- 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Cambridge Senior Center
806 Mass Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139
Wednesday, June 8, 2011- 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
State Transportation Building
10 Park Plaza, 2nd floor, conference rooms 2 & 3
Boston, MA 02116
Wednesday, June 22, 2011- 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
St. Mark’s Church
1725 Dorchester Avenue,
Dorchester, Ma 02124
Wednesday, June 29, 2011- 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Quincy City Hall,
Robert Foy conference room, 2nd floor,
1305 Hancock Street,
Quincy, Ma 02169
The public is encouraged to attend and participate in a discussion regarding Single Person Train Operation.
Wabtec Corporation has signed a contract to provide braking equipment to Bombardier Transportation Canada, Inc., which is building 100 new commuter rail cars for New Jersey Transit.
Canadian National has announced a series of capacity improvements to accommodate growing container volumes at its Brampton Intermodal Terminal and to ensure a high level of service for intermodal customers across its system.
BIT, located in the prime logistics area of Greater Toronto, is Canada’s largest rail intermodal terminal and a key component in CN’s distribution network, almost 60 percent of the railway’s system-wide intermodal business touches the terminal. CN’s rail intermodal traffic consists primarily of containerized cargos moving in cooperation with other transportation modes.
Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN, said, "Intermodal is one of CN’s fastest-growing business segments. We are investing in new track, equipment and other infrastructure improvements at BIT to take our intermodal service offering to the next level in efficiently distributing growing overseas container traffic reaching our network over Canadian ports as well as rising domestic intermodal shipments across Canada. These investments will increase supply chain efficiencies for our customers and help them grow their businesses.
CN’s BIT improvements include:
– The installation of new track and extension of existing track to
increase rail capacity by close to 15 per cent;
– Creation of approximately 25 percent more ground space for
international containers by staging CN containers offsite;
– Purchasing five new cranes in 2011, after the acquisition of five new
ones last fall and
– Increasing the labor force by about 10 percent in 2011.
BIT’s 2011 intermodal volumes through the end of April increased by 12 percent over figures for the comparable period of 2010.
Mongeau said, "CN’s capacity improvements at BIT reflect our strategic agenda of operational and service excellence. By anticipating our customers’ transportation needs, our innovation and supply chain collaboration focus can help them expand profitably and compete more effectively."
The Illinois General Assembly has approved legislation requiring the state to make an assessment of the freight transportation system and issue a plan with recommendations to improve the flow of freight by roads, rail, air and water.
The Freight Mobility Plan Act (House Bill 1761), which was proposed by Metropolis Strategies, received approval of both chambers and awaits action by Gov. Pat Quinn. The chief sponsors of HB 1761 are State Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) and Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet).
"More than 27 percent of Illinois jobs are in industries closely tied to freight transportation and many businesses locate in Illinois because of the state’s capacity to provide reliable, cost-effective freight services," said George Ranney, president and CEO of Metropolis Strategies. "Unless the state plans for improvements to the system and helps make sure the movement of goods is efficient, those jobs will be jeopardized by an inefficient system that is even slower than it is today and more costly to businesses."
"Because the freight system is fragmented among a variety of private companies and governments, it is imperative that the state take a stronger leadership role in planning and guiding the system as a whole," said Jim LaBelle, vice president of Metropolis Strategies. "While the freight industry benefits the state’s economy, it can have a negative impact in congestion delays for drivers and passenger trains and noise and air pollution. Unless there are improvements soon, the negative impacts will be even greater."
HB 1761 requires a freight mobility component be added to the state transportation plan. The freight mobility component will:
• Analyze and assess the current freight transportation system;
• Identify freight system trends, needs and economic opportunities; and
• Recommend operation and management improvements, projects to eliminate system inefficiencies, methods of funding projects and policies to ensure the movement of goods within Illinois is both efficient and supportive of the state’s economy.
Senator Patty Murray, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and Seattle Sound Transit Board members have dedicated the first of the three tunnel boring machines that will dig twin tunnels from the University of Washington to downtown Seattle.
"The University Link project is already creating quality jobs here Seattle and it is going to be great for local commuters and the community when it opens in 2016" said Sen. Murray, who secured an $813 million federal grant to help build the $1.9 billion project.
"Projects like this one are essential to rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and keeping us moving into the 22nd Century," said Pete Rogoff, Federal Transit Administrator.
The first tunnel boring machines to begin digging will drive underground from the University of Washington to Capitol Hill. Another TBM will drive from Capitol Hill to downtown Seattle. University Link will extend the region’s first modern light rail system by about three miles and serve an estimated 70,000 additional daily riders in one of the most densely populated and gridlocked areas on the West coast.
Each TBM weighs more than 1 million lbs. and stretches more than 300 feet long including the conveyor systems that remove the spoils excavated by the 21-foot diameter cutter head. Sophisticated satellite technology guides the machines.
The University Link project has already created more than 2,000 new jobs, with almost 700,000 work hours so far to excavate the station sites, build and assemble the tunnel boring machines and prepare the alignment for tunneling.
The economic activity generated within the state by University Link will be equivalent to approximately 19,100 direct and indirect jobs according to calculations using a State of Washington Office of Financial Management model.
When complete, it will take six minutes to get from Husky Stadium to downtown Seattle via Link.
The population of the corridor served by University Link is expected to increase by a projected 56 percent by 2030, further increasing congestion and the need for fast, reliable light rail service.
