Trainyard Tech upgrading NS Lamberts Point
Norfolk Southern has awarded Trainyard Tech, LLC a contract to update the existing CLASSMASTER™ hump yard process control system at the Lamberts Point Coal Dumping Facility in Norfolk, Va.
Breaking News
Greenbrier receives $450MM in orders, previews FY2Q financials
The Greenbrier Companies announced March 22 that it had received orders for 3,800 new railcars with an aggregate value of nearly $450 million during its fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 28. At the same time, the company announced preliminary financial results for its fiscal second quarter.
Calabrese joins Focused Technology Solutions
Forty-year transit industry veteran Joe Calabrese is joining Focused Technology Solutions, a division of The Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway Company, as Senior Advisor, effective April 1.
DeGraffe named PATH GM
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has promoted PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) Deputy Director Clarelle DeGraffe to General Manager and Director of Rail Transit, effective March 25. The first woman in the position in PATH’s 111-year history, she succeeds Mike Marino, who announced his retirement late last year.
Contractors, railroads battle catastrophic flood damage
Record-setting floods have caused extensive damage to railroad infrastructure across large sections of the Midwest, prompting a surge in construction and repair work.
Ponzio Promoted to STV SVP
John Ponzio has been promoted to Senior Vice President of STV’s National Systems Group.
Metra issues RFP for new cars
Metra on March 20 issued a request for proposals (RFP) for at least 200 new locomotive-hauled railcars, and the Chicago-area commuter railroad is allowing manufacturers to propose alternative designs that could reduce delays and suit Metra’s needs better than its bi-level gallery cars, some of which have been in service upwards of 70 years.
A new frontier in railway innovation
As railways push ahead with digitalization, more and more are engaging and implementing solutions from a new form of supplier: the tech start-up. This is changing the railway-supplier relationship and altering the industry’s wider approach to innovation, as IRJ’s Kevin Smith discovers.
Rail freight traffic continues decline
North American carload and intermodal traffic again declined compared to 2018, according to figures for the week ending March 16, 2019 released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 20.
NARS to discuss “optimal network” at annual meeting
The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) will be discussing critical issues currently facing the freight rail industry and how to achieve an “optimal network” at its annual meeting May 15-17 in San Antonio.
Opinion
Cyber Resiliency: A Clear and Urgent Necessity for Modern Railroads
The World Economic Forum’s most recent Regional Risks of Doing Business report lists cyberattacks as the top concern of corporate executives in 19 countries, including advanced economies in North America, Europe, and Asia. These concerns, according to the report, “highlight the growing reliance of global commerce on digital networks that are the target of increasingly sophisticated and prolific attacks.”
“At Amtrak, It’s No Longer 1950”: An analysis
First, a salute to Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank Wilner for finally obtaining an interview with a senior officer at Amtrak, Executive Vice President Stephen Gardner. From my perspective, this article offers interesting revelations; yet, it’s still like pulling a thread from a sweater to slowly unwind the backstory as to why Amtrak conducts itself in such a secluded, secretive style, operating in a bubble seemingly oblivious to expressed concerns.
Fuzzy math, politics and railcars
THE FINANCIAL EDGE, MARCH 2019 – On Feb. 19, the Alberta government announced that it had entered into transportation (and some logistics) contracts with CN and Canadian Pacific to begin to move Canadian oil sands crude from the Albertan province down to the Gulf of Mexico. The province intends to move 20,000 barrels per day (BPD) by rail beginning in July 2019, increasing to a total number of 120,000 BPD by midyear 2020.
At Amtrak, it’s no longer 1950
WATCHING WASHINGTON, MARCH 2019 – Amtrak seemingly operates in the shadow of a Bat Signal over Gotham—that specially modified searchlight displaying the emblem of a bat, and intended, when lighted, to summon superhero Batman. Rather than Batman, the Amtrak sentinel, with a passenger train emblem, summons self-appointed management surrogates—hopefully helpful railfans; well-intentioned but cash-strapped lawmakers from federal, state and local government; and, surely, the snoopy press corps.
Texas Central vs. California: Imported vs. homegrown
Passenger rail in the United States has fallen a long way since it was the dominant mode of long-distance transportation. In a world of competition among cars, planes and trains, the point-to-point functionality of automobiles and the speed of planes means that most trains with existing technologies cannot compete.