BART’s Board of Directors Thursday approved an $896 million contract with Bombardier Transportation for 410 cars to replace its aging rapid transit fleet, covering much of BART’s self-prescribed need for 775 cars, replacing its current fleet of 669. But the Board’s decision, and the materials involved in the order, is not without controversy.
The Obama Administration Thursday warned California officials it might rescind $3.3 billion in federal funding for the state’s proposed high speed rail network, if the state legislature does not act by next month to appropriate state funding for the project.
Amtrak’s Adirondack has been plagued for years by extensive border delays in both directions to its New York-Montreal journey due to both U.S. and Canadian customs clearance procedures. Now, spurred by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the railroad and both nations may be able to reduce delays.
Amtrak said Friday schedules for its Wolverine Service and Blue Water passengers had been restored to normal, following extensive and expeditious trackwork along much of the route by landlord Norfolk Southern.
For the fourth time in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Regan Smith’s Furniture Row Racing no. 78 Chevrolet Impala will carry the CSX Transportation “I BRAKE FOR TRAINS” bumper sticker, and the team’s pit box and crew uniforms will carry that same theme.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday major changes to regulations governing the installation of positive train control.
MTA New York City Transit announced Thursday that the No. 7 subway extension to Manhattan’s West Side, now 65% complete, has just received its first set of rails.
Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman told stockholders at the company’s 30th annual meeting in Williamsburg, Va., Thursday that he is “confident, optimistic, and enthusiastic about our future business prospects.”
In line with much of 2012, U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending May 5, 2012 failed to keep pace with 2011 levels, down 2% measured against the comparable week last year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. In contrast, U.S. intermodal continued its sustained improvement, up 3% for the week compared with last year.
Bombardier Transportation’s revenue for the first quarter of 2012 added up to US$2 billion, compared with US$2.5 billion in first quarter 2011. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) totaled $124 million, or 6.2% of revenue, compared with $171 million, or 6.9%, for the corresponding period last year.
The American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association has named Tyrone James, vice president of Safety & Compliance at Genesee & Wyoming, as the winner of this year’s Safety Professional of the Year Award. ASLRRA also announced that Aaron Willet, superintendent of Operations at the Illinois Railway, as the winner of its 2012 Safety Person of the Year award.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined officials from Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, and Utah Transit Authority Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony marking construction of the Sugar House streetcar line, Utah’s first modern streetcar project..
MTA New York City Transit has scheduled its final open house for May 10 to gather public comments as the Staten Island North Shore Alternatives Analysis Study nears completion. Light rail and Bus Rapid Transit are among the options examined.
San Francisco-based SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners, an independent investment management firm, said Tuesday it will acquire 100% of the capital stock of Patriot Rail Corp. The firm will make the purchase through its dedicated infrastructure investment vehicle, SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund North America LP.
Fairport, N.Y.-based RailComm said Wednesday it has provided remote control for a New England Central Railroad bridge.
In conjunction with bestowing the Harriman Awards for corporate rail safety on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., industry leaders also took time to honor individual employees notching significant safety achievements, who were honored with the 2011 Harold F. Hammond Award. Receiving recognition for outstanding safety achievement during 2011 were — Joseph Faigl, conductor with Union Pacific Railroad, and Mark Sheffield, mechanical supervisor with the South Buffalo Railway Co.
Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider National, Inc., on Wednesday said it has signed a new, multiyear agreement with BNSF, under which the Class I railroad will continue to serve as one of Schneider’s primary rail providers.
A Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PA) executive on Tuesday said a contract for the first phase of expanding New York’s Pennsylvania Station, targeted to cost $270 million, would be awarded Wednesday.
Confirming what many have suspected, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota on Tuesday acknowledged that the agency’s East Side Access Project likely would not be completed until 2019, due to unexpected construction difficulties.
Railroads with the industry’s best safety performance records Tuesday were honored at the annual E.H. Harriman Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., with the event also marking the industry’s nearly 100 year commitment to safety and innovation with the Centennial Award.
