Bull Sheet Newswire
- R.R. CROSSING WORK MISCOMMUNICATION
DISRUPTS TRAFFIC: Work at grade
crossings caused traffic issues Jan. 11 after the company behind the maintenance
failed to notify the proper city authorities. The contactor, hired by Norfolk
Southern, blocked a portion of several grade crossings in Picayune, Alabama,
so crews could replace rail. But a call was never made to city officials
of the work to be done, and this resulted in angry commuters, disrupted
school bus routes, and challenging emergency service response. The city
intends to send the contractor a bill for the mix-up and costs involving
police to redirect traffic. [Railway Track & Structures, 1-12-21]
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- CSX GETS PA. GRANT TOWARD TUNNEL REPLACEMENT: The Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation is
granting CSX $8.4-million for a tunnel replacement project to permit routing
of double-stack container and multi-level auto-rack traffic to and from
the Port of Philadelphia. The grant is part of a $31.3-million rail investment
by the state toward 26 rail projects. [Railway Age, 1-12-21]
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- READING & NORTHERN POSTS GROWTH
IN CARLOADS, REVENUE IN 2020:
Reading & Northern Railroad posted growth in carloads and revenue in
2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic. During the year, the company
hauled over 34,000 carloads, and a near 4 percent increase in revenue compared
with the previous year. [Progressive Railroading, 1-12-21]
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- CHICAGO TRANSIT ADVANCES BYPASS TRACK
PROJECT: Chicago Transit Authority
has begun construction of a bypass track structure over its Red and Purple
lines. The contractor will install the straddle bent that connects the
columns on either side of the bypass tracks and install girders that will
form the backbone of the structure. Once completed, the bypass will allow
Brown line trains to cross the Red and Purple lines just north of Belmont
station. [Progressive Railroading, 1-12-21]
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- BNSF SUBMITS PLAN TO REDUCE GRIZZLY
BEAR DEATHS ON MONTANA TRACKS:
Eight grizzly bears were killed on railroads in northwest Montana in 2019,
the most of any year on record. BNSF has published a plan intended to reduce
such deaths. The railroad is pledging about $2-million over the next seven
years toward more bear managers at Montana fish, wildlife and parks, and
the Blackfeet Nation, along with funds for electric fencing, bear-proof
waste containers, education and outreach. In exchange, the plan asks that
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service issue a special permit to excuse the
deaths of 18 bears over the same seven-year period, without penalty. Grizzlies
are of a protected species. [Montana Public Radio, 1-12-21]
-
- WEEKLY AMTRAK LONG-DISTANCE TRAIN
PERFORMANCE: Sixty-three percent
of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their scheduled final
destination on time or earlier in the week ending January 10, 2021. The
remaining trains, on average, arrived one hour and 11 minutes late. MORE.. [Bull Sheet Statistical Dept., 1-11-21]
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- COLORADO PACIFIC OBJECTS TO UNION
PACIFIC'S TENNESSEE PASS RAIL LINE DEAL: Colorado Pacific Railroad intends to object to a nw agreement
between Union Pacific and Colorado, Midland & Pacific Railway that
calls for CMP to operate the Tennessee Pass line between Canon City and
Eagle, Colorado. Colorado Pacific had offered $10-million for the line,
but the offer was rejected by both Union Pacific and the Surface Transportation
Board. Meanwhile, in a separate dccision, the STB granted Union Pacific
a protective order to shield from public view what the company claimed
was proprietary information. Colorado Pacific takes issue with various
arrangements, including its impact on competition. [Progressive Railroading,
1-11-21]
-
- SOUTH SHORE RAIL LINE AWARDED $173-M
TOWARD SECOND TRACK PROJECT: The
Federal Transit Administration has finalized a deal to provide $173-million
for expanding the South Shore commuter rail line by adding a second track
between Gary and Michigan City, Indiana. The project will also include
grade crossing improvements and five station upgrades. [WSIL-TV, 1-11-21]
-
- LORAM ACQUIRES MONTANA HYDRAULICS
R.R. SERVICES DIVISION: Loram
Maintenance of Way has acquired the railroad services division of Montana
Hydraulics. The division provides technicians to perform field services
for ballast and dump cars, as well as repair, maintenance and manufacture
of maintenance-of-way equipment. [Progressive Railroading, 1-11-21]
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- CONTRACT AWARDED FOR LIRR RENOVATION
AT PENN STATION IN N.Y.: Skanska
USA has signed a $392-million contract to renovate Penn Station's Long
Island Rail Road concourse in New York City. The contract includes the
design and construction of a widened corridor at the 33rd street entrance
to the new Moynihan Train Hall. [Progressive Railroading, 1-11-21]
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- FTA APPROVES $766.5-M FOR PORTAL BRIDGE
PROJECT IN N.J.: Construction
of a new Portal Bridge spanning the Hackensack River in New Jersey will
move forward after the Federal Transit Administration approved $766,5-million
for the project. It was the long-sought federal share of $1.8-billion project
to replace this major bottleneck on Amtrak's Northeast corridor. A new
two-track bridge will replace the existing 110-year-old moveable structure
in Kearny that cuases delays to trains when it gets stuck in the open position.
[NJ.com, 1-11-21]
-
- DENVER LAYS OFF 300 RAIL TRANSIT WORKERS: The Regional Transportation District of Denver
has laid off about 300 workers, including rail operators and technicians,
to align its work force to the service levels reduced by the pandemic.
The agency is poised to receive new federal stimulus assistance, and will
likely recind some planned layoffs of front-line workers. [Progressive
Railroading, 1-11-21]
-
- RAIL CARS BURN AT N.C. TRANSPORTATION
MUSEUM: Firefighters responded
to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer early Jan. 9 after
it was reported that several old rail cars were on fire. Officials said
that this was the third suspicious fire in the immediate area in the past
three days. [WBTV, 1-9-21]
-
- RAIL BRIDGE BURNS IN SALT LAKE CITY: A fire began late Jan. 7 of a railroad bridge
spanning the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Rail officials are bringing
in equipment to disassemble to bridge, but it will likely keep smoldering
until then. [Salt Lake Tribune, 1-9-21]
-
- TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY CHAO RESIGNS: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao
has tendered her resignation from the department. She had intended to serve
through the end of her term, she said, but following events of Jan. 6 at
the U.S. Capitol building, she chose to resign at this time. She will remain
on the job until Jan. 11 to allow for a period of transition. [The Hill,
1-8-21]
-
- CALTRAIN EXTENDS OPERATING CONTRACT
WITH TRANSITAMERICA: Caltrain's
board has extended the agency's commuter rail operating contract with TransitAmerica
Services through June 30, 2027. The extension will enable TransitAmerica
to support plans to electrify the Peninsula Corridor, Caltrain said. [Progressive
Railroading, 1-8-21]
-
- THREE NEW HIGH-EFFICIENCY GRAIN ELEVATORS
OPEN IN ALBERTA: G3 has announced
three new grain elevators in Alberta. The facilities, in Wetaskiwin, Erskine
and Irricana, are high-efficiency. Trains of up to 150 cars can load in
a continuous motion on a loop track. The company now has six new elevators
in the province. [Progressive Railroading, 1-8-21]
-
- CONSTRUCTION COSTS SOAR FOR SOUND
TRANSIT LIGHT-RAIL PROJECTS: Sound
Transit officials say estimated construction costs for some light-rail
projects have increased between $4.8-billion and $6.2-billion cumulatively
due to current real estate and construction market conditions. The next
wave of expansions - including extensions to West Seattle, Ballard and
Tacoma Dome, as well as a new operations and maintenance facility - will
be affected by higher costs, they said. [Progressive Railroading, 1-8-21]
-
- NORFOLK SOUTHERN ADVANCES DIGITAL
INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYEE DOCUMENTS:
Norfolk Southern's 'digital transformation' initiatives now include rulebooks,
bulletins, special instructions, and other 'mission-critical' documents
for train, engine and field operating personnel. The railroad has contracted
with Cloud-hosted software provider Comply365 for rollout of a content
management system and mobile application. [Railway Age, 1-8-21]
-
- ABB WILL POWER-UP TORONTO'S NEW HURONTARO LINE: ABB has been awarded a contract by Hitachi Rail
to provide traction power equipment for the Hurontario light-rail project
in Toronto. Among its roles, Hitachi leads the System & Revenue Vehicle
component of the project. [Railway Track & Stuctures, 1-8-21]
-
- U.S. COURT SIDES WITH UNION PACIFIC
OVER THREAT OF A STRIKE: Union
members with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way may not strike against
Union Pacific over their concerns of how the railroad has handled the COVID-19
pandemic among its work force in a Jan. 7 decision by the U.S. District
Court in Nebraska. The union had argued that its right to strike fell under
the Federal Railroad Safety Act, but the judge sided with Union Pacific
that a strike would violate the Railway Labor Act, and further that the
Railroad Safety Act supported the railroad's position. [Freight Waves,
1-8-21]
-
- STADLER TO DELIVER EIGHT EMU'S FOR CENTOVALLI
RAILWAY: Stadler will supply eight
elecric multiple-units for the Centovalli Railway between Switzerland and
Italy beginning in 2023. [Railway-News, 1-8-21]
-
- UNION PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILS IN OREGON: A Union Pacific train derailed early Jan. 6
after striking a fallen tree between Canby and Oregon City, Oregon. There
were no injuries, except that the locomotive engineer complained of pain.
[Railway Track & Structures, 1-7-21]
-
- ALSTON MP14 METRO TRAIN ENTERS SERVICE
IN FRANCE: Alston's eight-car
automatic MP14 metro train has entered commercial service on an extension
of Line 14 to the Mairie de Saint-Ouen station in France. [Progressive
Railroading, 1-7-21]
-
- CP'S KEITH CREEL AWARDED RAILWAY AGE RAILROADER OF
THE YEAR: The 58th annual recipient
of Railway Age's Railroader of the Year award is Canadian Pacific president
and CEO Keith Creel. He has been instrumental in CP forging a leadership
role in the industry, while acknowledging the railroad's place in history
and its role in driving the North American economy forward. [Railway
Age, 1-7-21]
-
- CHIC HARRISON DIES: Retired B&O Railroad interlocking tower
operator Ralph W. Harrison Jr. of Hampstead, Md., died December 27, 2020.
Known by the name of Chic Harrison, he had retired from the railroad in
the 1980's following 43 years of service. He was one of the last 'old school'
B&O operators working in the cluster of Baltimore terminal towers into
the mid-1980's when they were closed in favor of centralized train dispatching.
He was 91.
-
- DECEMBER 2020 U.S. RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC
REPORT: U.S. railroads originated
1,101,324 carloads in December 2020, down 3.7 percent from December 2019.
Intermodal volume was 1,334,495 containers and trailers, up 12.2 percent.
Combined carload and intermodal volume was up 4.4 percent. [Assn. of
American Railroads, 1-6-21]
-
- CLEANUP CONTINUES AFTER INDIANA TRAIN
DERAILMENT: Crews continue to
clear away debris following a significant Norfolk Southern train derailment
along U.S. 12 in Gary, Indiana, on Dec. 23. Twenty cars derailed. [NW
Times, 1-6-21]
-
- LINEAGE LOGISTICS MOVES INTO REFRIGERATED
RAIL CAR MARKET: Lineage Logistics
is expanding its termpeature-controlled warehousing business into the refrigerated
and insulated rail car market with the acquisition of Cryo-Trans. [Railway
Age, 1-6-21]
-
- DAVID DINGES WINS SECOND TERM AS CHAIR
OF BLET MD. STATE LEGISLATIVE BOARD:
David Dinges has been reelected to his scond term as chair of the Brothehood
of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen's Maryland State Legislative Board.
He joined CSX as a brakeman and conductor in 1993, and promoted to engineer
the following year. [Progressive Railroading, 1-6-21]
-
- MICHAEL PIMENTEL NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF CALIFORNIA TRANSIT ASSN.: The
California Transit Association has named Michael Pimentel executive director.
He succeeds Joshua Shaw, who resigned in December. [Progressive Railroading,
1-6-21]
-
- INVESTIGATION CONTINUES AFTER FIERY
TRAIN DERAILMENT IN WASHINGTON STATE:
Investigators say they still have not found an explanation for the Custer,
Washington, train derailment that caused fires after a 10 cars carryig
flammable crude oil overturned on Dec. 22. No injuries resulted from the
derailment. [The Northern Light, 1-6-21]
-
- RAIL EMPLOYEE KILLED IN CN MONTREAL
YARD: Canada's Transportation
Safety Board is investigating after a railway employee died Jan. 6 at Monteal's
Poine-St-Charles rail yard. One source said that the employee was struck
by a train. [CTV News, 1-6-21]
-
- APPLACHIAN RAILCAR SERVICES ACQUIRES
FACILITY IN AMARILLO, TEXAS: Appalachian
Railcar Services has acquired a rail car repair facility in Amarillo, Texas,
from Progress Rail. The facility complements the company's existing tank
car network of facilities in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
[Progressive Railroading, 1-5-21]
-
- AMTRAK SEEKS TO BUILD FENCING ALONG
HUDSON RIVER: Amtrak now wants
almost 24,000 feet of fencing or gates to protect its right-of-way between
Hyde Park and Albany, N.Y. Amtrak claims that trespassing on railroad property
is the number 1 cause of rail-related deaths in the country, and the number
4 cause in the state of New York. The process would block roads that are now being
used by people to fish along the Hudson River, which the environmental
group Scenic Hudson opposes. [Railway Track & Structures, 1-5-21]
-
- LIRR ADVANCES THIRD-TRACK CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT: The Long Island Rail
Road has completed several major components of its expansion project for
adding a third track from Floral Park to Hicksville, N.Y. The project milestones
have included elimination of five grade crossings, replacing or modifiying
several bridges, and completion of upgrades at three rail stations. Crews
also installed switches for two interlockings, installed three electrical
substations, and expanded the Mid-Suffolk train storage yard to accommodate
12-car train sets. [Progressive Railroading, 1-5-21]
-
- ALSTOM LANDS CONTRACT TO BUILD 17-MILE
METRO LINE IN FRANCE: Toulouse
Metropole has awarded Alstom a $576.4-million contract to build a 17-mile
metro line, called Toulouse Aerospace Express, in France. [Railway Track
& Structures, 1-5-21]
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- WEEKLY AMTRAK LONG-DISTANCE TRAIN
PERFORMANCE: Seventy-two percent
of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their scheduled final
destination on time or earlier in the week ending Jan. 3, 2021. The remaining
trains, on average, arrived 49 minutes late. MORE.. [Bull
Sheet Statistical Dept., 1-4-21]
-
- MUDSLIDE FORCES CANCELATION OF SEATTLE-EVERETT
SOUNDER NORTH SERVICE: Seattle's
Sound Tansit has suspended service on its Sounder North route between Seattle
and Everett due to mudslide along the line between Edmonds and Mukelito,
Washington, through at least Jan. 6. [Railway Track & Structures,
1-4-21]
-
- AMTRAK MODIFIES KEYSTONE SERVICE: Due to the decrease in ridership during the
pandemic, Amtrak has modified or suspended certain Keystone service trains
connecting Harrisburg with Philadelphia and New York. The changes include
seven weekday round trips and six round trips on weekends. Three round
trips will operate through to New York each day, however, an increase from
two. [Lancaster Online, 1-4-21]
-
- BNSF TESTING BATTERY-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
IN CALIFORNIA: BNSF and Wabtec
have begun testing a battery-electric locomotive in mainline revenue service
between Barstow and Stockton, California. The unit is sandwiched between
two Wabtec Tier-4 diesel locomotives, representing what is described as
a 'battery-electric hybrid consist,' with all three units powering the
train. [Railway Age, 1-4-21]
-
- PATRIOT RAIL COMPLETES ACQUISITION
OF SALT LAKE GARFIELD & WESTERN RWY: Patriot Rail has finalized the acquisition of short-line operator
Salt Lake Garfield & Western Railway and its related entities. [KPVI,
1-4-21]
-
- COLORADO MIDLAND & PACIFIC TO
LEASE UNION PACIFIC LINE IN COLORADO:
Colorado Midland & Pacific Railway has agreed to lease the majority
of Union Pacific's Tennessee Pass line between Parkdale and Sage, Colorado,
and has filed with the Surface Transportation Board to operate the 163-mile
line. [Progressive Railroading, 1-4-21]
-
- CP SETS CALENDAR-YEAR GRAIN RECORD: Canadian Pacific says it moved a calendar-year
record 31.32 million tons of Canadian grain and grain products in 2020.
[CBC News, 1-4-21]
-
- HIGH-CAPACITY METRO TRAIN ADDED TO
AUSTRALIA'S PAKENHAM LINE: The
first of 65 high-capacity metro trains being built for the Melbourne, Australia,
suburban network entered service on the Paknham line Dec. 26. [Railway
Gazette, 1-4-21]
-
- TRAIN CARRYING AUTOS DERAILS IN MEXICO: A train carrying more than 160 Volkswagen autos
was derailed in Mexico last Wednesday by armed thieves. The train tracks
were cut near the town of Acultzingo, about 80 miles southeast of the assembly
plant in Puebla. [Freight Waves, 1-4-21]
-
- FULL YEAR 2020 AMTRAK LONG-DISTANCE
TRAIN PERFORMANCE: Fifty-six percent
of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their scheduled final
destination on time or earlier in 2020. The average arrival of all long-distance
trains in the survey period was 33 minutes late. The average arrival of
just those trains that were behind schedule was one hour and 14 minutes
late. MORE.. [Bull Sheet Statistical Dept., 1-1-21]
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