ACE officials are anticipating that expansion into Stanislaus and Sacramento counties will begin in late 2026, The Modesto Bee reports. (ACE Photograph)

Transit Briefs: ACE, Amtrak, BART, Brightline West

ACE’s (Altamont Corridor Express) timeline is being pushed back for its commuter rail service expansion into Stanislaus and Sacramento counties in California. Also, Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission are seeking a federal study for new long-distance service across Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas; San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) proposes fare increases in 2024 and 2025; and Brightline West teams with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) and the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union on its planned 218-mile high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

Canadian Pacific's hydrogen fuel cell-powered linehaul freight locomotive. (Photograph Courtesy of Bilton Welding and Manufacturing Ltd.)

CP’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program Advances

Bilton Welding and Manufacturing Ltd. is wrapping up work on the second of three hydrogen fuel cell-powered freight locomotives for Canadian Pacific (CP), the Class I confirmed March 7. The first, currently

Ronald L. Batory

Ronald L. Batory Confirmed as CPKC Voting Trustee (Updated March 3)

Canadian Pacific (CP) on March 1 proposed the appointment of former Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald L. Batory as Trustee of the CP-Kansas City Southern (KCS) voting trust, following the death of David

CN is among the Rail Climate Change Adaptation Program award recipients, and will receive C$300,000 to develop a “Climate-Induced Ground Hazard Risk Assessment Tool.” (Photograph Courtesy of CN via Twitter)

Transport Canada Allocates C$5.4MM for Rail Resiliency

Transport Canada is distributing up to C$5.4 million to 20 infrastructure projects country-wide that it says will make railroads “more resilient to extreme weather risks.”

2012 Railway Age Railroader of the Year David L. Starling died Feb. 26, 2023. (KCS Photograph, 2012)

David L. Starling, 73

David L. Starling, former President and CEO of Kansas City Southern (KCS; 2010-16) who called railroading “not just a job, but a way of life,” died Feb. 26, 2023. He was 73.

STB Arbitration Program Sidelined

The Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) arbitration program for small rate disputes will not go forward as written in its Dec. 19, 2022, rule.

Unifor Ratifies New Labor Agreement With CP

Canadian Pacific (CP) announced Feb. 16 that Unifor members have ratified a new two-year collective agreement covering approximately 1,200 CP mechanical employees in Canada. The new contract will expire in Dec. 31, 2024.

BLET Logs Four Tentative Agreements, One Ratified Contract

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reported reaching tentative agreements with Canadian Pacific’s Soo Line, Kansas City Southern (KCS), Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E), and Union Railroad; and unanimously ratifying a new collective bargaining agreement with Illinois Railway.

USW, CP Reach Tentative Agreement

The United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1976, which represents approximately 600 administrative support and intermodal workers at Canadian Pacific (CP), announced Feb. 9 that it has reached a new tentative agreement with the Class I.

CN, CP, CSX and UP have been named to S&P Global's 2023 Sustainability Yearbook.

CN, CP, CSX, UP Named to S&P Global’s 2023 Sustainability Yearbook

Class I railroads CN, Canadian Pacific (CP), CSX and Union Pacific (UP) have been honored in this year’s Standard & Poors (S&P) Global Sustainability Yearbook under the Transportation and Transportation Infrastructure category.

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