The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) for measuring the performance and service quality of Amtrak intercity passenger trains that operate on host freight railroad trackage. The proposed rule “would define Amtrak intercity passenger train on-time performance, and would set forth—on average—a minimum on-time performance standard of 80%,” FRA said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao recently awarded $7.29 million to the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) as part of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant. NOPB said it will use the grant funds for the New Orleans Gateway Rail Fluidity and Capacity Improvements Project.
OmniTRAX, an affiliate of The Broe Group, has appointed Robert Walker as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. He reports to CEO Kevin Shuba and is responsible for corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax and pricing.
REMSA announced its 2020 Undergraduate Scholarship Program. This year REMSA is awarding one President’s Scholarship in the amount of $7,500 as well as one $5,000 runner-up scholarship, and one individual scholarship at $2,500. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, May 29, 2020.
According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), one rail sector in particular will be the first to feel the brunt of the coronavirus’ impact.
MTA Metro-North Railroad President Cathy Rinaldi announced that as of March 14 Metro-North’s full Harlem and Hudson lines are operating in Positive Train Control (PTC), bringing Metro-North’s total of PTC-equipped route miles to 189, which represents 68% of its mileage.
Patriot Rail and Ports has appointed Paul D. Tonsager as its Chief Commercial Officer.
Rail industry vet David Freeman is joining Loram Holdings Inc.’s Board of Directors. Freeman’s background includes 19 years of rail industry experience in engineering and operations roles with BNSF Railway.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) plans to launch the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in 2020 to “recognize short line railroad visionaries and stars who through their dedication, commitment and achievement best exemplify the qualities of innovation, entrepreneurialism, perseverance and service that have advanced the short line railroad industry.”
Bentley Systems, Inc., has acquired GroupBC, a U.K. SaaS software innovator. For more than 20 years, GroupBC and Bentley’s software solutions have been deployed for complementary purposes in an effort to improve project and asset information management.