NS earlier this month hosted a RailCAST meeting that brought together a range of stakeholders, including representatives from U.S. and Canadian Class I railroads and federal regulatory agencies, as well as labor leaders. (Photograph Courtesy of NS)

Class I Briefs: NS, BNSF

Norfolk Southern (NS) hosts the Rail Coalition of Advanced Safety Technology (RailCAST) meeting in Georgia. Also, BNSF’s Hobart and Fresno facility teams in California celebrate safety achievements, and its dimensional clearance team is recognized by the Railroad Industrial Clearance Association.

According to Natron Energy, the new facility in Edgecombe County, N.C., “will enable a 40x scale-up of Natron’s current production capacity” of sodium-ion batteries. (Photo: Business Wire)

Rail-Served Sodium-Ion Battery Plant Coming to North Carolina

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Natron Energy will spend an estimated $1.4 billion to bring a sodium-ion battery plant to Rocky Mount, N.C. CSX will serve the new facility that is slated to produce 24 GW of batteries annually at full capacity.

Rendering of the Custom Inc. transload terminal in Longview Tex., that is expected to be operational within the next 12 months. (Courtesy of Custom)

Custom to Launch UP-Served Transload Terminal

Logistics firm Custom Inc. on Aug. 14 held a ground-breaking ceremony for a transload facility in Longview Tex., that will be served by Union Pacific (UP).

MBTA CEO and General Manager Phillip Eng (center) on Aug. 14 signed an agreement with Hyundai Rotem CEO Yong Bae Lee (left) and Hyundai Rotem USA President Steve (Sung Hoon) Kang for 41 more Commuter Rail cars. (MBTA Photograph)

For MBTA, Another 41 Hyundai Rotem Bilevels

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Aug. 14 exercised an option under a 2019 contract with Hyundai Rotem for an additional 41 bilevels for Commuter Rail service.

MBTA crews and contractors earlier this month replaced track and ties along the Green Line B Branch. (Photograph Courtesy of MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department)

Transit Briefs: MBTA, PATH, TriMet, WMATA

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) completes Green Line B Branch track work, removing eight speed restrictions. Also, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANY/NJ) PATH tap-and-go fare payment system marks a milestone; Oregon’s new drug law will improve safety on TriMet (Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon); and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) receives LEED® certification for two more projects.

The Port of Los Angeles has reported that July 2024 was its busiest month in more than two years and the best July in the Port’s 116-year history. (Port of Los Angeles Photograph)

Intermodal Briefs: Port of LA, USDOT

An early peak season helps boost July volumes at the Port of Los Angeles, Calif. Also, the Port of Oakland, Calif., and the Northwest Seaport Alliance in Washington State join the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative.

(Image Courtesy of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, via social media platform X, formerly Twitter)

Coalition to House: Reject Bigger Truck Proposals

A 20-member coalition, including the Association of American Railroads (AAR), American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and Railway Supply Institute (RSI), is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to “reject any legislative language that would increase current maximum truck weight or length limits, including proposals that would allow for a 91,000-pound federal interstate truck weight limit in H.R. 3372.”

Rail Vision systems are said to detect objects on and along the tracks from a distance of up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers)—in real time, as well as in all weather and light conditions. When an obstacle is detected, the system sends visual and acoustic alerts in real-time to both the operator and the command-and-control center. (Image Courtesy of Rail Vision)

Supply Side: Rail Vision; TSHII, IRRX; PICit A/S, Arcadea Group

Rail Vision receives U.S. patent approval for its AI (Artificial Intelligence)-based railway obstacle detection system. Also, Tar Sands Holdings II, LLC (TSHII), which owns refining and real estate assets plus minerals and mining rights located in Vernal, Utah, and Integrated Rail and Resources Acquisition Corp. (IRRX), enter into a business combination agreement; and Toronto-based Arcadea Group invests in PICit A/S, a supplier of port, rail, and intermodal logistics management software.

CG Railway, LLC took delivery of the Mayan rail ferry (pictured) in 2021. (Photo: Business Wire)

For G&W’s CG Railway, A New Partner (UPDATED 8/13)

Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. (G&W) on Jan. 2 reported that Grupo Mexico Transportes (GMXT) will become its new joint-venture partner for the CG Railway, LLC, a U.S.-Mexico rail-ferry service. In August, the

FreightCar America Castaños, Mexico manufacturing plant. (FCA Photograph)

FCA 2Q24: ‘Our Strongest Performance Yet’ Since Castaños Plant Launch

“Our multi-year turnaround has been a tremendous success,” FreightCar America (FCA) President and CEO Nick Randall said during a second-quarter 2024 financial presentation. The designer, producer, and supplier of railroad freight cars, railcar parts, and components raised its full-year 2024 guidance.

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