Amtrak has instituted a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) to reduce the number of non-agreement (non-union) employees. The railroad is offering what it’s calling a “generous incentive program” to those who volunteer to leave by Dec. 31—but they must be approved for the program. If enough people don’t step forward, the next step will be layoffs.
CN’s and Norfolk Southern’s recently launched joint interline service initiative for carload traffic is reducing transit times by one to two days between Western Canada and NS destinations in the Eastern U.S., chiefly through bypassing Chicago.
WSP USA (formerly WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff) has named Brian Kim a supervising engineer in its Minneapolis office. Kim will serve as a project manager on highway and transit projects and lead the expansion of the firm’s civil design practice in Minnesota.
For the ninth straight year, CN has made the not-for-profit, worldwide environmental Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Climate A List, identifying the railroad as “a global leader in the corporate response to climate change.”
The Association of American Railroads has awarded Matthew T. Williamson, a CSX environmental field services and industrial hygiene manager, the 2017 North American Environmental Employee Excellence Award, described as “the highest honor for [railway] industry environmental professionals.”
It has been about 20 years since MTA New York City Transit phased out tokens for the now-iconic MetroCard farecard used on the system’s subways and buses. Now, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be phasing in a new system similar to Transport for London’s Oyster open-payment, contactless-based fare collection system.
CSX management has cancelled its Oct. 30 Investor Day the event with little explanation. “We have received many incoming calls and emails from concerned investors who are worried what else could be behind management changes and/or the event’s cancellation,” said Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway AgeWall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl.
RATP Dev North America, a subsidiary of global transportation provider RATP Dev, has combined its own subsidiaries—McDonald Transit Associates and RDMT—under the RATP Dev corporate name. “Rebranding of McDonald Transit and RDMT simplifies client interactions by immediately connecting clients to the parent company in North America,” the company said.
The League of Railway Industry Women (LRIW) has named Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) Executive Director Business Services Kari L. Gonzales to its board of directors.
Three top CSX executives will be leaving the railroad on Nov. 15—Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Cindy M. Sanborn; Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Fredrik J. Eliasson; and Executive Vice President Law and Public Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Ellen M. Fitzsimmons. Sanborn and Eliasson are resigning “to pursue other interests.” Fitzsimmons is retiring. All “will remain engaged in supporting the transition until early 2018,” CSX said.