Newly released Railway Supply Institute (RSI) American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI) data shows that third-quarter 2021 freight railcar orders declined compared to second-quarter 2021, though they remained higher than first quarter orders reported. Deliveries and backlog, however, increased over the previous quarter.
The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) are marking a milestone: 50 years of the Railroad Tank Car Safety Research & Test Project (Safety Project).
Second-quarter 2021 freight car reporting statistics from the Railway Supply Institute’s (RSI) American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI) show sequential boosts in orders, deliveries and backlog since fourth-quarter 2020.
The U.S. Senate on Aug. 9 passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by a 69-30 count. The legislation now moves on to the House, where it could sit for months.
Railway Supply Institute Board Chair Jack Isselmann on Aug. 3 notified members that the organization is completing a major restructuring that involves a “professional association management company.”
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has released a bipartisan five-year surface transportation bill authorizing $78 billion for rail, freight, safety and research programs; it is a companion to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ (EPW) recently advanced, and also bipartisan, $303.5 billion Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021.
U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) have reintroduced the Freight RAILCAR Act, bipartisan legislation supported by the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) that would “encourage the adoption of new, more efficient, environmentally friendly freight railcars.”
Congress passed the $2.3 trillion “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021” (H.R. 133), an omnibus spending bill that includes a $900 billion COVID-19 emergency relief package as well as government appropriations for fiscal year 2021, tax extenders and other provisions. While many in the rail industry expressed appreciation—stressing that additional transit aid, for instance, will be needed—outgoing President Donald Trump did not. He refused to approve the bill—calling for higher direct relief checks to Americans and other changes—but he finally signed it into law late Dec. 27, averting a government shutdown Dec. 29.
The Railway Supply Institute has elected Tricia Charles, Jeff Lytle and Harrison Wadsworth to its board of directors for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2021. As well, RSI Vice President Government and Public Affairs Nicole Brewin was appointed to the Federal Railroad Administration Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC).
The League of Railway Women (LRW) has awarded its 2020 Connie Sumara Memorial Scholarship ($2,000) and the inaugural LRW Future of Railroading Scholarship ($1,000) to TrinityRail Operations Manager Megan Forbes and Jessica Labrecque, respectively. An undergraduate team fielded by Georgia Southern University won the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) tenth Logistics and Supply Chain Academic Competition. Additionally, Chicago-based Quandel Consultants has named David M. Simon Vice President-Director of Wisconsin Operations.