Tamping Down the Details: Union Pacific Completes ‘First-of-its-Kind’ Equipment Overhaul

DENVER, Colo. – Union Pacific Railroad’s Engineering team recently tackled a monumental effort at its equipment shop in Denver, Colorado – rebuilding the first of 32 massive track maintenance machines to make them more user-friendly, enhance safety and simplify repairs.

VTA Purchases Tunnel Boring Machine for BSVII Project

SAN FRANCISCO – The Valley Transportation Authority reports that it has purchased a tunnel boring machine from Herrenknecht, for its BSVII, or BART Silicon Valley Phase II, project.

LCCAS and Track Safety: AREMA 2023 Annual Conference Maintenance-of-Way Technical Session

INDIANAPOLIS – Piper Networks CEO Robert Hanczor presented “Innovative MOW Safety Solutions: How Using Multi-sensor Limits Compliance and Collision Avoidance Systems Can Improve Track Safety.”

‘Women in Rail’: Top HR Execs, Recruiters to Tackle Career Development

The 2023 Railway Age / RT&S Women in Rail event, to be held Nov. 2 in Chicago, will feature a panel of human resources and recruitment executives discussing changes in freight and passenger rail recruitment, retention,

BNSF Completes Sandpoint Jct. Connector (Updated)

SANDPOINT, Idaho – A four-year, multi-faceted project to widen a single-track chokepoint on BNSF’s Northern Corridor at Sandpoint, Idaho, is now complete, following the cutover of new track during a 16-hour work

‘Women in Rail’ Event Set for Nov. 2

CHICAGO – The industry conversation continues with Railway Age / RT&S Women in Rail 2023—our first in-person Women in Rail conference covering the freight, passenger and transit rail sectors.  The Nov. 2 conference, presented live at

Nature’s Fury – Extreme Weather Can Ruin a Railroader’s Day

ATLANTA – A major challenge for the railroad industry is that it operates outside. Railroads build, own, and maintain their infrastructure, and when bad weather hits, it’s up to them to plan for and deal with it with their personnel and money.

Undercutting Leaves Roadbed in Excellent Shape

Undercutting is a process that removes ballast from beneath an in-situ railroad track. Undercutters can typically extract between six and twenty-four inches of material in a pass. 

Loram Technologies, Inc., hosted U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.; pictured) at a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Global Rail Campus in Georgetown, Tex.

Loram Technologies to Launch Global Rail Campus

Loram Technologies, Inc. on May 3 held a groundbreaking ceremony in Georgetown, Tex., for its new Global Rail Campus, which will comprise a corporate office and facility for the production and manufacture of maintenance-of-way equipment and inspection technologies.

The MERMEC-built rail inspection vehicle uses lasers, sensors, cameras, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a comprehensive profile of the track, all while traveling at speeds of up to 70 mph, according to BART. (BART Photograph)

First Look: BART’s MERMEC Geometry Car in Action

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District on May 3 unveiled its newly acquired rail inspection vehicle from MERMEC that will measure track position, curvature, smoothness, and alignment, as well as wear and corrugation, which contribute to train noise.

“Tampers and stoneblowers are track maintenance machines that make sure the track is correctly aligned and has a smooth level along the rail,” according to Network Rail. “They help to prevent the risk of trains derailing, and ensure smooth, comfortable journeys for passengers and freight trains. These machines generally work at night when no passenger trains are running.” (Network Rail Image)

Harsco Rail Lands Network Rail O&M Contract

Harsco Corporation on April 5 reported that its Rail division has been awarded a five-year, more than $130 million stoneblower operation and maintenance (O&M) contract from Network Rail, which owns, operates and

Racine Railroad Products Announces Dominic DaPra Will Assume Leadership Role

Mt. Pleasant, Wis.–Racine Railroad Products President Steve Birkholz retired March 7, 2023 following more than 29 years of service to the company, serving as the President for more than 28 years. Dominic DaPra, previously Vice President at Generac Power Systems, succeed Birkholz as President. DaPra started with Racine Railroad on Dec. 5, 2022, to allow for an extended transition period.

Pictured: Renny, the first boring machine for Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project, which started tunneling work in April 2022. (Metrolinx Photograph)

Eglinton Crosstown West Extension Reaches Tunneling Milestone

The first tunnel boring machine passed the halfway point earlier this month, digging more than three kilometers of the roughly six-kilometer tunnel in less than a year for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project in Toronto, according to Metrolinx.

RSI, REMSA, RTA Study: “Power of the Rail Supply Industry”

The Railway Supply Institute (RSI), Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) and Railway Tie Association (RTA) have issued Rail Supply Industry: Manufacturing and Services Keeping the American Economy on Track, their latest major economic impact study, which “quantifies the economic

Pettibone/Traverse Lift, LLC’s new Speed Swing 445F2 rail crane is powered by a fuel-efficient 163-horsepower Cummins QSB4.5 Tier 4 diesel engine.

Pettibone Upgrades Speed Swing Crane

Pettibone/Traverse Lift, LLC has rolled out the Speed Swing 445F2, an updated version of what it calls “the industry’s original do-it-all rail crane,” which was “developed with customer feedback in mind” and

(Wiskerchen Grapple Truck, Courtesy of RELAM)

RELAM Expanding Hi-Rail Truck Business

Railway Equipment Leasing And Maintenance (RELAM) Inc. on Jan. 5 reported its acquisition of Wiskerchen Truck & Equipment, LLC and Wiskerchen Rental & Leasing, LLC, (Wiskerchen), which specialize in the sale, service, rental and leasing of hi-rail trucks and truck equipment.

NRC Conference & NRC-REMSA Exhibition Kick off in Boca Raton

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) conference and NRC-Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) kicked off in Boca Raton, Fla. today as railroad construction and MOW officials, equipment suppliers, and others gathered in this oceanside community just north of Miami.

Broadway Subway Project Update

VANCOUVER, BC – On October 12, RT&S reported on the introduction of tunnel boring machines to Vancouver’s Broadway Subway project, and said “The project will add 3.5 miles to the SkyTrain Millennium Line, from the VCC-Clark Station to Broadway, then Arbutus. Total funding for the project, about US$2.3 billion, will be shared by the government of British Columbia, the government of Canada, and the city of Vancouver.”

November Railway Track & Structures Digital Edition Now On Line

The November 2022 issue of Railway Track & Structures is now available digitally, with a cover story about the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Seminole Gulf Railway.

Construction update on the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension

RT&S has reported extensively on the progress of the Metrolinx Eglinton project over the past couple of years. Here’s the latest report from the agency.

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