Rail Industry News
SEPTA’s costs rising, but no fare hikes planned
(The following appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on March 18, 2011.) PHILADELPHIA — Rising costs for employee benefits and diesel fuel helped push up SEPTA's planned spending about 3.9 percent for the fiscal year that will start July 1. But SEPTA plans no...
Greenbrier nabs orders for 4,200 railcars
(The following appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on March 17, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Greenbrier Companies took recent new orders to build 4,200 more railcars, most of them double-stack intermodal wells, valued at $325 million. The orders also include some...
Three senators unveil BUILD Act to create national infrastructure bank
(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 17, 2011.) Yesterday, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced a bill that would establish an infrastructure bank to help repair, modernize and...
An open window for U.S.-Canada high-speed rail link
(The following appeared on the Albany Times-Union website on March 18, 2011.) ALBANY, N.Y. — The last time someone suggested high-speed passenger trains New York City through the Capital Region, the idea got little support south of the border. Now, citing the Obama...
Man charged with bomb threat to Amtrak train arraigned
(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 17, 2011.) GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Minnesota man charged with making a threat that led to the evacuation of an Amtrak train in northern Montana pleaded not guilty to federal charges of false information and...
Calif. bullet train agency hears from 1,100 companies
(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 17, 2011.) SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The California High-Speed Rail Authority says it's heard from more than 1,100 large and small businesses interested in financing, designing, constructing and operating the...
Opinion: Will Amtrak get private competition in the Northeast Corridor?
(The following column appeared on The Infrastructurist website on March 17, 2011.) Florida’s high-speed rail line is deader than dead. Meanwhile Ray LaHood announced last week that the $2.4 billion in federal funding forfeited by the state will be made available to...
Amtrak: All aboard for the fourth annual National Train Day on May 7
(Amtrak issued the following on March 17, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak is calling "all kids—young and old" to join the coast-to-coast celebration of train love. On Saturday, May 7th, hundreds of National Train Day festivities are taking place across the country...
AAR: Continued gains in weekly carload and intermodal traffic
(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on March 17, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported rail traffic gains for the week ending March 12, 2011, with U.S. railroads originating 292,164 carloads, up...
STB data: U.S. Class Is widened workforce in February
(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 17, 2011.) After shrinking slightly in January, the U.S. Class I workforce grew a bit in February. As of mid-February, the workforce stood at 154,502, a 0.8 percent increase from January’s level...
Chatsworth train crash victim’s daughter testifies in Washington
(The following appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on March 18, 2011.) REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sometimes in the din of Capitol Hill, it takes a personal story to grab the attention of lawmakers and spotlight an issue. Such was the case Thursday when...
Some Sounder, Amtrak trains still not running after mudslides
(The following appeared on the Seattle Times website on March 16, 2011.) SEATTLE — Heavy rains have led to a series of mudslides earlier this week, forcing another 48-hour moratorium on railroad transit. Forty-four mudslides Monday through Wednesday kept BNSF crews...
Wisconsin may buy rail line between Madison, Reedsburg
(The following appeared on the Wisconsin State Journal website on March 16, 2011.) PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wisc. — The state is considering spending about $30 connecting Reedsburg and Madison. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) negotiated with Union Pacific...
Union Pacific makes track improvements to line from Spring to Houston
(Union Pacific issued the following on March 16, 2011.) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Railroad continues improving Houston's transportation infrastructure with an $18.7 million investment to enhance a rail line that parallels the Hardy Toll Road from Spring to...
Train study: Amtrak service from Maine to Montreal could cost $900 million
(The following appeared on the Sun Journal website on March 17, 2011.) LEWISTON, Maine — Establishing regular rail service between Auburn and Portland in 2020 could cost up to $234 million to start and could require an $8 million annual subsidy, according to a new...
DHS, MBTA launch updated security campaign
(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 16, 2011.) U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray earlier this week announced an updated version of the Massachusetts Bay...
Opinion: High-speed rail means prosperity for Florida’s future
(The following column appeared on the Florida Times-Union website on March 17, 2011.) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Imagine what life in Florida would be like if, in the 1950s, we had declined to accept federal money to construct the interstate highways because it required us...
Deadline extension sought for Positive Train Control implementation
(The following appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on March 17, 2011.) LOS ANGELES — The nation's leading coalition of local transit agencies wants Congress to delay a key rail safety reform prompted by the deadly Metrolink commuter disaster three years ago in...
Opinion: Labor’s Herculean moment
(The following column appeared on the Indianapolis Star website on March 15, 2011.) INDIANAPOLIS — Frank DeGraw is a burly, sun-baked blue-collar union man who isn't going anywhere any time soon when he takes a seat across the table from management. These days, he's...
$5 a gallon gas could spur up to 1.5 billion additional passenger trips on U.S. public transportation systems
(The American Public Transportation Association issued the following on March 14, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — A study released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) predicts that as gasoline prices continue increasing, Americans will turn to...
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