When consideration is given to track engineering and maintenance, many newcomers to the railroad industry don’t realize what massive amount of effort is put forward to properly manage thermal rail stress by track engineering and track maintenance professionals. A concept even more difficult to grasp is the relationship of thermal rail stress to undergrade bridges.
The RSI Education & Technical Training Conference at Railway Interchange 2019 “serves to educate attendees on new technologies and trends in the rail industry and provide an opportunity for industry networking and collaboration. There are more than 50 educational sessions on railcar maintenance, rail operations, air brake technologies and trends and a focus on leadership in the rail industry,” RSI notes. “Session content is provided by the Railway Supply Institute, the Air Brake Association, the International Association of Railway Operating Officers, the League of Railway Women, the Locomotive Maintenance Officers Association and the Railcar Technical Services Association.
Norfolk Southern on Aug. 14 announced promotions for two senior-level managers, effective Aug. 16: Vanessa Allen Sutherland and Michael Farrell. Allen Sutherland, previously Vice President Law, is now SVP Government Relations and Chief Legal Officer. Farrell, previously Senior Vice President Transportation, is now SVP Operations and Mechanical.
Rio Grande Pacific Corp. has named rail industry veteran Mark Hemphill to lead development and construction of the Uinta Basin Railway project, a $1.5 billion new-build that, when completed in late 2022 or early 2023, will serve northeastern Utah’s energy, mineral and agriculture industries. The new railroad is being built through a DBFOM (design-build-finance operate-maintain P3 (public-private partnership) comprised of Rio Grande Pacific, Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners and the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition
Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-Minn.) joined the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) and RailWorks Corporation at the latter’s project office in Lakeville, Minn.
Kansas City’s sixth and final streetcar, no. 806, is schedule to arrive on the property Aug. 26. Manufactured by CAF USA, Inc., 806 is the second of two new streetcars added to the KC Streetcar Authority system, which launched operations with four vehicles (801-804) in May 2016. No. 805 joined the fleet in May 2019.
New Jersey Transit (NJT) is ramping up its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) efforts, reaching out to local communities that have expressed interest in new development to learn more about TOD opportunities with the agency.
A looming U.S. economic recession—just look at freight rail traffic figures from the past six months—and “cyclical industrial fears” have significantly impacted rail equipment equities, creating opportunities for long-term investors with what Cowen and Company analysts Matt Elkott, Jason Seidl (Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor) and Adam Kramer describe as “quality companies with self-forged narratives” like Wabtec, Trinity and Greenbrier.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ended August 10, 2019, and it’s still trending in the wrong direction—though the U.S.’s neighbor to the north saw a slight uptick.
Early-bird rates for Railway Interchange 2019 expire on August 15. Act now and save $75 on Railway Interchange registration.
