U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending Feb. 4, 2012 advanced 6.2% measured against the comparable week in 2011, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday. U.S. intermodal volume did even better, up 16.8% compared with the same week last year. AAR noted significant, adverse weather conditions in 2011 affected the comparison.
Bombardier Transportation said Thursday that, in the presence of more than 100 of Sweden’s top rail industry decision-makers, it presented its Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the Bombardier REGINA X55 intercity train to Swedish operator SJ.
Rosemont, Ill.-based CF Rail Services, has announced the launch of its updated website, which it says incorporates all of the company’s locations and branded shops under one web address.
In a dramatic move, the Toronto City Council on Wednesday voted 26-17 in favor of maintaining (or reinstating) an earlier plan for extensive surface rail transit expansion in Canada’s largest city, going against the design of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who favors more subway construction and has declared an end to a supposed “war on cars.” Adding to the drama, Mayor Ford has dismissed the Council’s vote as an irritant not worth consideration.
Not taking initial success for granted, the Railway Supply Institute on Wednesday sent a message to its “contact officers” urging them to spread the concern about potential increases in truck sizes and weight “to your employees at your facilities throughout the United States,” which RSI believes the full House of Representatives may still consider. “Make no mistake—if this legislation passes it will adversely affect our industry and our nation’s infrastructure,” RSI said.
The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that it says will “require railroads to train and qualify employees in safety-related positions on federal railroad safety laws, regulations, and orders.”
Austin, Tex., may soon get weekend passenger rail service on its Red Line, if details with Capital Metro can be ironed out.
Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation have received federal approval to increase maximum speeds of Amtrak trains in western Michigan and northern Indiana to 110 mph, following successful installation and testing of a Positive Train Control system on Amtrak-owned trackage between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Porter, Ind., part of its Chicago-to-Detroit service route.
Skanska USA’s civil construction business unit announced Wednesday it has signed a $261.9 million contract with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the Second Avenue Subway project in New York City.
Greenwich, Conn.-based Genesee & Wyoming Inc. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income $33.3 million, compared with net income of $19.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. GWI’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the fourth quarter of 2011 were 77 cents with 42.9 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared with diluted EPS of 47 cents with 42.3 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2010.
