UP Issues Climate Action Plan
Union Pacific (UP) on Dec. 6 published a 2021 Climate Action Plan addressing its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Breaking News
FTA Seeking Input on Title VI
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on how it can update Title VI guidance addressing civil rights rules for transit; the deadline is Jan. 3, 2022.
BLET, SMART-TD Seek Injunctions Against BNSF, Metra
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) have filed motions for preliminary injunctions to halt BNSF’s and Metra’s vaccine mandates.
Sponsored Content
Progress Rail PowerView: More Than Just a Black Box
Progress Rail’s Power View is a family of products that we’ve developed over the past couple of years, working closely with the rail industry. We spent a lot of time talking to our customers to try and understand what they were looking for in a next-generation locomotive event recorder. They told us they wanted the ability to synchronize data from multiple sources to obtain a complete operational view of what’s occurring on their locomotives. They were looking to synchronize all the locomotive data—PTC, audio, video, etc.—and as such we started developing this platform when PTC was being installed nationally on locomotive fleets.
NTSB Issues Wheelset Safety Alert, Preliminary Report on WMATA Derailment
Following the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Oct. 12 derailment, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a safety alert calling on rail transit agencies and commuter railroads to check their fleets for “wheelsets that do not meet gage specifications”; NTSB also released a preliminary report on the derailment.
New From Cummins: QST30 Repower Module
Cummins Inc. is expanding its reach into the rail market with the QST30 Tier 4-compliant switcher locomotive power module, projected to be available in the first quarter of 2022.
RJCM, LSRC, BIPR, GRYR Accept Railway Age Awards
The R.J. Corman Railroad Company/Memphis Line (RJCM) and Lake State Railway (LSRC) accepted Railway Age’s 2021 Short Line & Regional Railroads of the Year Awards at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) Annual Conference & Exhibition in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 18; the Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad (BIPR) and Grenada Railroad (GRYR) received Short Line Honorable Mentions.
RAC Members Earn Safety, Environmental Awards
Three Railway Association of Canada (RAC) member railroads have earned the association’s safety and environmental awards for 2021.
TSA Mandates Cybersecurity Actions for Freight, Passenger Rail
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Dec. 2 issued two new Security Directives for “higher-risk” passenger railroads and rail transit agencies and freight railroads, respectively, to “strengthen” cybersecurity.
KCS Delivers Grain Milestones
Kansas City Southern (KCS) on Dec. 2 reported setting record daily average grain carloads in November 2021, exceeding the previous record set in October 2021.
Port of Montana Completes $8MM Rail Expansion
The Port of Montana, a full-service transload, warehouse and distribution facility in Butte, celebrated the completion of an $8 million rail expansion project last month.
Opinion
World Energy: ‘Chaos’ Is Just About Right
FINANCIAL EDGE, DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE: Now that the drama around the CP-KCS merger has finally subsided, the rail market has to occupy itself with other more mundane issues, such as the forward trajectory of coal loadings. Representing 12% of railcar loadings (even in its diminished state), coal remains a critical industry issue.
Coming to Metro-North’s Waterbury, CT Branch: PTC, Increased Frequency
MTA Metro-North Railroad’s branch line from Bridgeport to Waterbury, Conn., is being upgraded, and plans call for more trains to run on weekdays, starting next June.
BNSF: Giving Back to the Communities We Serve
Your first thought of Thanksgiving may bring fond memories of family, food, football or turkey-induced naps, but at its core, the national holiday’s meaning is rooted in gratitude. While Turkey Day gives us a specific day devoted to being grateful for life’s gifts, the BNSF Railway Foundation works all year to show our appreciation through charitable giving to the thousands of communities along our network.
A ‘Gow’ Infused STB Chairman
Years ago, as general counsel to the Illinois Racing Commission, Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairperson Martin J. Oberman chased the “gow”—jockey-speak for opium used illegally to improve race horse performance. These days, the 76-year-old Oberman is himself infused with a legal form of gow: an unabated resolve to use his regulatory cudgel to splinter railroad market power.
A Comprehensive History of Amtrak That Narrowly Misses Its Mark
BOOK REVIEW: Amtrak, America’s Railroad – Transportation’s Orphan and its Struggle for Survival. By Geoffrey Doughty, Jeffrey Darbee, and Eugene Harmon. Indiana University Press, 2021.