Mechanical

FreightCar America Castaños, Mexico manufacturing facility.

FreightCar America: ‘Solid Results’ for 4Q23; Randall Named New CEO

FreightCar America (FCA) delivered solid results for fourth-quarter 2023 with gross profit up 62% on significant year-over-year margin expansion, President and CEO Jim Meyer said during a March 18 earnings report, also announcing that Chief Operating Officer Nick Randall, effective May 1, 2024, will succeed Meyer as President and CEO and become a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

BART on April 20 will hold a retirement ceremony and final dispatch of its legacy trains that have been in service for more than half a century. The event, “Riding into History: Final Run of the First Fleet,” will take place at Oakland’s MacArthur Station.

Transit Briefs: BART, Denver RTD, Metra, Sound Transit

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) will fully retire its legacy trains next month and is advancing a systemwide fare gates project. Also, Denver (Colo.) Regional Transit District (RTD) launches an elevator pilot program and joins the White House’s “Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose” initiative; Chicago’s Metra plans a new layover yard near the McHenry County community; and Seattle’s Sound Transit will test new Link LRV (light rail vehicle) seat material.

Class I Briefs: CSX, CN, UP, NS

CSX donates $10,000 to the Red Cross for storm relief efforts. Also, CN and Union Pacific (UP) are recognized by CDP as 2023 Supplier Engagement Leaders; CN sends a “supply chain salute” to MacroSource, LLC for their new facility in Memphis, Tenn.; and Norfolk Southern (NS) honors customer sustainability achievements.

Commentary

Bearing Down on Bearings

The bearing related derailment that occurred in East Palestine Feb. 3, 2023 on a Norfolk Southern line was tragic in many ways. Following months of investigation, the NTSB held a hearing on

LeAnna Gutierrez Cumber, Chief Strategy Officer, Herzog
  • M/W

Herzog Hires Chief Strategy Officer

LeAnna Gutierrez Cumber has joined rail and heavy/highway contractor Herzog as Chief Strategy Officer. She will work to expand the St. Joseph, Mo.-based company’s capabilities and reach, including helping customers obtain project financing.

Commentary

EC Investigation Follows U.S. Attention to Chinese SOE Threat

The European Commission’s (EC) first-ever in-depth investigation under its new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) has been heard worldwide. Predictably, this high-profile, anticompetitive case was directed at China. CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Corp.),

  • News

People News: SEPTA, Wabtec

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) appoints Elisa Cunningham as Chief Technology Officer. Also, Wabtec Corporation elevates Kyra Yates to Vice President of Investor Relations.

Pictured: Metro-North Railroad’s “Penn Central” heritage locomotive’s inaugural run. (MTA Metro-North Railroad Photograph)

Transit Briefs: DART, Metro-North, NJT, TriMet

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) offers a sneak peek of its new LRV seats. Also, MTA Metro-North Railroad debuts its fourth heritage locomotive; New Jersey Transit (NJT) advances a mixed-use, multi-phase Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) project near Hoboken Terminal, where it is also working on resiliency upgrades; and Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) proposes a $1.75 billion budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.