FRA Issues Tech Reports, Research Results

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently released three technical reports and a research results report covering communications and train control, rolling stock, and automation, which the agency’s Office of Research, Development & Technology (RD&T) is studying with its partners to help improve rail safety.

“The tremendous growth in ridership is a result of the substantial investments North Carolina and Virginia are making to expand and improve passenger rail,” Amtrak Vice President Ray Lang said on Feb. 28. “Customers are taking advantage of a sustainable way to travel to the many destinations our network offers.” (Amtrak Photograph)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, Metrolinx

Virginia and North Carolina are home Amtrak’s busiest stations in the Southeast. Also, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) provides an update on expanding Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer; New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Chief Accessibility Officer earns Presidential Volunteer Award; and Metrolinx’s maintenance and storage facility for the Finch West LRT project in Toronto receives LEED Silver Certification.

With a Delivery Partner Selected, Hudson Tunnel Project Moving Into ‘High Gear’

MPA Delivery Partners, a joint venture of Parsons Corporation, Arcadis of New York, Inc., and Mace North America Limited, will serve as Delivery Partner for the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, the

Overhead diagram of the accident. (NTSB)

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on NS Engineer Fatality

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the Jan. 31, 2024, accident involving a Norfolk Southern (NS) engineer who was fatally injured while performing switching operations when the lead locomotive he was operating was struck by rolling railcars in the Class I’s Decatur Yard in Decatur, Ala.

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Okla., BIA Petition STB to Allow Emergency Operator for Blackwell Subdivision

The State of Oklahoma, by and through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), and the Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA) have petitioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for an emergency order allowing the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, LLC (Rock Island) to provide local rail service on the Blackwell Subdivision, 35.3 miles of rail lines owned by ODOT and BIA and leased to the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad Company (BNGR).

New White Paper Explores Partnership to Complete Northwest Rail

The Polis Administration, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) and the Front Range Passenger Rail District (FRPRD) recently released a white paper that explores the possibility of a new partnership that would enable Colorado to complete the voter-approved Northwest Rail line between Denver, Boulder and Longmont, and to build the first phase of Front Rage Passenger Rail (FRPR) by extending service to Fort Collins. This rail service would use the existing BNSF Front Range Subdivision through Boulder, Longmont, Loveland and Fort Collins (FRPR Northwest Phase 1).

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Commentary

Bose Writes Shaw, Making the Obvious Less Obscure

On Feb. 21, three days after Ancora Holdings announced its intention to replace a majority of the Norfolk Southern Board of Directors and the railroad’s chief executive and chief operating officers, Federal

A $3.47 million CRISI grant made replacement of the William J. “Bill” Duggan bridge by the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) possible. The new bridge opened to freight rail traffic on June 30, 2020.

Is Your CRISI Application Under Way?

The countdown is on! The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is expected to release its CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) notice of funding opportunity in March, with less than 90 days

NS, SMART-TD and BLET on Feb. 15 signed an agreement to participate in FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). Pictured: SMART-TD officers flank TD President Jeremy R. Ferguson (center), NS President and CEO Alan Shaw (left of Ferguson) and FRA Administrator Amit Bose (right of Ferguson) at the signing ceremony in Atlanta. (Photograph Courtesy of SMART-TD, NS)

NS: First Class I to Participate in FRA C3RS (UPDATED 2/16)

Norfolk Southern (NS) on Feb. 15 formally signed an agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division

Railway Age’s 2024 Short Line Railroad of the Year is Mississippi Export Railroad (MSE). (Chip Haffner Photograph, Courtesy of MSE)

Railway Age Names 2024 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

Railway Age in 2024 is proud to announce Mississippi Export Railroad (MSE) and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company (W&LE) as our Short Line and Regional Railroads of the Year, respectively. Eastern

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