CSX said its second-quarter 2017 earnings results are based upon “improved asset utilization, cost control and fuel optimization. These operational improvements, coupled with the benefits from the management restructuring that was completed early in the second quarter, drove $90 million in efficiency gains. These gains more than offset the cost of inflation in the quarter.”
Passengers on six transit services in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area on July 17 began using Hop Fastpass™, a regional open-payments electronic fare collection (e-fare ) system implemented by INIT Innovations in Transportation, Inc., Chesapeake, Va.
TRAC Intermodal has upgraded EZBook, its web-based portal for daily chassis rentals. The new EZBook 2.0 enhancements “make booking a chassis easier and faster and give the user more control over the entire transaction,” the company claims.
Based on responses to Cowen and Company’s Second Quarter 2017 Rail Equipment Survey, the percentage of shippers who will or may order railcars is flat compared to 1Q2017, “but the conviction level about ordering rose meaningfully,” says analyst Matt Elkott.
According to Cowen and Company’s Second-Quarter 2017 Rail Shipper Survey, respondents are anticipating price increases of 3.0% over the next 6-12 months, up 40 basis points from 2.6% in Cowen’s 1Q17 survey and the highest level since 4Q15.
New Jersey Transit has adopted a Fiscal Year 2018 budget of $3.6 billion “that supports continued investments in infrastructure and equipment to maintain the system in a state of good repair and enhance the overall customer experience.”
Talgo USA Inc. in June received the first of 74 Metro Red Line A650 HRV rapid transit cars from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) in its Milwaukee facility, and rehab work is under way.
BNSF has named the transload facility operated by the OmniTRAX, Inc.-managed Sand Springs Railway Co. in Tulsa, Okla., as a Premier Status location, “signifying superior performance, a comprehensive service offering and a minimum capacity level.”
The White House on July 11 announced that President Donald Trump has nominated Ronald L. Batory, who recently retired as President and Chief Operating Officer of Conrail, as the next Federal Railroad Administrator.
The Canadian province of Alberta plans to spend C$1.53 billion in provincial carbon tax money to fund one-third of Calgary Transit’s Green Line light rail transit expansion project.
