Rail and transit continues to be the fastest growing transportation sector, producing new opportunities and challenges for those responsible for existing and proposed networks. Against the backdrop of limited resources, tighter budgets and shorter deadlines, the relevance and need for trusted data, including that collected from IoT connected devices like drones and sensors is greater now than ever before.
FROM THE EDITOR, MAY 2019 – By the time you read this, the largest steam locomotive ever built will have thundered her way from Union Pacific’s Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyo., to Ogden, Utah, to take part in ceremonies marking the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, which completed the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.
COVER STORY, MAY 2019 – Railway Age antecedent American Railway Times, May 15, 1869: “On May 10, the last rail connecting the tracks of the Union and the Central Pacific Railroads was spiked in place, thus giving a continuous railway line across the continent. The blows of the hammer driving home the last spike were heard simultaneously by the aid of the telegraphic wires at the extreme eastern and western sides of the continent; and in many places the marked event was celebrated by the ringing of bells, the firing of salutes, and the interchange of congratulations between the different sections of the country.
Wi-Tronix, LLC has reached a milestone of more than 2,000 of its Violet Edge locomotive event recorders ordered or installed industry-wide.
The Surface Transportation Board Rate Reform Task Force has completed a staff report providing its recommendations for “possible changes to the rate review methodologies and processes used by the Board,” STB said.
Former Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott has joined the board of directors of Las Vegas, Nev.-based United Rail, Inc., which is in the business of acquiring short line railroads in the freight and passenger excursion operations space, and also owns and licenses the SmartRail brand of “Short Line Electronic Precision Railroading.”
Sharon Kelly has joined WSP USA as a Vice President and Senior Project Manager in the firm’s Portland, Ore., office. She will be responsible for leading planning and environmental work on large transit projects nationwide. “Her addition to the firm’s transportation and infrastructure practice strengthens WSP’s transit planning expertise, particularly in the Pacific Northwest,” the company said.
STV, Inc. Senior Vice President Brian J. Flaherty died April 15 following an illness. He was 77.
Canadian Pacific, coming off a tough winter, posted first-quarter 2019 increases in revenues and earnings per share, accompanied by a 1.8% operating ratio increase.
Despite declines in operating revenue and revenue carloads, and coping with severe weather problems, Union Pacific managed to post record first-quarter financial results, based on what it’s calling “improved operating performance.”