Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley appointed James Smith, Jr., as secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Robert Smith as the administrator for the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA).
ACF Industries’ rail car manufacturing plant in Milton, Pa., reopened its doors June 5, 2013 after four years of being shut down.
The state of Connecticut has allocated more than $8 million in Rail Freight Infrastructure Program funding, which will be released to four regional railroad company projects in an effort to improve and modernize Connecticut’s rail freight system.
United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation workers (UTU-SMART)-represented train and engine workers employed by Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad Company have ratified a new five-year agreement by an overwhelming 89 percent majority.
The agreement provides for wage increases equal to the 2011 national UTU agreement, including percentage increases to crew consist payments, full back-pay and increases in training pay.
The agreement also provides improved bereavement leave, establishes a Rule-G bypass agreement and establishes a health and welfare benefit package that replicates the National Health and Welfare package, including the Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit Plan.
Lake Superior & Ishpeming’s primary business is the transportation of iron ore over a 16-mile shortline from the Empire-Tilden Mine, operated by Cliffs Natural Resources, south of Ishpeming, to Lake Superior for transport.
The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway was organized in 1893 as a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (now Cliffs Natural Resources), the iron ore mining company. From its beginning, the railroad’s primary business was the transport of iron ore from the Marquette Iron Range, west of Marquette, to docks on Lake Superior, from which the ore could be shipped to steel mills on the lower Great Lakes.
The National Freight Advisory Committee (NFAC) has named its list of members, a diverse group of professionals that will provide advice and recommendations aimed at improving the national freight transportation system.
Watco Transportation Services has named Brit Sonnier as general manager for the Baton Rouge Southern Railroad (BRS).
In a letter to the United Transportation Union, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo pushed for more integrated rail systems. In the message, he said:
“We know well the population growth, mobility and environmental challenges revealing a clear need to invest in passenger rail and of passenger rail’s skyrocketing ridership, be it intercity, commuter, light or heavy.
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded more than $4.7 million in federal disaster funding for the Chenango Industrial Development Agency (IDA) to move forward with the Utica Main Rail Line Revitalization project in New York.
Operating employees of Chicago Terminal Railroad (CTR) have selected United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation workers (UTU-SMART) for representation.
Rio Grande Pacific Corporation appointed rail industry veteran Tres Meyer as chief operating officer of its Nebraska Central Railroad Company.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Bowen Civil Engineering Inc. (BCE) is now part of Hanson Professional Services Inc., adding expanded civil and transportation engineering, design services and 12 engineering professionals to Hanson’s national consulting practice.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen will celebrate its 150th anniversary on May 8; the union was founded on May 8, 1863.
Watco Mechanical Services (WMS) named Mark Peterson-Overton as chief operating officer. He will be responsible for managing all hands-on operational aspects of Watco Mechanical Services on a daily basis.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) has relocated its corporate headquarters from Greenwich, Conn., to 20 West Avenue in Darien, Conn.
The Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority (ACE) elected El Monte, Calif., Mayor Pro Tem Norma Macias as chair and Montebello, Calif., Councilman Jack Hadjinian as vice chair of its board of directors.
Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary and CEO Richard Davey and local officials highlighted this year’s Industrial Rail Access Program (IRAP) recipients operating in Massachusetts.
On April 29, a Coos Bay Rail Link freight train moved the first rail shipment of plywood out of the Roseburg Forest Products mill in Coquille, Ore., since the rail line closed five and a half years ago.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has obligated a $2.2-million grant for the city of Tavares, Fla., to help with upgrades along a 57-mile stretch of Florida Central Railroad (FCEN) track between Orlando and Umatilla.
California’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency has formed the California Freight Advisory Committee, which will help determine the state’s plans for freight-related transportation investments in California.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has made $474 million available for the fifth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.