Operations for the Purple Line project in Maryland will soon be back to normal. The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) reached a $250 million settlement with three companies connected to the public-private partnership.
Marion, Ohio, located in the north-central area of the state, is home to the Marion Industrial Center, a versatile facility ideally suited for owner/operators and investors in Intermodal, Transloading, 3PL (third-party logistics), Automobile Storage and Distribution, and industrial real estate development. Privately owned and operated since 1975, the Center is now available for sale to “owners and operators of logistics and transportation businesses who can utilize it to gain strategic advantage and enhance their overall operations,” according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Managing Director, Whitney Kerr, Jr.
Total U.S. rail traffic of 534,607 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Nov. 21, 2020, kept pace with the same week last year, rising 2.5%, based on a double-digit intermodal gain, according to a Nov. 25 report from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Total carloads were down 7.2% to 233,478, compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was up 11.5% to 301,129 containers and trailers, compared with 2019.
We hosted rail industry experts in our third Suds with Seidl event. The overall mood was optimistic. The outlook for 2021 was strong, with one participant noting he was surprised to hear just how bullish his customers were this past week. Class I’s may be missing business opportunities, but there is still hope for greater communication via technology initiatives. We remain positive on the rail group.
Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is temporarily sidelining its fleet of 6000-series rapid transit cars after an early Nov. 24 train-separation incident on the Red Line. An investigation is under way; there were no reported injuries.
Beaufort, S.C.-based OptiFuel Systems is offering a new line of 1,200- to 2,400-hp, 100% natural gas-fueled freight locomotives.
Hans von Lange, an iconic figure in the global railway maintenance-of-way supply industry, died Nov. 16, 2020. He was 97. Son Michael Lange, one of nine children and head of Exton, Pa.-based Globe-Connect LLC, provided the following memorial for his father, who he says “lived a life full of adventure, challenges, dangers, failures and successes”:
Chicago-based Amsted Rail has appointed Michael Carter President, succeeding John Wories.
John W. “Jack” Barriger IV, eldest son of legendary railroad executive and promoter John Barriger III, died Nov. 20, at his home in Kenilworth, Ill. He was 93.
Norfolk Southern (NS) named John Hatfield Vice President Corporate Communications and promoted Kathleen Smith to Vice President Business Development and Real Estate, succeeding Robert Martínez, who retires Dec. 1.
Florida’s Brightline announced it has entered into an agreement with Walt Disney World Resort to build a train station at Disney Springs, near Orlando.
