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Safety

July 2, 2024|Class I

BNSF Honors Four State DOTs for Grade Crossing Safety

BNSF on July 1 announced that it is honoring four state Departments of Transportation (DOT) in Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming with the inaugural “Tracking to Zero” awards for…
It looks and acts like a diesel-electric. But it’s not a diesel-electric. It’s the Progress Rail EMD® SD40JR Joule battery-electric, seen here operating in regular service on Pacific Harbor Line. (Photograph by Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company)
July 2, 2024|Short Lines & Regionals

PHL Hosts Tour for STB’s Primus

Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) last month hosted a “fact-finding” tour at the San Pedro Bay port complex in California for Robert E. Primus, the new Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chair,…
More than 250 UP employees are certified to fly drones. (Caption and Photographs Courtesy of UP)
Commentary
July 2, 2024|Class I

Rising to the Occasion: UP Drones Support Safe Operations

Union Pacific (UP) is leveraging technology to support safe operations from every viewpoint—on its tracks, inside its locomotives and hundreds of feet off the ground with its drones.
By spring 2026, Amtrak and CSX, in partnership with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, will install a PTC system on more than 100 miles of track to support Downeaster service. (Amtrak Photograph)
June 27, 2024|Passenger

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, TTC, WMATA

Amtrak and CSX team on a Positive Train Control (PTC) installation between Haverhill, Mass., and Brunswick, Maine. Also, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) addresses “systemic racism within the transit system”; and…
Pictured: FreightCar America’s Castaños, Mexico, manufacturing plant, which just rolled out the company’s 10,000th railcar. (FreightCar America Photograph)
June 26, 2024|News

Supply Side: FreightCar America, Rail Vision

FreightCar America marks a milestone with the 10,000th railcar produced at its Mexico plant. Also, Rail Vision Ltd. receives a follow-on order from a U.S.-based rail and leasing services company.
Phoenix Valley Metro will receive $16 million for the Rio East-Dobson Streetcar Study, which eyes a 4.35-mile extension from Tempe into Mesa, Ariz. (Valley Metro Photograph)
June 26, 2024|Regulatory

First Look: Rail-Related RAISE Grantees for FY24

More than $310 million in FY 2024 RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program grants will be distributed to 23 freight and passenger rail-related projects in 19 states, according to…
A new Amtrak station in Brattleboro, Vt., is being built to improve accessibility; it will have the state’s first-ever level boarding train platform. (Rendering Courtesy of Amtrak)
June 25, 2024|Passenger

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, MBTA, Metrolinx, Chicago RTA, Sound Transit, SEPTA, TriMet

Amtrak breaks ground on new Brattleboro, Vt., station and platform upgrades. Also, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) teams with Tufts University on a new university pass pilot; Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown…
June 25, 2024|News

People News: ACTA, STV, AAR, NTSB

The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) elects Tim McOsker as Board Chair. Also, STV elevates senior transportation leaders to support the growing Texas/Mountain Region; Union Pacific’s (UP) Sanjay Verna becomes…
(FRA Logo)
June 25, 2024|Regulatory

CN Eyes Expansion of ‘In-Train Wheelset Replacement Program’

CN subsidiary Illinois Central (IC) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance to add a new location to its “in-train wheelset replacement program,” according to…
Cathcart was selected by CORP, a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary, to provide railcar inspection and repair services across the 362-mile railroad’s major yards in Roseburg, Cottage Grove, and Medford, Ore. (G&W Photograph)
June 24, 2024|Short Lines & Regionals

Small-Road Briefs: CORP/Cathcart; OmniTRAX/SLSI; R.J. Corman

Central Oregon & Pacific (CORP) contracts Cathcart Rail (Cathcart) for railcar inspection and repair. Also, OmniTRAX hosts emergency response training in Colorado with the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) and…
“We heard first-hand from firefighters that were responding to the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine that they and other first responders need hazardous materials train consists as soon as an incident occurs,” PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown reported during the June 24 announcement of the agency’s final rule requiring railroads to provide train consist information. (PHMSA Photograph)
June 24, 2024|Regulatory

PHMSA Finalizes Rail Safety Rule to Aid First Responders in Hazmat Incidents

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on June 24 reported finalizing a new rule that would require railroads “to proactively provide” real-time, electronic information about rail hazmat shipments…
June 24, 2024|Class I

NS to Establish Vent and Burn Workshop

Norfolk Southern (NS) on June 21 announced that it will convene a Vent and Burn Workshop “to integrate key learnings for the betterment of any future scenario where a vent…
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on June 14 held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of its West Portal facility, the future location of the Santa Clara Station and Newhall Yard & Maintenance Facility, and the site where the Tunnel Boring Machine will be assembled and launched to bore the five-mile underground tunnel for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project. (SCVTA Photograph)
June 21, 2024|Passenger

Transit Briefs: DART, Denver RTD, SCVTA, SEPTA, Valley Rail

Dallas (Tex.) Area Rapid Transit (DART) eyes fare structure changes. Also, Denver (Colo.) Regional Transportation District CEO earns a Women in Business Award; California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA)…
June 21, 2024|Regulatory

TSB Releases Annual ‘Safety Recommendations’ Assessment

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) on June 20 issued an annual assessment of responses to its “outstanding safety recommendations” in the rail, marine and air transportation sectors.
“The concentrated wind gusts at this location coming out of Abo Canyon [in New Mexico] have caused problems in the past,” reports Craig Rasmussen, BNSF Assistant Vice President of Engineering, Services and Structure. “Installing the wind screen will help by lowering the wind impact against the side of trains, which will help keep trains safely flowing through the area.” (BNSF Photograph)
June 20, 2024|Class I

Class I Briefs: BNSF, CN

BNSF crews install fencing at the Abo Canyon mountain pass to mitigate wind speed and boost safety. Also, CN Police signs the 30x30 Initiative pledge to add more women to…
The Federal Railroad Administration in June hosted a signing ceremony with leaders from the American Train Dispatchers Association and BNSF, making their membership in the C3RS Program official. Now, 650 BNSF employees can confidentially report close calls and unsafe events through this program. (FRA Photograph)
June 17, 2024|Safety

BNSF: Second Class I to Participate in FRA C3RS (UPDATED 6/17)

BNSF and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) are partnering with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to join a one-year pilot program of the FRA-sponsored Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). Their…
Amtrak has released its 10th Sustainability Report, disclosing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities during FY 2023, from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023 (Photograph by Mike Armstrong for Amtrak)
June 14, 2024|Passenger

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, MARTA, MBTA

Amtrak issues a Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Sustainability Report, detailing its progress to Net-Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045. Also, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) adopts FY 2025…
(Courtesy of TSB)
June 14, 2024|Safety

TSB Releases Final Transportation Occurrence Stats for 2023

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has published its final annual statistical summaries from 2023 on transportation occurrences (accidents and incidents) in the rail, air, marine, and pipeline sectors,…
Metra, Union Pacific, state, and local officials cut the ribbon to officially open the new Peterson/Ridge Station in Chicago. (Metra Photograph)
June 12, 2024|Commuter/Regional

Transit Briefs: Metra, NJT

Metra launches its long-awaited commuter rail station in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. Also, New Jersey Transit (NJT) advances its Brick Church Station modernization and Brielle Drawbridge replacement projects.
(Top) Last year, members of UP’s Engineering Department met to discuss safety accomplishments and opportunities to continue reinforcing a “safety mindset.” The nearly 600-member group—including employees in Tucson, Ariz., (bottom left) and Tucumcari, N.Mex. (bottom right)—recently marked one year injury-free. (Caption and Photographs Courtesy of UP)
June 7, 2024|Class I

Class I Briefs: UP, CPKC, CN

Union Pacific’s (UP) Southwest Maintenance-of-Way team reaches a safety milestone. Also, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) distributes iPads to conductors; and CN celebrates Pride month (June) with specially designed containers.
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