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.
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Introducing Loram Technologies

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, under a corporate realignment, Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX) will be doing business as Loram Technologies, Inc.

Commentary
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‘Character is Destiny’

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE DECEMBER 2020: The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who dates to about 500 B.C., is believed to have originated the quote “character is destiny.” This quote implies that destiny, or fate, is not connected to a predetermined outside force. Rather, one’s future, or destiny, is determined by one’s inner character.

TRAC Case Study Looks at Port of NY/NJ

TRAC Intermodal, North America’s largest marine and specialty chassis pool manager and equipment provider, offers a case study on how its Metro Pool chassis pool model at the Port of NY/NJ “has supported significant increases in container cargo volumes over the past few years.” The study, “Port of NY/NJ Chassis Pool Model Success in the Face of Record Cargo Growth,” according to CEO Daniel Walsh, “identifies ways in which the Port’s chassis provisioning model along with our quality fleet care programs have enabled port growth and offer motor carriers ready access to safe, high-quality equipment, operational efficiencies and equipment choices to meet their needs.”

$100MM TCEP Grant For Stockton Diamond Grade Separation

A $237 million highway/rail grade separation project on what is described as “the busiest, most congested at-grade rail junction and rail bottleneck in California” has been awarded a $100 million TCEP (Trade Corridor Enhancement Program) grant from the California Transportation Commission (CTC).

CN Veteran Harris Assisting Wi-Tronix® LLC

Randy Harris, who spent 40 years with CN in the areas of safety, regulatory and incident investigations, has partnered with Wi-Tronix® LLC to help the company “expand customer asset utilization innovations.” Harris’ services are provided by Ellamar Consulting LLC.

It’s Official: Gardner Named Amtrak President

Amtrak Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Commercial Officer Stephen Gardner has been appointed President, effective Dec. 1, 2020, succeeding Bill Flynn, who will remain as CEO and continue to serve on the company’s board of directors. Gardner’s appointment, Amtrak said, “is part of a broader set of actions taken under Flynn’s leadership, working with the Board of Directors, to ensure that Amtrak is well-positioned for success in fiscal year 2021 and beyond.”

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Hans von Lange, 1923-2020

Hans von Lange, an iconic figure in the global railway maintenance-of-way supply industry, died Nov. 16, 2020. He was 97. Son Michael Lange, one of nine children and head of Exton, Pa.-based Globe-Connect LLC, provided the following memorial for his father, who he says “lived a life full of adventure, challenges, dangers, failures and successes”:

New Jersey: London Bridge is Falling Down (Updated)

Several “project stakeholders” in New Jersey’s passenger rail network—Governor Phil Murphy, U.S. Senators Menendez and Booker (both Democrats), NJ Transit and Amtrak—have expressed “strong reservations” about the feasibility of proposals in an independent report prepared by London Bridge Associates Ltd. (LBA) and released Nov. 23 by the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) on the Hudson Tunnel Project portion of the Gateway Program. Basically, they are saying that one new tunnel must be constructed and placed in service prior to shutdown and rehab of one of the two existing, 110-year-old tunnels.Interestingly, two of the stakeholders are GDC officials.