The Trial Running testing phase is the final series of testing before Honolulu's rail system goes into operation.

Transit Briefs: HART, Metra, Oregon Metro, MBTA, Metrolinx, TTC, CTA, MDOT MTA, VTA-BART

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) announces Trial Running testing phase for the first segment of Honolulu’s rail system. Also, Metra adds service on its Union Pacific Northwest (UP-NW) Line and capacity on Metra Electric for Bike the Drive; Oregon Metro seeks proposals for 2023 Regional Transportation Plan community partnerships; Gov. Charlie Baker says Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Orange Line “on track” to finish on time; Metrolinx’s GO Train service to Niagara Falls continues year-round; The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) increases service as more customers return to transit; Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) “Ask CTA” program to foster engagement with customers; The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) brings real-time train arrival information to Light Rail; and innovative design suggestions surface for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Extension Phase II project.

Solvay recently embarked on a $92 million project to invest in purpose-built railcar fleet over the next three years.

Solvay, UP Partner to Reduce Soda Ash Carbon Footprint

Belgium-based chemical company Solvay announced Aug. 26 that, with Union Pacific (UP), it has invested in a purpose-built railcar fleet to reduce the carbon footprint of every railcar of soda ash (or sodium carbonate), “the 10th most consumed inorganic compound in the world and a base ingredient for lass and detergent manufacturers,” shipped from the company’s Green River, Wyo., plant.

CN in November 2021 formally committed to a 2050 net-zero target for carbon emissions by joining the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and the United Nations’ Race To Zero campaigns.

Class I Briefs: CN, UP

CN has joined Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Net-Zero Challenge. Also, Union Pacific (UP) and representatives from the city of Houston, Harris County and Bayou City Initiative in Texas have begun rail yard remediation discussions.

The rail extension will serve the planned development of GAF Materials in the Kansas Logistics Park.

KDOT Awards City of Newton $3MM for Rail Extension

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced on Aug. 29 that it has committed $3.04 million to the City of Newton for a rail extension in the 225-acre-plus Kansas Logistics Park, an

Benita Gibson (Photo Courtesy of UP and The Manufacturing Institute)
Commentary

A UP Executive Gets Career on Track

Benita Gibson didn’t set out to join the rail industry, but after 15 years at Union Pacific Railroad and 30 years in management across three different industries, she serves as Union Pacific’s general superintendent for commuter operations in Chicago—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

During a trip to Fort Worth, summer intern Mariam Okunubi had a chance to see what it's like behind the controls of a ballast undercutter.
Commentary

Hard Hats and Spreadsheets–UP Internship Provided Real World Experience

I hadn’t considered a railroad career until meeting with Sandra Christen, Union Pacific senior manager-operations support, at my college’s career fair. I was captivated by the idea of getting to explore different places and getting a hands-on summer experience that included learning firsthand how America’s leading railroad company moves goods to people.

(Photograph Courtesy of Union Pacific and The Manufacturing Institute)
Commentary

From Air Force to Rail: Tara Hogan’s Success Story

When Tara Hogan was growing up in Texas, she wanted to be a basketball coach—a career in freight rail wasn’t on her radar. But after high school and six years of service in the U.S. Air Force, she finished her college degree, took on a few different jobs and went looking for her next gig.

Astronaut Megan McArthur Behnken (right) returns the Big Boy locomotive challenge coin that she brought into space to Scott Moore, Union Pacific Senior Vice President-Corporate Relations and Chief Administrative Officer (left). (Caption and Photograph Courtesy of UP)

Astronaut Returns ‘Big Boy’ Coin to UP

Union Pacific’s (UP) Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive may be forever tied to Earth, but one astronaut believes the famed steam engine shares a lot in common with mankind’s drive to explore the heavens.

NTSB releases initial report on Amtrak collision with UP roadway equipment. (NTSB)

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Amtrak, UP M/W Machine Collision

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its initial report on a July railroad collision.

(Photograph Courtesy of Norfolk Southern)

Rail Traffic Uptick for Week 33

For the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, U.S. rail traffic was up 0.1% over the same week last year; total carloads came in 2.9% higher while intermodal volume continued its downward trend, dipping 2.4%, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Aug. 24 report.

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