Amtrak touts FY14 fiscal numbers
Amtrak released it fiscal year 2014 revenue numbers Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, citing continued financial performance that drew grudging coverage even from media adversaries of the national passenger railroad.
Author: Douglas John Bowen
Final rail laid on Denver RTD East Rail Line
Denver’s Regional Transit District (RTD) said Monday, Nov. 24, 2014 that the last steel rail had been laid in RTD’s East Rail Line, linking Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport, at roughly the midway point.
La Jolla link next for San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Association of Governments Board of Directors (SANDAG) has unanimously approved the final environmental impact report (FEIS) for extending the San Diego Trolley from Old Town to La Jolla and University City.
BART opens link to Oakland Int’l Airport
BART on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, opened its $484 million rail extension to Oakland International Airport, with BART officials noting it’s the second such rail-to-air BART link, joining that provided at San Francisco International Airport.
RTD’s first EMUs arrive in Denver
Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) trumpeted the arrival of its first electric multiple-unit (EMU) consist of four cars onto RTD territory late Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. RTD on Friday subsequently targeted an 11:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) arrival of the EMUs in Denver Union Station.
Sound Transit seeks new revenue sources
Seattle’s Sound Transit governing board on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 voted to seek new revenue sources for continued expansion of its rail, light rail, and bus system serving three urban Washington state counties.
U.S. rail traffic gains keep coming
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 15, 2014 continued to show strength, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Nov. 20.
GWI acquires Arkansas short lines
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) late Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 announced it “has signed an agreement with Pinsly Railroad Company of Westfield, Mass., to acquire certain subsidiaries that constitute Pinsly’s Arkansas Division (‘Pinsly Arkansas’) for $40 million in cash, subject to adjustment for final working capital.”
Class I employment up in October
Figures released by the Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, show total Class I railroad employment as of mid-October 2014 rose 3.75% to 169, 224, from mid-October 2013, and also added 521 positions from mid-September 2014, a rise of 0.31%.
BNSF, Hotstart partner on locomotive retrofit
BNSF Railway is retrofitting 11 of its locomotives with Hotstart idle-reduction technology “to reduce emissions and conserve fuel in Washington” state, with the pool of locomotives to operate out of BNSF rail yards in Spokane and Pasco, Wash. (pictured).