Piedmont & Northern service to start in February

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s reconstruction of its Piedmont & Northern Rail Corridor in Gaston County, N.C., will be significantly completed by February 20, 2012. This will allow operation of trains over the corridor for the first time in more than 20 years. Patriot Rail will provide freight rail service to customers over the line.

PATH reports record ridership in 2011

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s PATH rail system reported record ridership in 2011, with 76.6 million commuter trips made during the year, the highest number since the agency took over operation of the system in 1962.

UP puts $4 million into San Antonio track improvements

Union Pacific will improve the transportation infrastructure in San Antonio, Texas, by investing $4 million in one of two rail lines that parallel Frio City Road. The project will help trains move more efficiently through the west side of the city.

Dulles rail tunnel completed

The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in northern Virginia has completed the tunnel that will carry the future rail line under a portion of Tysons Corner, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C.

WSOR’s Madison line rehab nearly complete

Wisconsin & Southern Railroad LLC will soon complete a major capital project to rehabilitate a publicly-owned railroad corridor between Madison and Milton, Wis. The project, expected to be completed this year, consists of installing 30,000 railroad ties, upgrading 21 public at-grade railroad crossings and installing 32 miles of continuous welded rail in the following communities: Madison, McFarland, Stoughton, Edgerton and Milton.

UP reaches safety milestone

Union Pacific employees capped a decade of safety improvement in 2011 by achieving a 1.15 reportable injury rate, the best performance on record in the company’s history.

CSX names new COO and CFO

CSX Corporation appointed Oscar Munoz as executive vice president and chief operating officer and Fredrik Eliasson as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.

Metro-North ridership beats LIRR numbers

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro-North Railroad provided 82 million rides last year, up 1.4 percent over 2010, with ridership gains on all lines and in all markets from traditional morning inbound commutation to nights, weekends, middays and holidays.

HART’s GET revenue surpasses projections

The General Excise and Use Tax (GET) surcharge collected this past quarter for Honolulu’s rail project came in significantly higher than projected, marking the third consecutive quarter that revenue has surpassed projections, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation reported.

L.B. Foster names new CEO

L.B. Foster Company appointed Robert Bauer as president and chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, effective February 1, 2012. Bauer joins the company from Emerson Climate Technologies where he previously served as president of the Refrigeration Division, a business of Emerson Electric Co. Bauer also served as president of Emerson Network Power’s Liebert Division.

Coll Materials expands operation to support Axion ties

Axion International plans to increase its production capabilities in 2012. In June of 2011 Axion signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Coll Materials to expand the company’s output and to do so at Coll’s southwest location in order to strategically service Axion’s growing customer base.

BLET members ratify Amtrak contract

By a nearly 4-to-1 margin, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Amtrak. Ballots were counted and the final tally was 77.5 percent in favor and 22.5 percent against.