news

  • News

Progress Rail to Expand in KC

Progress Rail (a Caterpillar Company) on Aug. 11 announced that it will expand in Kansas City by making a multi-million-dollar investment to convert its Kansas City, Mo., production facility into a re-manufacturing facility. The expansion is expected to create 85 new jobs.

Map of Tren Maya rail line. (Courtesy of Wi-Tronix)
  • News

Wi-Tronix Teams With Tren Maya

Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Wi-Tronix on Aug. 8 reported a new multi-year partnership with Tren Maya to bring advanced remote monitoring, AI-based analytics, and video intelligence to its locomotive fleet in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

CSX Classification Yard at Avon. (Courtesy of INDOT)
  • News

INDOT Developing 2025 State Rail Plan

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is seeking public input on the development of a 2025 State Rail Plan. The SRP—encompassing Class I’s/IIs/IIIs, Amtrak, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and five tourist railroads—will outline freight and passenger rail planning activities that the department said will “achieve the state’s objective to provide a safe, efficient, and convenient transportation system” and guide future investment decisions. Feedback is due Sept. 10.

(Todd Novak Photograph, Courtesy of W&LE)
Commentary

W&LE: Beguiling as Ever

Call it the little railroad that did and does, and know that twice during the previous century it attracted iconic Wall Street titans nurturing seamless transcontinental schemes.

RPRC Commissions MP15CC No. 25

Richmond Pacific Railroad Corp. (RPRC), a division of Levin Richmond Terminal Corp., has recommissioned one of its legacy EMD switcher locomotives as a repowered, EPA Tier 4-compliant unit. Western Rail, Inc. designed

NYMTA: ‘Safest July in Subway History’

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Aug. 10 announced that July 2025 was the safest July in recorded history for the New York City Transit (NYCT) subway system, with an 8% drop in overall major felony crimes compared to July 2024.

UP: New LA-Chicago Z Train

Beginning Sept. 3, Union Pacific is expanding its Z train network with a new domestic intermodal service connecting its Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal (IEIT) in Southern California directly with its Global 2 Intermodal Terminal in

Commentary

It Will All Come Down to This

Cutting to the chase on the 2027 STB merger decision: On July 30, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted to the Surface Transportation Board their prefiling notification, which is basically a heads

(MTS Photograph)

MTS Earns ‘Perfect Score’ in Federal Triennial Review

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) on Aug. 7 reported receiving a “perfect score” in its 2025 Triennial Review by the Federal Transit Administration, which means the government agency found “no deficiencies in MTS’s management of FTA funds.”

(Photograph From FAA Beyond Visual Line of Sight Fact Sheet)

FAA, TSA Eye ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight’ Drone Operations Rule

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are proposing “performance-based regulations to enable the design and operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at low altitudes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and for third-party services, including UAS Traffic Management (UTM), that support these operations.” Routine BVLOS operations “hold tremendous potential for railroads,” Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jefferies said following the Aug. 6 release of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

CSX ‘Elevates Freight Efficiency’ With CSX Howard Street Tunnel Bridge Project

CSX’s Howard Street Tunnel Project “is a pivotal step in enhancing freight transportation along the I-95 corridor,” the Class I reported Aug. 7. The comprehensive initiative includes upgrades to the historic Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore, as well as three additional construction projects spanning from Baltimore to Philadelphia, “paving the way for double-stack trains to move seamlessly across the corridor, benefiting customers, the Port of Baltimore, and the state of Maryland.”

Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx on Aug. 6 awarded a fixed-price contract of C$1.44 billion to North End Connectors to design, build, and finance (DBF) the advance tunneling project for the Yonge North Subway Extension, which will extend the TTC’s Line 1 subway service approximately 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the existing terminus at Finch Station into the City of Richmond Hill. (Photograph Courtesy of Metrolinx)

Transit Briefs: Metrolinx, Amtrak, SEPTA

Canada’s Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx award a C$1.4 billion contract for the Yonge North Subway Extension project in Toronto. Also, Amtrak adds a new track and platform at Washington Union Station; and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) releases reduced-service schedules and sets a deadline to avert cuts.

  • News

People News: RSI, RailPros

The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) announces changes to its Executive Board. Also, RailPros hires Walter Bleser as Vice President, Strategic Planning.

Intermodal Briefs: Ports of Indiana, Port of Los Angeles

Indiana River & Rail Terminals handles a barge shipment at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon destined for a large pharmaceutical project in central Indiana. Also, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13 President Gary Herrera share pandemic experiences for a U.S. Library of Congress project.

(Photograph Courtesy of Total Grain Marketing FS)

TGM Expands Grain Storage, Access to CN-Served Facility

Total Grain Marketing FS (TGM) on Aug. 5 reported boosting efficiency at its CN-served Neoga, Ill., facility, with the recently added 40-car rail spur with loadout facility, 1.5 million bushels of new storage capacity, and two 1,000-bushel dump pits that will triple grain dumping capacity to 75,000 bushels per hour.