The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Dec. 28 that for the week ending December 24, 2016, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 496,633 carloads and intermodal units, up 27% compared with the same week last year.
If 2016’s wild, throw-predictions-out-the-window runaway freight train of a Presidential election taught us anything, it’s that nothing is ever a given. As the old saw goes, never assume, because it makes an a—well, you get it.
The Latin American Association of Mehn Networks & Subways (Alamys) announced on December 9 that its principal member, Santiago Metro, won a tender from the Colombian Ministry of Transport to assist with the project to develop the first metro line in Bogota.
The Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA), in coordination with Port KC and the KCATA, selected the team led by Burns and McDonnell to conduct a Streetcar Riverfront Extension and Multi-Modal Feasibility Study to assess multi- modal transportation needs and a potential northern riverfront extension of the Kansas City Streetcar.
After months of negotiations, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589 have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Couplers need to be the strongest link in a train, capable of withstanding extreme forces of buff (compression) and draft (expansion). Since the semi-automatic “Janney” knuckle coupler was patented in 1873 and mandated by the 1893 Safety Appliance Act, couplers, and the standards that govern them, have undergone numerous improvements and adaptations for varied types of car designs and service applications, all of which are under the auspices of the Association of American Railroads.
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited announced Dec. 23 that Gordon Trafton has been appointed to its Board of Directors effective January 1, 2017.
Canadian Pacific (CP) announced on Dec. 22 that its 18th annual Holiday Train has collected donations of $1.2 million and 250,000 pounds of food to this point.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced Dec. 23 that its “enforcement of federal rail safety rules has led to the highest-ever civil penalty collection rate in the agency’s 50-year history, surpassing last year’s record-breaking rate.”
Short line railroad executive David L. Parkinson, 78, died Saturday, Dec. 17 at Palm Desert, Calif. after a brief illness.