The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) selected nine rail projects in eight states to receive nearly $10 million to upgrade and increase the safety of railroad crossings along energy routes under the Railroad Safety Grants for the Safe Transportation of Energy Products (STEP) by Rail Program. FRA received 34 eligible applications requesting five times the $10 million available for the program, or $50.8 million.
BNSF‘s 2016 capital expenditure program in Washington state will be nearly $220 million. This year’s plan is focused on maintenance projects that help operate a safe and reliable network and will bring capital investments more in line with forecasted customer freight service demand.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has called on state departments of transportation to verify that railroad crossing warning systems interconnected to traffic lights function properly and urged states to add event recorders to traffic lights connected to railroad crossing systems so information obtained during inspections can be used to improve safety. Across the United States, there are nearly 5,000 railroad crossings interconnected with traffic lights.
Todd Bjornstad, formerly the general manager of the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCP&E), has been named president of the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad Company (CSS), effective March 1, 2016, succeeding Andrew Fox.
Kansas City Southern identified the International Rail Bridge at Laredo/Nuevo Laredo as an opportunity to improve operational efficiency and a candidate for the Business Process Improvement (BPI) Program in 2015.
Andrew Lindsay Lewis Jr., who served as Union Pacific Railroad chairman and chief executive officer from April 1986 to April 1987 and as Union Pacific Corporation president and chief executive officer from 1987 to 1997, passed away Feb. 10, at age 84.
Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has given the go-ahead for preliminary engineering for a transload shipping center at Great Bend, Kan., which will be built west of Great Bend at the airport.
HNTB Corporation’s promoted nine in its New York and New Jersey offices and added a new hire in its North Carolina office.
Eurovia has finalized the acquisition of Canadian rail contractor Rail Cantech.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) will target a $225 million capital program in 2016, which is down approximately 28 percent when compared to its 2015 spend of $315 million.
National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) has appointed Rick Ebersold, president of Herzog Services, Inc., to fill a temporarily open seat on the NRC Board of Directors. The NRC Board unanimously supported the nomination made by Chairman of the Board Chris Daloisio.
Canadian National‘s 2016 capital plan includes an investment of approximately CA$2.9 billion (US$2.07 billion) in rail infrastructure and equipment to raise network efficiency, support long-term growth and further strengthen safety. The railroad is the only North American Class 1 to increased its spend over 2015, which for CN was CA$2.8 billion (US$2.06 billion.)
Union Pacific reports that in 2015 it reduced railroad-crossing accidents by three percent with a 2.28, which is the total number of Federal Railroad Administration reportable grade crossing accidents per million train miles.
On February 5, U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA-06) joined National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association member company Progress Rail Services for a tour of its locomotive and rail car services facility in Roanoke, Va.
The Union Pacific Board of Directors approved the company’s 2016 capital plan of approximately $3.75 billion, down about $550 million versus 2015. The plan includes $375 million to further implement Positive Train Control.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and local elected officials visited the site of a proposed $42-million grade-separation project in Moorhead.
The Arizona Corporation Commission approved an upgrade to a busy Tucson Union Pacific railroad crossing that will improve safety and traffic flow.
Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,100-acre multimodal industrial site in Baltimore, Md., has named Paul Thomas terminal manager, where he will be responsible for developing an operating and capital investment strategy for Tradepoint Atlantic’s shortline railroad.
Connecticut has allocated $17.5 million in state funding for the design, engineering and construction of a new rail yard on the Metro-North Railroad Danbury Branch Line in Norwalk. The funding comes under Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy “Let’s Go CT!” initiative, which is making investments to upgrade and modernize the state’s transportation system.
The Susquehanna Economic Development Association-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) Joint Rail Authority (JRA) in Pennsylvania has partnered with the Columbia County Commissioners on recently completed trackwork to support the Bloomsburg Flood Protection Project.
