The Federal Transit Administration Monday gave the city of Milwaukee environmental approval for an initial streetcar line. City Engineer Jeff Polenske said FTA had issued a “finding of no significant impact” (FONSI) for the proposed route.
The Association of American Railroads says the nation’s major freight railroads are projected to invest a record $13 billion in capital expenditures in 2012 to expand, upgrade, and enhance the nation’s freight rail network.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday the state’s 700-mile high speed rail project will cost far less than the state’s current estimate of nearly $100 billion, and also said that environmental fees paid by carbon producers will be a source of funding.
The Timken Co. Friday reported record sales of $5.2 billion for 2011, up 28% from 2010 on “strong demand from diverse industrial markets,” including the railroads., (The growing railroad market for Timken roller bearings reflects the soaring demand for freight cars.)
The Railway Supply Institute said Friday that the “House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to vote on SAFETEA-LU reauthorization legislation as early as next Thursday, February 2, and that vote could sanction “an increase in truck size and weights at state option as well as allow longer combination vehicles nationwide.”
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. reported late Thursday that fourth quarter 2011 Intermodal Segment revenue increased 24% to $729 million, and operating income grew 20% to $83.9 million.
Railroad freight car orders increased 51.4% in the fourth quarter to 16,434, compared with 10,853 car orders for the same quarter last year, according to the Railway Supply Institute. Orders in the quarter fell relative to the third quarter, which totaled 20,165 orders.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction says it plans to reorganize its construction plan of the $7.4 billion East Side Access project, designed to give the Long Island Rail Road access to Grand Central Terminal and Manhattan’s East Side.
Canadian Pacific Railway Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of C$221 million and diluted earnings per share of C$1.30, including 22 Canadian cents per share income tax benefit. For the full year, the company reported net income of C$570 million, down from last year, and diluted earnings per share of C$3.34.
U.S. freight carload traffic in early 2012 rose again, up 1.6% for the week ending Jan. 21, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday. U.S. intermodal volume moved up even more, advancing 3.0% for the week measured against the comparable week in 2011.