STB Appoints Inaugural PRAC Members (UPDATED 4/2)

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on March 28 named 21 voting members to the newly formed Passenger Rail Advisory Committee (PRAC).

OLI Awards $220K for Rail Safety Campaigns

Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, has awarded $220,000 in competitive rail safety awareness grants to Operation Lifesaver programs in

USDOT OIG to FRA: Improve HOS, Fatigue Management Oversight Procedures

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) needs to improve procedures and planning as part of its oversight of railroad Hours of Service (HOS) compliance and passenger railroad fatigue management requirements, according to an

FRA Issues NOFO For $2.4B in CRISI Grant Funding

The Federal Railroad Administration on March 29 issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the Federal Register for CRISI grant funding. FRA has made more than $2.4 billion in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure

“Metro-North is always looking for opportunities to innovate and be more efficient in how we maintain our systems and equipment and provide service to our customers,” Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said during the announcement of a federal grant the commuter railroad will use to test an automated railcar inspection system. (Photograph Courtesy of MTA)

Metro-North to Pilot Automated Railcar Inspection

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will use a $2 million federal grant to test an automated railcar inspection system on its commuter railroad in New York and Connecticut, which it said will provide “early detections of existing and future defects, allowing conditions to be addressed immediately, reducing repair and replacement time.”

Department of Energy prototype Fortis eight-axle cask-carrying railcar design. (TTC Operated by ENSCO)

Fortis Construction Advancing

Fabrication of a new railcar to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste is now under way.

The Southern Rail Commission is one of three entities receiving funding through the FRA’s FY 2022-23 Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC) Grant Program to advance passenger rail.

FRA Awards Inaugural IRC Grants

Three entities will share $900,000 in Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC) Grant Program funding from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to help improve and expand passenger rail networks in the Midwest, South and Southeast.

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Commentary

Passenger Trains That Might Never Leave the Station

The FRA recently came out with an interim report in its Long-Distance Rail Study, which was commissioned by Congress in §22214 of the Infrastructure Innovation and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as

(Kurtis Lindsey, Watco Photograph, Courtesy of Watco)

2024 SHORT LINE HONORABLE MENTION: EIRR

RAILWAY AGE, MARCH 2024 ISSUE: Partnering with customers, plus the in-house Watco team, helps this small road win business and support communities.

Railway Age’s 2024 Short Line Railroad of the Year is Mississippi Export Railroad (MSE). (Chip Haffner Photograph, Courtesy of MSE)

2024 SHORT LINE OF THE YEAR: MSE

RAILWAY AGE, MARCH 2024 ISSUE: After more than 100 years, MSE continues to lead the way in its commitment to safety, growth and community outreach.

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