Monday night’s rain-delayed Daytona 500, the season-opening event in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, marked a milestone for CSX Transportation, the first Class I railroad to sponsor a Sprint Cup team.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.: The 54th running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place tonight (Monday Feb. 27), after heavy rains forced postponement of The Great American Race from yesterday.

Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) has taken out a $54.6 million Federal Railroad Administration-administered Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program loan to purchase 30 new General Electric ES44AC diesel-electric locomotives.

Last weekend was the start of Speed Week, which hopefully culminates on Monday night , Feb. 27, with the rain-postponed running of The Great American Race, the Daytona 500.

Economic Planning Associates sees 2009 and 2010 as “difficult” years for the freight railcar industry, based on the economic and financial environments as well as EPA’s analyses of customer market activities.

MTA Staten Island Railway’s revitalized freight operation recently took delivery of four new locomotives from Brookville Equipment Corp. Normally, domestic locomotives are delivered by rail, but the equipment move to Staten Island required something out of the ordinary—a barge, high-lift crane, and a steerable trailer.

Hedge funds TCI (The Children’s Investment Fund) and 3GCapital Partners won four seats on the CSX Corp. board of directors in a proxy fight last year. Now, TCI managing partner Christopher Hohn has decided not to seek re-election to the board this year and CSX has decided not to fill the vacancy, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission onFeb. 12.

The American Public Transportation Foundation, which provides scholarships for young professionals pursuing careers in public transportation, is in the midst of a fundraising drive. APTF’s goal is to raise $5,000 during the month of February.

Systra SA has appointed Diego Diaz as SYSTRA USA’s new president CEO, effective immediately.

Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD) has launched two websites in India, one of the locomotive manufacturer’s fastest-growing markets.

Two American Association of Railroad Superintendents-sponsored scholarships are available for Class III railroad employees interested in attending the Michigan State University Certificate Course in Railway Management.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says the Obama Administration is committed to high speed rail not just as a recipient of short-term stimulus funding, but for the long fun as well, and seeks to expand HSR in “five or six regions” in the U.S.

New York City’s Canarsie L line became the first in the system Tuesday to operate trains under full communications-based train control (CBTC) with ATO (automatic train operation), as trains began their Brooklyn/Manhattan route with motormen aboard in a supervisory capacity. ATO operations initially will be limited to off-peak service, with rush-hour operation to be phased in.

Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. plans to eliminate 347 jobs at its McCook, Ill., plant as early as April, according to a layoff notice filed with the state of Illinois. The move follows previous plans announced earlier to cut 600 jobs at EMD’s London, Ontario, facility.

The images are stark and disturbing: Freight cars rocking and rolling down a rickety right-of-way. Derailed equipment. Loose rail joints. Soggy, cracked ties.

On St. Patrick’s Day, when many people are sporting the color green, CSX touted “green” by unveiling its first low-emission, fuel-efficient switcher locomotives deployed in Illinois.

Montana Rail Link (MRL) and the Northeast States for Coordinate Air Use Management (NESCAUM) have contracted with international engine heating technology company Hotstart to provide APUs (Auxiliary Power Units) on 61 diesel-electric locomotives.

Freight car builders and component suppliers have good reason to look at 2012 and beyond with renewed optimism and real confidence. That’s because, according to the most recent figures released by Economic Planning Associates, carbuilders received orders for no fewer than 89,073 cars and intermodal platforms, the highest annual level since EPA began tracking the market in 1980.

Doublestack clearance projects are central to the Heartland Corridor and Crescent Corridor projects. Domestic intermodal, says Wick Moorman, “is going to be a driver of the industry's growth.”

As job locations and residential housing patterns shift throughout Chicagoland, Metra continues to thrive, and continues preparing to expand, setting an example other regional railroads might envy.