Bright Pink 2 and Bright Green 2 arrived on July 21 at Brightline’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando. Photo by Jim Pearson via Brightline.

Passenger Rail Briefs: IDOT, Brightline, LA Metro

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) releases results of a feasibility study and public survey for the proposed Peoria-to-Chicago passenger rail route. Also, Brightline welcomes two more trains to Orlando and a new

Commentary

Short Lines Need CRISI to Avoid a Crisis

ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, AUGUST 2021: The New Jersey School of Architecture offers a master’s degree in infrastructure planning. In preparing for his course on infrastructure, Professor Alex Marshall used Google’s Ngram Viewer, which can search millions of books and publications to determine when a word was first used. He found that the word “infrastructure” made its first appearance in French publications in the 1880s in conjunction with railroad engineering.

IAIS Signs on With SmartWay, Honors Founding Chair

Iowa Interstate Railroad, LLC (IAIS) has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay® Transport Partnership program, and recently celebrated the 100th birthday of founding Chairman Dr. Paul H. Banner.

RDC, iCON Form IAIS Partnership

Railroad Development Corp., the Pittsburgh-based railway investment and management company with interests in railways and related businesses in the Americas and Europe, on Dec. 31, 2020 entered into a strategic partnership with iCON Infrastructure LLC, an independent investment firm focused on investments in core infrastructure businesses across North America and Europe. iCON Infrastructure Partners V will acquire a 40% stake in Class II Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS). RDC will remain majority owner of IAIS and together with iCON V “will continue to support its strong management team and dedicated workforce in providing best-in-class service to IAIS’ diverse customer base.”

Iowa Interstate’s Miller Retiring After 47 Years of Railroading

Dennis H. “Denny” Miller, Vice Chairman of Railroad Development Corp. (RDC) affiliate Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), will retire effective Sept. 30, 2020, after a 47-year railroading career. Miller held various positions within IAIS, among them Vice President Customer Services, VP Operations, Executive VP-CEO, President, and most recently Vice Chairman. He also served on several committees with the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and was a 15-year board member with the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Iowa Interstate powers up with GE locomotives

Growing freight traffic has led Iowa Interstate Railroad to order three new Evolution™ Series locomotives from GE Transportation.

Parsons to lead “next generation” at IAIS

Joseph Parsons will take on the newly-created title of general manager at the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), effective Nov. 3, concurrent with the retirement of Jerome Lipka from the position of president. Al Satunas was named chief operating officer and will report to Parsons.

Iowa Interstate 100% Violet

You won’t find different shades of information technology on Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) locomotives. That’s because Wi-Tronix, LLC has equipped the entire IAIS fleet with Violet™.