The Port of Los Angeles’ five new Taylor ZLC 996 top handlers purchased by Yusen Terminals are “human-operated” and will replace diesel-powered equipment. (Port of Los Angeles Photograph)

Port of LA Debuts Battery-Powered Electric Cargo Top Handlers

The Port of Los Angeles on June 25 reported deploying “the first commercially available” battery-powered electric cargo top handlers in the U.S., as part of its zero-emissions strategy.

CSX debuts its latest heritage locomotive honoring Georgia Railroad. (CSX Photograph, via LinkedIn)

Class I Briefs: CSX, CN (UPDATED With Video 6/28)

CSX adds the 16th locomotive to its heritage fleet, and CN inaugurates a new high-efficiency loading fuel terminal in the Greater Toronto Area. Both Class I railroads are ranked on Time magazine’s inaugural list of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies for 2024.

Phoenix Valley Metro will receive $16 million for the Rio East-Dobson Streetcar Study, which eyes a 4.35-mile extension from Tempe into Mesa, Ariz. (Valley Metro Photograph)

First Look: Rail-Related RAISE Grantees for FY24

More than $310 million in FY 2024 RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program grants will be distributed to 23 freight and passenger rail-related projects in 19 states, according to a U.S. Department

A new Amtrak station in Brattleboro, Vt., is being built to improve accessibility; it will have the state’s first-ever level boarding train platform. (Rendering Courtesy of Amtrak)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, MBTA, Metrolinx, Chicago RTA, Sound Transit, SEPTA, TriMet

Amtrak breaks ground on new Brattleboro, Vt., station and platform upgrades. Also, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) teams with Tufts University on a new university pass pilot; Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto edges toward completion and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension marks a milestone; Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) advances the launch of an integrated day pass for Metra, CTA and Pace riders; Sound Transit riders in Seattle, Wash., can now add an ORCA fare card to their Google Wallet; and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) increase rules’ enforcement.

UIPA reported that its Board, in collaboration with Utah’s Carbon and Emery counties, approved a 2,185-acre industrial development project after consultations and environmental reviews to ensure the development aligns with community needs and regulatory requirements. (UIPA Photograph)

UIPA Adopts New industrial Development Project Area

Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) on June 24 adopted the Castle Country Project Area for industrial development in Carbon and Emery counties, which are served by Union Pacific (UP) and Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary Utah Railway.

(FRA Logo)

CN Eyes Expansion of ‘In-Train Wheelset Replacement Program’

CN subsidiary Illinois Central (IC) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance to add a new location to its “in-train wheelset replacement program,” according to an FRA notice in the Federal Register’s June 25 edition. The program currently operates under a waiver at a facility in Fulton, Ky., and has been “a resounding success,” the railroad told FRA.

(NMB Logo)

NJ Transit, BLET Enter ‘Cooling-Off Period’ (UPDATED)

The National Mediation Board (NMB) has confirmed “that, pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJ Transit) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) were released

In August 2021, the STB Office of Environmental Analysis issued a Final EIS for the project, identifying the 88-mile Whitmore Park Alternative as the environmentally preferred route for the Uinta Basin Railway, one of three analyzed. It would extend from two terminus points in northeastern Utah’s Uinta Basin near Myton and Leland Bench to a connection with the existing Union Pacific Provo Subdivision near Kyune (see map above).

Will SCOTUS Review Uinta Basin Railway Case? (UPDATED 6/24)

Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure Coalition in March petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court’s decision that “derailed” the Uinta Basin Railway project, according to Colorado Newsline. SCOTUS on June 24

Cathcart was selected by CORP, a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary, to provide railcar inspection and repair services across the 362-mile railroad’s major yards in Roseburg, Cottage Grove, and Medford, Ore. (G&W Photograph)

Small-Road Briefs: CORP/Cathcart; OmniTRAX/SLSI; R.J. Corman

Central Oregon & Pacific (CORP) contracts Cathcart Rail (Cathcart) for railcar inspection and repair. Also, OmniTRAX hosts emergency response training in Colorado with the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) and local fire departments; and R.J. Corman Railroad Group (R.J. Corman) holds its annual RJC Gives Week.

Exo’s first six CRRC bilevels will enter service this month in the Montreal metropolitan area. (exo Photograph)

Montreal’s New CRRC Bilevels Entering Service

Exo on June 25 will begin launching the first six of 44 new CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Company) bilevels on Line 12 – Saint-Jerome in the Montreal metropolitan area. All the cars are expected to enter service by summer 2025.

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