Washington Metro chooses Hitachi Rail to build new cars

Metro has been looking for a manufacturer for the past two years to build its next group of rail cars. The Washington Post reports that last week, Metro chose Hitachi Rail. The

Plasser American Corporation expanding facilities in Chesapeake, Va.

A new era has begun with the signing of the contract to increase manufacturing capacities at Plasser American on August 28, 2020. The expansion is their commitment to the Chesapeake, VA site

PS Technology releases Precision Train Builder

PS Technology (PST) has released Precision Train Builder, which the company says “is designed for analyzing derailments and improving the safety of train operations by physically accurate simulation. Precision Train Builder (PTB)

Focused TS releases ‘LagEase’ battery-operated lag inserter

Focused Technology Solutions —a Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway Company— is releasing their third battery-operated product to the rail market; the LagEase battery-operated lag inserter. Like FTS’ battery-operated tie drill, the DrillEase, the LagEase uses

Metro’s Silver Line extension is not open yet, but derailment risk may already be present

Washington Metro’s Silver Line extension is already being red-flagged for safety. The second phase of the track is currently under construction and is expected to open in 2021, but Metro has sent

Parsons awarded $45 million contract to support new BART train control

Parsons Corporation announced today that the company has been selected by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) to support implementation of a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system. The CBTC System, which

MARTA partners with NextDoor to communicate real-time information directly with neighborhoods

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is partnering with social media site Nextdoor to communicate important information directly with residents. MARTA will share construction updates, major service issues, activities and events

New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway could have ultra-light rail

If widening is not an option for the Garden State Parkway, then lighter will be one. During a recent budget hearing, officials talked about using ultra-light rail to help solve congestion in

NTSB: Alcohol, PTC restricted mode caused Ohio train accident

The National Transportation Safety Board is once again calling for federal railroad regulators to mandate the use of inward- and outward-facing cameras on train locomotives after investigating an Ohio collision between two CSX trains.

Advanced Rail Systems (ARS) breaks ground on new headquarters

Advanced Rail Systems, ARS, recently hosted the Ground Breaking Ceremony for a new international headquarters on Friday, September 11, 2020. The 20-acre campus, located near Waco TX, will accommodate all administrative and

Balfour Beatty welcomes start of full construction on HS2

Balfour Beatty, alongside HS2 Ltd, [earlier this month] celebrated the formal start of construction on Europe’s largest infrastructure project –  HS2, the state-of-the-art, high-speed line critical for the UK’s low carbon transport

San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA) suspends light rail service, buses serve as replacement

After weeks of planning to restart our Muni Metro service, we unfortunately were forced to resume all bus service starting [Tuesday, August 25]. We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may

Kurt Krauss joins HNTB as vice president in new national Advisory practice

Kurt Krauss, PE, joined HNTB Corporation as vice president, national strategic initiatives, in the firm’s new national Advisory practice. He specializes in national initiatives centered on program management, rapid mobilization and expert

Canadian National gives the Lion Electric Co. largest order to date

Canadian National and The Lion Electric Co. announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for CN to acquire 50 zero-emission trucks by CN as part of its fleet of

Federal Railroad Administration announces rail inspection technology rule to improve track safety

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today submitted to the Federal Register a final rule allowing railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology, augmented with global positioning system (GPS) technology,

Read and watch: L.B. Foster announces Track Monitoring Suite

Innovative ways to support railway safety and keep trains moving are always top of mind. Manager of Technology Sales, Michael O’Connell, walks through our Total Track Monitoring suite of products. This 5-minute

Start of Siemens Mobility’s Inspiro trains and automatic train control systems for Metro Sofia

Siemens Mobility’s modern Inspiro trains and Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) Trainguard MT (TGMT) systems [went] into passenger service today on Line 3 of the Sofia Metro. The trains and systems will

MTA announces significant Positive Train Control advances on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) [yesterday] announced major progress made on implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) on MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad, reaffirming both railroads will be in

PTC Progress – NJ Transit and New Mexico River Rail Runner respond

This week, RT&S reported on the FRA’s quarterly summary of PTC implementation progress, along with a second report providing some details around NJ Transit’s progress. As two commuter railroads that the Federal

Amtrak completes PTC implementation

Following installation on approximately one mile of slow-speed track in the Chicago terminal, Amtrak has now implemented Positive Train Control (PTC) on all of its owned or controlled tracks and locomotives. In