Jim Squires: “Look to—if not over—the horizon”
Keynote remarks by Norfolk Southern President James A. Squires, at Railway Age’s 21st Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads Conference.
“Tawdry,” is how one Washington transportation attorney describes the self-interest assaults by powerful congressional lawmakers on federal regulatory agency officials.
New locomotives and rolling stock have finally begun to arrive on the property. Suppliers and other Amtrak supporters say more is needed.
A new engineering report details damage to the Amtrak-owned Hudson (“North”) River and East River tunnels following Superstorm Sandy and recommends a phased process to take individual tubes out of service for extended periods to perform the work required “to maintain reliability of train movements in and out of New York City” and Penn Station New York. The tunnels (two under the Hudson, four under the East River) were built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and opened in 1910.
Mount Vernon, N.Y., and Metro-North Railroad have agreed to repair or replace three rail bridges on the New Haven Line at a cost of $10 million.
Amtrak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, made clear in part its frustration over its own on-time performance by calling on the Surface Transportation Board to look into the matter, specifically as it concerns Canadian National Railway.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has pledged an additional $102 million in right-of-way upgrades for higher-speed rail (HrSR) improvements to accelerate passenger rail travel times between Chicago and St. Louis.