On. Dec. 21, U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.Dak.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, took to the Senate floor to voice his support and call on his colleagues for unanimous consent to confirm the nomination of Ronald Batory as Federal Railroad Administrator. Once again, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) played the spoiler.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Dec. 21 announced the names of 19 finalists for the agency’s “GeniusTransit Challenge,” an international competition launched in May “that seeks to identify innovative solutions to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of New York City’s subway service.”
The long-standing dispute involving Ontario, Canada transit agency Metrolinx railcar supplier Bombardier over delivery of 182 light rail vehicles has been resolved, after six months of negotiations.
The late Hunter Harrison’s body of work “will likely be talked about in railroad circles for decades to come,” says Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl. “CSX’s Board of Directors will be under significant pressure to find a replacement with an operating background quickly.”
On Dec. 15, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Toronto Mayor John Tory, Ontario Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, Toronto Transit Commission CEO Andy Byford and other officials to open the TTC’s 8.6 km (5.3-mile) Toronto York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) of the Line 1 Yonge-University subway to the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. The extension opened to the public on Dec. 17.
Drones (formally called UAS, for “Unmanned Aerial System”) are becoming an important tool in railroad engineering and maintenance. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates regional/commuter rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is among the latest to adopt the technology.
E. Hunter Harrison is gone. Railway Age’s twice-honored Railroader of the Year (2002 and 2015) died on Saturday, Dec. 16, in Wellington, Fla., from what CSX, the railroad that ultimately became the last stop in a long and distinguished career, attributed to “unexpectedly severe complications from a recent illness.” He was only 73.
Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 14 said that have agreed that their states and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have agreed to contribute $5.55 billion toward the Gateway Program—50% of the massive project’s cost, and placing responsibility with President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Transportation to contribute the remaining half.
Brazilian logistics company and freight rail operator RUMO has awarded a contract worth about $5 million to Wabtec Corp. to design, install, test and commission its Train Management & Dispatching System (TMDS) for wayside signaling interlocking control, training and systems integration at the Port of Santos, São Paulo.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has promoted Vice President Communications Kristin Smith to Senior Vice President Communications, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Smith will replace Patricia M. Reilly, who is departing the AAR at the end of this year to form Cabin8Communications, a strategic communications consultancy.