CN is renewing its support of research and education programs at the Centre for Supply Chain Management (SCM) in Waterloo, Ontario, with a C$500,000 donation. It contributed C$500,000 to the Centre, based at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, in 2015.
Canadian Pacific (CP) is building business at the Port of Saint John in New Brunswick with an extension of its service agreement with global liner shipping company Hapag-Lloyld AG, which will begin regular intermodal service via CP from the Atlantic Canada port starting in 2021.
Simmons Machine Tool Corp. has established the Niles Technical Application Center (NTAC) at its manufacturing facility and headquarters in Albany, N.Y., to offer Niles-Simmons machinery to the rail, aerospace, defense and other non-automotive industries in North America.
New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) will participate in a multi-week test of new technologies—from air purification to antimicrobial light—to help protect employees and riders during the pandemic. It is part of the COVID-19 Response Challenge that launched in July.
The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) has renewed its contract with Amtrak for regional/commuter rail operations services, beginning Jan. 1, 2021 and expiring June 30, 2025. Amtrak will also provide and manage engineers and conductors.
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has completed track installation to link the Garden City Terminal’s Chatham and Mason Mega rail yards, which it said boosts on-terminal storage capacity 35% and helps accommodate nearly 10,000-foot-long unit trains for CSX and Norfolk Southern.
VIA Rail Canada’s third-quarter 2020 results include an 86% drop in rider revenue and 82% decrease in ridership from the same period last year due to the pandemic. Total revenues for 3Q20 fell 84%, on a 79% reduction in capacity as travel demand plummeted. Total operating expenses decreased by 27.5%. (See chart below.)
CSX announced Nov. 30 it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pan Am Railways, Inc., the 1,800-mile Class II in New England, expanding its reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, while adding Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to its existing 23-state network.
Larry Willis, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), died Nov. 29 due to injuries sustained from a Nov. 22 biking accident. He was 53.
Transport Canada has updated the Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees, placing new limits on duty-period length; increasing the minimum rest period between shifts; and establishing limits on total hours worked per week, month and year.
