U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending April 6, 2013 gained ground, up 3.7%, measured against the comparable week in 2012, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. U.S. intermodal volume also advanced, though more modestly, up 0.2%, from the comparable week last year. Total U.S. traffic for the week was up 2.1%.
Continuing to back up his political position established in his first term, President Obama Wednesday included considerable funding for rail and rail transit projects in his proposed fiscal year 2014 budget. Longer-term, the President also is advocating investment of $40 billion in passenger rail projects in the next five years. But the proposal, while a good placeholder and a rallying marker for pro-rail forces, is unlikely to survive intact.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Thursday reported results for March and first-quarter traffic, in part based on comparing its current numbers to 2012 results as if its acquisition of RailAmerica were in place during the first quarter of 2012.
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger on Wednesday told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that freight railroads are positioning themselves to meet future transportation demands in this country, including those related directly and indirectly to the expansion of the Panama Canal.
Countering a blanket dismissal one year ago from the then-chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a 61-page study prepared for the City of New York asserts a No. 7 subway line extension under the Hudson River, linking Manhattan with New Jersey points, is worth pursuing.
Michigan Technological University and the University of Wisconsin-Superior have announced the 4th annual Rail and Intermodal Transportation Summer Youth Program, set for July 7-13, 2013. The full scholarship, weeklong exploration is designed for high school students (grades 9 through 11) to create an awareness and interest in rail and intermodal transportation.
A 21-page study published on the website dcstreetcar, released Monday, urges Washington, D.C. to reconsider the eastern terminus for the H Street/Benning Road streetcar line, now slowly advancing into construction phases after numerous delays.
After two years and one month of blasting, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday that sandhogs working on the East Side Access project have concluded more than 2,400 controlled explosions under Grand Central Terminal in the building of two caverns 160 feet below the streets where eight tracks for Long Island Rail Road trains will be laid.
Utah Transit Authority will open its Airport TRAX light rail transit line Saturday, April 13, with daylong festivities and a food drive benefitting the Utah Food Bank.
Amtrak Tuesday said ridership continues to grow on the nation’s intercity passenger railroad, with records continuing to be set, including for the first six months of fiscal year 2013, which began Oct. 1, 2012.
Key subway stations in New York have begun acquiring touchscreen information kiosks, to be activated this summer, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continues to layer 21st century technology over its 20th century subway infrastructure.
Phoenix Sky Train began revenue service Monday at noon, with Bombardier automated people mover (APM) equipment linking Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 4 to parking lots and Valley Metro light rail transit at 44th Street and Washington.
Transcaer® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response), a voluntary national outreach organization, on Thursday announced the recipients of its 2012 National Awards Recognition Program. Several railroads were among the award winners.
BNSF Railway says its customer base continues to reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions “shipping their freight by rail instead of entirely over the road,” leveraging the environmental benefits of freight rail transportation.
