Unifor shopcraft members ratify CN agreement
Members of the Unifor shopcraft group representing 2,100 Canadian National car mechanics, heavy-duty equipment mechanics and electricians, have ratified a four-year labor agreement.
Freight
AXION ties to be used in transit station and yard rehabilitation project
AXION International Holdings, Inc., received $1 million in orders for ECOTRAX® rail ties to be installed in a northeast-based transit line’s rail yard and station.
CN to build intermodal hub west of Toronto
Canadian National plans to build a CA$250-million ($US200-million) intermodal and logistics hub adjacent to its mainline in Milton, ON, located approximately 30 miles west of Toronto. Milton has ready access to major highways reaching key industrial and commercial areas in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
KCS plan $18 million in work on Laredo Subdivision
Kansas City Southern is investing approximately $18 million in construction and improvement projects on its Laredo Subdivision from Laredo to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Unifor ratifies agreements with CN
Unifor ratified agreements with Canadian National, including the clerical/intermodal, Savage Alberta Railway, excavator-operator and CNTL owner-operator collective agreements. CN is awaiting the results from the mechanical bargaining unit represented by Unifor Local 100R.
Gov. Dayton proposes crossing safety projects to be bankrolled partially by railroads
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton proposed 75 grade-crossing projects to improve safety and improve congestion across the state.
Amtrak Hoosier State to continue through end of April
The Amtrak Hoosier State service between Indianapolis, Ind., and Chicago, Ill., will continue through the end of April. The announcement follows a Federal Railroad Administration phone call with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Commissioner Karl Browning, during which Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg committed to reconsider the position that would force the Hoosier State service to end.
Indiana yard cutover of new interlocking is complete
RailComm has completed cutover of a completely new switch interlocking at a North American Class 1 yard located in Indiana. Each switch machine or crossover in the interlocking can be controlled individually or in combinations to set entrance/exit routes through the yard.
Central, Maine & Quebec: Revive, rebuild
Central Maine & Quebec management faced a massive rebuilding effort of the railroad’s infrastructure, its safety culture and its community relationships.
Rep. Denham tours Colton Crossing project in California
U.S. Rep. and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Jeff Denham (R-CA) joined representatives from HDR, Inc., and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) for a tour of the Colton Crossing Rail-to-Rail Grade Separation Project.
PTC relief on the way?
The U.S. railroad industry has been scrambling since 2008 to meet the requirements of an unfunded federal government mandate—namely, having Positive Train Control installed and fully operational by Dec. 31, 2015 on 60,000 miles of track where hazmat and passenger trains operate. Parallel to the PTC initiative has been a battle waged on Capitol Hill to extend the end-of-the-year deadline. That effort may be paying off, and the railroads may one day be grateful that they have a Thune on their side.
INRD plans $17.5-million 2015 capex; focuses on bridges
The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) released plans for a $17.5-million capital program in 2015 that will focus heavily on bridge projects, a trend it anticipates will continue in the future.
Tri-City Railroad Company names VP, COO
Tri-City Railroad Company hired John Miller as vice president and chief operating officer.
WSDOT seeks comment on PCC rail system plan
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) seeks public input on a plan for prioritized improvements to the Palouse and Coulee City (PCC) Rail system in eastern Washington. Once finalized, the plan will be used to help develop future funding, policy and planning goals.
Senate bill to extend shortline tax credit introduced
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015, which would extend the shortline railroad track maintenance tax credit that expired in 2014.
NJ Transit awarded $147-million FTA storm relief grant
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded New Jersey Transit $147,086,000 through the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program for repair, recovery and resiliency projects associated with Superstorm Sandy.
Quebec government eyes purchase of eastern shortline
The Quebec government has laid out a plan to buy the Gaspé Railway Company line between Matapédia and Gaspé in the eastern part of the province. Ownership of the line currently belongs to four county municipalities that are served by the line.
NS names Squires to succeed Moorman
Norfolk Southern named James Squires chief executive officer, succeeding Wick Moorman. The action by the company’s board of directors is part of its planned succession process and will be effective June 1, 2015.
KCS provides PTC update, spotlights telecommunications group
Implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology on Kansas City Southern is a major, ongoing initiative, especially for the Signal, Mechanical, IT and Telecommunications groups, the railroad says. The railroad provided an update on its progress of PTC implementation in an employee newsletter.
NCDOT to fund 15 freight and crossing safety projects in 2015
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has programmed approximately $3.7 million to fund 15 projects across the state through the Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program for Fiscal Year 2015.