45 G tax credit extended through 2014

U.S. Senate approval Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, of 45-G, by a 76-to-16 vote, has assured passage of the measure, part of H.R. 5771, The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, and providing a fiscal boost to freight railroads, particularly short line and regional operations.

Leadership transition at Indiana Rail Road

Indiana Rail Road (INRD) Founder, President, and CEO Thomas G. Hoback has announced that he will retire effective June 30, 2015. He will continue to serve as a director on the Indianapolis-based railroad’s board while pursuing other business and philanthropic interests.

Short line opens machinery distribution hub

Greenville, S.C.-based Greenville & Western Railway Co. (GRLW) has opened its Big Creek Machinery Distribution Hub, located in Williamston, S.C., President and CEO Steven C. Hawkins says.

Quebec studies feasibility of open-access iron ore line

With China’s slowing economy depressing iron ore prices, this would seem an inauspicious time to build a third railway from tidewater to the interior wilds of the Labrador Trench. Nonetheless, to keep life in its grand plan to develop its vast north, the Quebec provincial government is contracting Montreal-based Canarail to report on the feasibility of a new 200-mile line from Sept-Iles on the Gulf of St. Lawrence due north to the high-grade ore deposited 200 million years ago when a sea of iron-rich magma burst through a rift in the earth’s crust.

GWI acquires Arkansas short lines

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) late Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 announced it “has signed an agreement with Pinsly Railroad Company of Westfield, Mass., to acquire certain subsidiaries that constitute Pinsly’s Arkansas Division (‘Pinsly Arkansas’) for $40 million in cash, subject to adjustment for final working capital.”

Molitoris, Penne join OnTrackNorthAmerica board

OnTrackNorthAmerica, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is advocating a capitalization strategy “for dramatically increasing rail utilization,” has appointed Jolene Molitoris and Leo Penne to its board of directors.
Commentary

Post-election: Railroads look OK; rail labor, Amtrak not so good

What does Senate Republican control and the largest House Republican majority since the 1940s mean for railroad reregulation, Amtrak’s future, high- and higher-speed rail, transit funding, Positive Train Control (PTC), corporate tax reform, short line tax credits, the future of coal, and a minimum crew-consist mandate?

Railserve DUAL-LEAF® on-site at Brookhaven Rail Terminal

Brookhaven Rail subsidiary Brookhaven Rail Terminal (BRT), Yaphank, N.Y., has taken delivery of a new Railserve DUAL LEAF® genset locomotive.

Columbia Basin Railroad busiest short line in eastern Washington State

According to a recent Washington State Freight and Goods Transportation System report published by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Columbia Basin Railroad (CBRR) line from Connell to Moses Lake/Wheeler is an “R2” Freight Rail Corridor, which handles one million to five million tons per year. In particular, the report from WSDOT shows the Columbia Basin Railroad as the busiest short line in eastern Washington.

PB lands Australian coal project

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been named project management consultant for Adani Mining Pty. Ltd.’s multi-billion-dollar Carmichael integrated coal mine, port, and rail project in the Galilee Basin in western Queensland, Australia.

LOAD MORE