Author: William C. Vantuono

With Railway Age since 1992, William C. Vantuono has broadened and deepened the magazine's coverage of the technological revolution that is so swiftly changing the industry. He has also strengthened Railway Age’s leadership position in industry affairs with the conferences he conducts, among them Next-Generation Train Control, Light Rail, and Rail Insights. He is the author or co-author or editor of several books, among them All About Railroading; John Armstrong’s The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does; Railway Age’s Comprehensive Railroad Dictionary; and Planning, Engineering, and Operating Light Rail, With Applications in New Jersey.

BNSF’s Big BD Play

In 2020, business development investments by BNSF customers in their rail physical plants totaled approximately $1.1 billion.

Fluid Dynamics

RAILWAY AGE, FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE: CSX and MBTA’s commuter rail operation are improving locomotive performance and availability through precision monitoring and analysis of fuel and lube oil, respectively.

Port of Victoria: CARES Act Grant Spurs Rail Growth

The Port of Victoria in Southeast Texas, owned and operated by the Victoria County Navigation District, is the recipient of a $6 million CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act Grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) for a proposed Rail Expansion Project.

Tealinc Transformation Takes Off

Forsyth, Mont.-based railcar operating lessor/broker and rail transportation manager/consultant Tealinc, Ltd. has undergone a “fundamental change” in its organizational structure to “support customer business needs.” The company’s three divisions now have new leadership drawn from existing senior-level management.

Forster Named TRAC FYX CEO

TRAC Intermodal has named Kenneth Forster as Chief Executive Officer at subsidiary FYX Fleet Roadside Assistance, a provider of emergency fleet services for the intermodal and over-the-road trucking industries. Forster, whose appointment is effective Feb. 8, 2021, replaces FYX Vice President Rodney Goderwis, who is retiring. He will report to TRAC Intermodal CEO Daniel Walsh.

SLSI Hazmat Training ‘Effective and Highly Valued’

The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has released two analyses of Hazardous Materials Training sessions held over a three-year period for short line railroad hazmat professionals, and the results indicate that the program “can effectively transfer crucial safety information from instructor to participant, as measured by pre-training and post-training testing, and that it is meaningful to participants, with 97.4% of feedback survey respondents rating the program positively,” ASLRRA (American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association) reported on Jan. 25.

Rail Labor Says No Carrier Proposals ‘Worthy of Consideration’

The rail unions comprising the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) involved in the current round of national negotiations on Jan. 22 issued a statement that the carriers “have not made any proposals worthy of consideration by [our] membership” as COVID-19-impacted meetings continue.