SC Ports in March handled 216,410 TEUs, up 12% year-over-year, and 118,481 pier containers, up 11% from last year. (Photo/SC Ports/Matthew Peacock)

Intermodal Briefs: SC Ports, Stonepeak/CenterPoint Properties

South Carolina (SC) Ports marks its most significant container-volume uptick in 2024. Also, Stonepeak acquires a 1.7 million square-foot rail-served logistics portfolio in Chicago from CenterPoint Properties.

FRA on Nov. 6, 2023, reported awarding $16.4 billion for 25 passenger rail projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program. Amtrak was to receive nearly $10 billion for the 12 projects it will lead. (White House Graphic)

FRA Releases 2024 NEC Project Inventory

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published the 2024 Northeast Corridor (NEC) Project Inventory—an updated NEC project pipeline for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program (FSP-NEC). On Nov. 15, 2022, FRA

New Jersey Transit’s Board on April 10 unanimously approved a 15% fare hike starting July 1, with a 3% annual increase beginning July 1, 2025. (William C. Vantuono Photograph)

Transit Briefs: NC by Train, NJ Transit, TTC

Ridership for NC By Train—North Carolina-supported Amtrak service—marks a milestone. Also, the New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) Board approves a double-digit fare hike; and communications, electrical and signal workers at Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will begin strike action on April 22 if a collective agreement is not reached.

Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom Americas; Stéphanie Vaillancourt, President, Canada for AtkinsRéalis (center); and Maud Cohen, President of Polytechnique Montréal (right).

Alstom, AtkinsRéalis, Polytechnique Montréal Team on Training

Alstom, AtkinsRéalis and Polytechnique Montréal on April 11 reported signing an agreement to develop railway and public transit engineering training that they said would “directly address both mobility and decarbonization issues.”

Aerial photograph of Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern derailment site, courtesy of the NTSB.

REPORT — Struck: NS Defenses on Ohio Derailment Cleanup Cost

U.S. District Judge John R. Adams will not allow multiple Norfolk Southern “defenses against the government’s environmental cleanup cost suit” that stems from the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,

Rob Free, President of MTA Long Island Rail Road and Julie Green, New York Transit and Mobility Group Director at HNTB.

High Profile: LIRR, HNTB

MTA Long Island Rail Road sets Rob Free as President, following six-months of service as Acting President. Also, Julie Green joins HNTB as New York Transit and Mobility Group Director.

(CHSRA Rendering)

CHSRA to Release High-Speed Trainset RFP

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) on April 11 reported that it will solicit proposals for six high-speed trainsets, including two prototypes to support testing and trial running, from the two prequalified, shortlisted manufacturers:

“VRS has a 60-year tradition of helping local businesses with efficient and reliable freight service,” VRS President Selden Houghton said, “and we are excited at the opportunity to grow and expand by providing economical rail service to customers in northern New Hampshire.” (VRS Photograph of Vermont Railway, Railway Age's 2022 Short Line of the Year)

VRS to Acquire New Hampshire Central

Vermont Rail System (VRS) will grow its portfolio to seven short line railroads with the acquisition of New Hampshire Central.

The Port of Savannah moved more than 3 million tons of cargo in March, while handling 154 vessels between Garden City and Ocean terminals, according to GPA. (Photograph Courtesy of GPA)

Intermodal Briefs: GPA, ITS Logistics

March was the third consecutive month of growth for the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), with rail volumes up 22%. Also, ITS Logistics releases its April forecast, reporting that the collapse of Baltimore Key Bridge has resulted in a “‘severe’ rating for Atlantic Ocean Region.”

According to Metrolink, between July and December 2023, passenger and freight trains operating on its service lines were involved in 53 vehicle and pedestrian strikes, a 39% increase from same period in 2022, with nearly half of all strikes in 2023 ruled as suicides. (Metrolink Photograph)

Metrolink to Pilot Track Intrusion Detection

Southern California’s Metrolink will use a $1.3 million federal grant for the development and demonstration of a track intrusion detection system that it said not only will improve the safety of its riders and crew, but also directly benefit pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and everyone else who interacts with the regional/ commuter rail system.

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