Alstom shareholders approve Siemens merger
Shareholders have approved a proposal to merge two of the largest suppliers in the global rail industry.
Breaking News
TSA brings K-9 training to VRE
Virginia Railway Express hosted the Transportation Security Administration for a canine training event at the VRE Broad Run yard in Prince William County.
Plans aim to streamline Chicago rail network
Officials in the Windy City want to unwind the nation’s most complicated railroad labyrinth.
Dump those plastic pellets, fast!
A new video from Miner Enterprises demonstrating the “simple, reliable and proven features” of its Double Groove pneumatic gate for unloading plastics uses computer-generated imagery to provide an inside-out look at the Double Groove’s advanced features.
New York City sets $100M to upgrade freight transportation
Rail is central to an ambitious plan to streamline freight infrastructure while reducing truck emissions and creating thousands of new jobs in New York City.
New rider mark for KC Streetcar
Two years on, Kansas City continues to be one of the better stories in new U.S. streetcar transit development.
EC probing Siemens-Alstom merger
The European Commission (EC) has launched an “in-depth” investigation into the merger of Siemens Mobility and Alstom amid concerns that the combination may adversely affect competition in the signaling and rolling stock markets.
Conceptualize and analyze design options
Bentley Systems’ OpenRail ConceptStation allows users to “conceptualize and analyze design options for rail and transit in a matter of minutes, not days. Rapidly create conceptual track designs, including rail geometry, electrification, tunnels, and bridges, while ensuring design principles.”
Smith new CEO at Watco
Watco Companies, LLC, is implementing its strategic succession plan with an executive leadership change.
STV launches a “boring” journey
STV, engineer of record and principal design firm for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Purple Line Project, will shortly begin to witness two state-of-the-art tunnel boring machines (TBMs) at work on the project’s 2.6-mile-long Section 2 extension.
Opinion
More than just a glorified truck driver
The late Louis W. Menk once said that locomotive engineers were “nothing more than glorified truck drivers.” Those words stuck in my head throughout my 35-year railroad career—mostly spent as a locomotive engineer. To be quite honest, the thought of them angered me every time I climbed into the cab of my locomotive. I was determined to prove him wrong—to be the best damn engineer in the world.
Amtrak: A Marx Brothers revival
Watching Washington, July 2018: When everybody owns something, nobody accepts accountability or responsibility. Such is the circumstance of Amtrak, a near-50-year-old orphan wandering in a public policy wilderness, dependent on grudgingly provided public assistance often provided with conditions and objectives so conflicted as to suggest a Marx Brothers comedy.
Chicago attorney latest STB nominee
Martin J. (Marty) Oberman, 73, an attorney and perennial fixture in Chicago and Illinois Democratic politics, is President Trump’s choice to fill a vacant Democratic seat on the five-member Surface Transportation Board (STB). He must be confirmed by the Senate.
No way to run a passenger railroad (updated)
What does a deflated balloon look like? That is becoming an apt metaphor for travel on an Amtrak interregional train. The regime of CEO Richard Anderson is eliminating services and amenities as fast as they can think up items to ditch.
Book reviews: Railroading for railroaders
For railroaders this summer, a cerebral repast beckons in the form of two new books illuminating the careers of legendary CEOs.