Letter From The Publisher

Dear Railway Track & Structures and Rail Group News readers,

Happy New Year. January 1 marked my first day as publisher of the Simmons-Boardman Rail Division, which consists of Railway Age, International Railway Journal and Railway Track & Structures.

CSX to begin its on-Dock service at Virginia port

CSX will begin the start of on-dock rail services at the Virginia Port Authority’s APM Terminal in Portsmouth on Jan. 3, 2012.

KCS’ Starling details infrastructure and equipment investment

Kansas City Southern President and CEO David Starling reviews 2011 and plans the next year’s progress for KCS.

NS moves forward with TIGER grant, plans to expand Harrisburg intermodal operations

This is an update to a story first reported on December 15, 2011, Click here.

Norfolk Southern is moving forward with plans to expand operations at its Rutherford Intermodal Facility near Harrisburg, Pa., after the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $15 million TIGER III grant to the project.

Rail-related projects receive $279 million in TIGER funds

United States Department of Transportation awarded $511 million in TIGER III discretionary grants to 46 capital construction projects in 33 states, of which $279 million of funding will go to rail-related projects.

West Virginia Ports Authority awarded $12 million for Heartland Corridor terminal

The West Virginia Ports Authority has been awarded $12 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation to construct a long-planned intermodal terminal along Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor near Prichard, W.Va.

PennDOT receives $15 million for Rutherford yard expansion

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Pennsylvania Department of Transportation a $15 million grant to expand capacity at the freight processing facility in Rutherford, Pa., a project which has the potential to create nearly 4,000 direct and indirect jobs and reduce the number of trucks traveling on Pennsylvania’s roadways.

Georgia Ports Authority Board approves Savannah area intermodal terminal expansion

The Georgia Ports Authority Board approved a $6.5 million, 6,000-foot extension of the Mason Intermodal Container Transfer Facility in Garden City, Ga. The initiative is designed to expand capacity, improve efficiencies and reduce costs for customers.

NCCC has tentative agreements with 10 out of 13 unions

The nation’s major freight railroads reached tentative collective bargaining agreements with then out of 13 unions, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee reported.

Tesoro plans new rail project to ship ND crude

Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) met with Tesoro CEO Greg Goff to review the company’s major expansion plans in North Dakota, including a new rail project to ship North Dakota crude to its Anacortes, Wash., facility.

PANYNJ hires HDR to rehabilitate Greenville Yard

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hired HDR to rehabilitate the Greenville Yard in Greenville, N.J., to improve ongoing rail-to-barge-to-rail freight movements across New York Harbor. The work includes rehabilitating a barge and transfer bridge used to move freight rail cars from the yard to the barges, designing a new barge and two new bridges, demolishing two bridges, rehabilitating the rail yard and waterfront structures and environmental permitting.

USDOT: TIGER grants in high demand

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the overwhelming demand for TIGER grants has once again far surpassed the available funding.

SFMTA renames streetcar yard for Cameron Beach

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors, which oversees all surface transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), held a ceremony to rename Muni’s Geneva Yard for SFMTA board member and transit advocate Cameron Beach.

FRA issues safety advisory aimed at reducing yard incidents

Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo issued a safety advisory to the railroad industry to help prevent injuries and fatalities from employees working between rail cars during switching operations and other dangerous or unsafe workplace behaviors.

NS names yard office in honor of late coal executive

At a dedication ceremony Oct. 4, Norfolk Southern named its new yard office building in Williamson, W. Va., after the late John William Fox, Jr., who retired from NS as senior vice president coal services in 2003 after a 35-year career with the company.

Indiana Rail Road Co. to invest $65 million in Hiawatha Yard

Indiana Rail Road Company President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Hoback, along with state of Indiana and Greene County officials, plan to announce a major capital investment and participate in a groundbreaking ceremony at INRD’s Hiawatha Yard near Jasonville, Ind., at 11 a.m. (ET) Monday, Aug. 29.

RailComm to expand remote control yard system at BNSF Memphis

RailComm has been selected to expand its existing yard system at BNSF’s mechanical facility in Memphis, Tenn. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOCĀ®) System will be used to remotely control derails.

CN investing US$165 million to expand Kirk Yard

Canadian National has plans for a US$165-million expansion of its Kirk Yard in Gary, Ind., and relocation of its Chicago area locomotive repair shop to the upgraded freight car classification facility in Northwest Indiana.

Wavion Partners with Ferrovalle to provide Wi-Fi coverage for Mexico City yard

WavionTM, a technology carrier of grade Wi-Fi solutions, will deploy it’s Beamforming-based Wi-Fi base-stations for high-speed internet access at Ferrovalle shipping containers train yard in Mexico City, Mexico.

New rail yard in Port Everglades Terminal on the horizon

Motiva Enterprises LLC and Vecenergy have reached an agreement to construct a fuel grade ethanol rail offloading facility at the Motiva Port Everglades, Fla., terminal. The expanded operations will allow for the delivery of ethanol unit trains directly into existing Motiva storage tanks. The new facilities will increase cost-efficiency and improve delivery logistics by minimizing the number of transports required before arriving into the South Florida market.

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