From April 30 to May 6 this year, Operation Lifesaver’s Rail Safety Week raised public awareness and encouraged Canadians to take personal responsibility for safety near rail property.
Kansas City Southern appointed Michael Naatz as senior vice president and chief information officer with responsibility for information technology and business planning. Naatz will report to KCS president and chief executive officer David Starling.
“Mike is a great addition to the KCS team,” said Starling. “His extensive transportation leadership experience will enhance our information technology efforts and business planning capabilities.”
Naatz has 18 years of transportation experience. He joins KCS from USF Holland, a YRCW company, where he served as president for the past year. Since USF was acquired by YRCW in 2005, he held the position of chief information and service officer, as well as a variety of other leadership positions for YRCW, including customer service and enterprise management. Prior to the acquisition, he held similar positions with USF for 11 years.
Canadian National Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jean-Jacques Ruest made senior marketing changes May 7 which are effective immediately.
On Thursday May 10, 2012, the OneRail Coalition will host a briefing on “The American Rail Industry: Investing in Infrastructure, Creating Jobs” at 2:00pm in the Capitol Visitor Center, Meeting Room North (CVC 268).
Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have agreed to move forward with a comprehensive study that will help determine ways to reduce rail congestion and let trains achieve higher speeds along the Chicago-to-Detroit high-speed rail corridor.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation received $6.75 million from the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery III program to rehabilitate 49 miles of state-owned rail line between Elk City and Sayre, Okla., in the Anadarko Basin.
HDR, Inc., has acquired the business of Stetson Engineering, Inc., a Wyoming-based firm with offices in Gillette and Riverton. Stetson Engineering, Inc., specializes in design, engineering and consulting services related to water, sewer, storm sewer, hydrology and transportation.
Ahmed El-Aassar, Ph.D., INCE, ASA, a vice president with Environmental Acoustics, Inc., an affiliate firm of Gannett Fleming specializing in noise and air quality, has been recognized by CSX Transportation with an Outstanding Service Award in the Environmental Services Category. Based in the firm’s Lemoyne, Pa., office, El-Aassar serves as a project manager for noise and air quality projects.
Lilee Systems, provider of communication systems designed exclusively for the railroad industry, has achieved Red Hat Hardware Certification for the company’s WMS-2000 wayside messaging server, making it the first wayside messaging server with internal 3G, GPS and IP KVM options to achieve Red Hat certification. Now, Lilee says customers deploying WMS-2000 with embedded Red Hat Enterprise Linux are offered proven performance and reliability.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $202 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement and expansion projects in Nebraska this year.
Caltrans, BNSF and Amtrak broke ground on a $38 million rail project that will add 3.8 additional miles of track to the Los Angeles area, increasing efficiency and rail capacity.
Norfolk Southern broke ground on the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The facility, which will transfer trailers and containers between trucks and trains, will be capable of 200,000 lifts per year and will replace Norfolk Southern’s existing intermodal facility in downtown Charlotte.
Kansas City Southern’s subsidiary, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company, received the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care Partner Award on April 30 at the 21st annual Responsible Care Conference and Expo in Hollywood, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based RailAmerica, Inc., has officially completed its acquisition of Marquette Rail LLC for approximately $40 million. Marquette Rail is based in Ludington, Mich.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s newly-formed subsidiary, the Columbus & Chattahoochee Railroad, Inc., signed an agreement with Norfolk Southern to lease and operate a 26-mile segment of NS track that runs from Girard, Ala., to Mahrt, Ala. The CCR will interchange with NS in Columbus, Ga., where GWI’s Georgia Southwestern Railroad also has operations.
Patriot Rail Corp. newly-formed rail subsidiary, Kingman Terminal Railroad has been awarded a long-term license agreement to provide rail operating services to customers at the Kingman Airport & Industrial Park, located in Mohave County, Ariz.
Koppers Inc. and Union Pacific agreed to extend their existing sales contract for an additional five years through January 31, 2017. Koppers provides treated railroad crossties and other railroad-related products and services to Union Pacific.
Baltimore, Md., Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake urged CSX Transportation to abandon locating a proposed multi-million dollar Baltimore-Washington Rail Intermodal Facility in suburban Maryland and instead begin working immediately to identify an appropriate site within the city of Baltimore.
California’s North County Transit District, through its contract with Herzog Transit Service, Inc., will assume dispatching responsibility for the 60-mile coastal rail line that begins at the Santa Fe Depot in San Diego County and ends at the Orange County line.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission directing CSX Transportation to install flashing lights and gates at three grade crossings in Freedom Township, Wood County.