Management

GWI reports 4Q, full-year earnings gain

Greenwich, Conn.-based Genesee & Wyoming Inc. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income $33.3 million, compared with net income of $19.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. GWI’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the fourth quarter of 2011 were 77 cents with 42.9 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared with diluted EPS of 47 cents with 42.3 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Thales Group lands Singapore signaling contracts

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France-based Thales Group said Monday it had landed a contract with Singapore’s SMRT Corp. Ltd.to supply its SelTrac Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) to resignal SMRT’s North-South and East-West rail lines, covering a combined 100 kilometers (62 miles) and serving 54 stations. The contract is worth roughly $154 million. 

U.S. weekly freight traffic called “mixed”

U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending Jan. 28, 2012 was down 2.8% compared with the fourth week of 2011, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. By contrast, U.S. intermodal volume for the week rose 5.5% compared with the same week last year.

CP increases crude oil shipments

Canadian Pacific announced it is now shipping crude oil by rail from a new transload facility near Lloydminster, Sask. CP said the facility is a facility is a key enhancement to a growing energy portfolio. It accommodates the needs of NuStar Energy LP, with a further expansion planned this year.

Improvements spur PATH to ridership record

The bistate, trans-Hudson PATH rail system rolled to a record ridership 76.6 million trips in 2011, an achievement that the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey notes followed the investment of more than $1 billion in PATH during the past four years for new cars, station upgrades, and a new signal system.

December employment up 3.44% from year ago

U.S. Class I railroads employed 159,717 workers in mid-December 2011, up 3.44% from a year earlier, though off 0.25% from November due to a seasonal drop in track maintenance employees.

Safety: A collaborative process

The FRA and the AAR’s Safety Appliance Task Force have joined forces to improve these safety-critical pieces of hardware. The FRA recently amended regulations related to safety appliance arrangements on railroad equipment.

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