NS names Weaver VP Labor Relations; Mobley retires
Scott Weaver has been named vice president labor relations for Norfolk Southern Corporation, effective March 1. He will report to John Rathbone, executive vice president administration.
Scott Weaver has been named vice president labor relations for Norfolk Southern Corporation, effective March 1. He will report to John Rathbone, executive vice president administration.
Missouri transportation officials approved a project that will remove the last single-track bottleneck on the Union Pacific line between Jefferson City and St. Louis, Mo. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a contract for a new railroad bridge over the Osage River to OCCI, Inc., a construction company based in Fulton, Mo. When completed, the new bridge will significantly improve freight and passenger rail service.
Canadian National opened its newest intermodal terminal at Chippewa Falls, Wis. The terminal, located 100 miles east of Minneapolis/St. Paul, offers Wisconsin and Minnesota customers new supply chain options to ship and receive goods in containers.
RailComm has expanded its existing yard system at BNSF’s mechanical facility in Memphis, Tenn. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) System is used to remotely control derails.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. appointed Ann Reese to its board of directors, effective February 2, 2012. Reese will serve on GWI’s Audit Committee.
Amtrak is requesting $450 million in federal operating support for fiscal year 2013, a lower amount than the $466 million appropriated by Congress for FY 2012. The ability to seek reduced federal operating funding results from ongoing efforts by Amtrak to improve its financial performance, including increased efficiency, cost controls and debt reduction as well as better service, record ridership and anticipated increases in revenue.
Canadian Pacific, by leveraging its north mainline infrastructure, is now shipping crude oil by rail from a new transload facility near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. This new facility is a key enhancement to CP’s growing energy portfolio. It accommodates the initial transload and transportation needs of NuStar Energy LP, with a further planned expansion in 2012.
RailAmerica has signed an agreement to acquire Marquette Rail LLC for $40 million, subject to final adjustments for working capital. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and Surface Transportation Board approval.
The Broward County Board of County Commissioners in Florida approved a 30-year lease and operating agreement with the Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C., to develop an Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at Port Everglades, which will allow freight to move more efficiently between south Florida and the southeast United States via rail. The facility will become operational at the beginning of 2014.
Axion International has received a purchase order for its first installation of ties from another Class 1 railroad. This represents the second of the nation’s Class 1 rail lines that Axion is doing business with, following a multi-year contract announced earlier in 2011.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unveiled the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act. The initiative is a five-year, $260 billion infrastructure bill that reforms transportation programs and promotes increased domestic energy production to create American jobs.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to increase funding for job creating Illinois rail and multimodal priorities, including rail line relocation grants, Amtrak and the TIGER grant program, in its bill to reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act. Durbin also urged the Committee to reject the proposals in the House Transportation bill that would eliminate or dramatically reduce funding for programs that are essential to creating jobs in downstate Illinois communities.
The Birmingham Terminal Railway (BHRR) began operations at 12:01 a.m. Central time, Wednesday, Feb. 1. The railway was created by acquiring the assets of the Birmingham Southern Railway (BS).
BNSF plans a 2012 capital commitment program of approximately $3.9 billion, a $400 million increase over its 2011 capital spend of $3.5 billion.
The Association of American Railroads said the nation’s major freight railroads are projected to invest a record $13 billion in capital expenditures in 2012 to expand, upgrade and enhance the nation’s freight rail network. The freight railroads also expect to hire more than 15,000 employees this year, replacing retiring workers and adding new positions nationwide.
The Kansas City Southern de Mexico and Raloy Lubricants Company opened the Diamond International transload center for the handling of liquid and dry cargo. With capacity to handle 400 rail cars and 27,000 tons annually, the transload center will be operated by Raloy, whose products are specialized lubricants used primarily in the automotive industry.
United Transportation Union-represented engineers and conductors employed by Apache Railroad in Arizona have ratified a new three-year agreement providing for wage increases, certification pay, improvements in disability and life insurance benefits, an increase in the employer match for a 401-k plan, substantial improvements in the healthcare insurance plan and a reduction in the employee contribution.
RailComm has been chosen to provide its Domain Operations Controller train control system for Paducah & Louisville Railway in Kentucky. The DOC system will have functionality for Track Warrant Control and Centralized Traffic Control through the companies web-enabled software-as-a-service delivery method.
The cleanup of almost 2 million railroad ties from a site in Radford, Va., brings to an end a multi-year effort to clear the former industrial location and eliminate a potential environmental concern. Norfolk Southern completed removal of the ties earlier this month, delivering on a long-standing offer to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to transport the ties for free if a suitable disposal site could be found.
Port San Antonio in Texas and Watco Companies, L.L.C., plan to launch a new rail service at the Port’s East Kelly Railport.