U.S. freight carload traffic fell 3.7% for the week ending Jan. 7, 2012, while U.S. intermodal volume plummeted 9.3%, both compared with the comparable week in 2011, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, whose multimodal responsibilities include oversight of the city’s Municipal Railway (MUNI), said Thursday continuation of track improvement work MUNI will resume beginning Sunday, Jan. 15.
Washington, D.C.’s District Department of Transportation has canceled its two-car streetcar order from Clackamas, Ore.-based United Streetcar, LLC, following a court challenge from Ostrava, Czech Republic-based Inekon Group a.s.
From a flood of nominations, the Surface Transportation Board has selected seven new appointees to serve on the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. RSTAC, which consists of 15 senior officers from shippers and railroads, provides advice on regulatory, policy, and legislative matters.
Covering little if any new ground for regular rail industry observers, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman on Jan. 12 highlighted the company’s plan to begin acquiring 70 electric locomotives and 130 single-level long-distance cars as part of Amtrak’s long-range plan to rehabilitate its rolling stock.
Norfolk Southern said it has loaded the largest volume cargo in the history of its Pier 6 coal transloading facility at Lamberts Point in Norfolk, Va. Early on Jan. 12, NS finished loading 159,941.45 net tons (145,097.931 metric tons) of metallurgical coal into the M/V Cape Dover,
Suppliers have played a key role in helping Amtrak survive, and even prosper, despite repeated attempts to kill the intercity passenger railroad. Their role remains key, and the industry remains optimistic.
Norfolk Southern Corp. said Monday it participated in the location of 73 new industries and the expansion of 27 existing industries along its rail lines during 2011, totaling an investment of about $9.5 billion.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will continue contracting out its regional rail passenger services, rejecting the option to operate trains itself. MBTA instead may opt for longer-term contracts with any operator involved.
Though a joint public/private effort to initiate light rail transit in Detroit has faltered, with public money now targeted to launch a 110-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, state and local elected