KCS expands CloudMoyo to U.S.
Kansas City Southern announced on March 26 that it will expand the deployment of the CloudMoyo Crew Management tool (CCM) currently used in Mexico on KCSM to its U.S. operations.
Safety
Calabrese joins Focused Technology Solutions
Forty-year transit industry veteran Joe Calabrese is joining Focused Technology Solutions, a division of The Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway Company, as Senior Advisor, effective April 1.
Contractors, railroads battle catastrophic flood damage
Record-setting floods have caused extensive damage to railroad infrastructure across large sections of the Midwest, prompting a surge in construction and repair work.
Cyber Resiliency: A Clear and Urgent Necessity for Modern Railroads
The World Economic Forum’s most recent Regional Risks of Doing Business report lists cyberattacks as the top concern of corporate executives in 19 countries, including advanced economies in North America, Europe, and Asia. These concerns, according to the report, “highlight the growing reliance of global commerce on digital networks that are the target of increasingly sophisticated and prolific attacks.”
A new frontier in railway innovation
As railways push ahead with digitalization, more and more are engaging and implementing solutions from a new form of supplier: the tech start-up. This is changing the railway-supplier relationship and altering the industry’s wider approach to innovation, as IRJ’s Kevin Smith discovers.
NS petitions FRA for brake test training waiver; unions push back
Norfolk Southern has filed a petition with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of federal railroad safety regulations regarding refresher training for mechanical inspectors, “FRA WAIVER PETITION DOCKET No. FRA-2018-0100, Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-passenger Trains and Equipment, End-Of-Train Devices (49 C.F.R. Part 232).” Two unions have filed comments disputing NS’s petition.
OLI offering rail transit safety education grants
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) announced March 14 that the application period is open for its Rail Transit Safety Education Grants. The grants offer $175,000 in funding for transit agencies, other government entities that provide transit service and state Operation Lifesaver programs to conduct rail transit safety education and public awareness initiatives.
FTA, states strengthen SSO Programs; WMATA oversight transferred
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced March 18 that it has partnered with the requisite 30 states to strengthen and certify 31 State Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs prior to the April 15 safety deadline, and is transferring WMATA safety oversight to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC).
Heavy weather impacting BNSF operations
BNSF is engaged in service recovery efforts in multiple areas across its network in the northern and central Plains following another major winter storm. Blizzard conditions, with wind gusts to near 70 mph in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota have caused significant train delays since March 14. With the temperature rising, BNSF is now confronting major flooding issues in the region, particularly in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, as multiple subdivisions are currently out of service due to track washouts.
NYCT: Faster, safer
MTA New York City Transit has made progress in safely increasing subway speed limits with its Save Safe Seconds Campaign, part of the agency’s Subway Action Plan initiated by President Andy Byford.