AAR doubles down on FRA crew size proposal

In comments submitted August 16 in response to a July 15th public hearing, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) again urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to withdraw its proposed rule mandating two-person crews on railroads. The AAR also called on the FRA to disclose the data sources it has used to inform its proposal, which AAR says is not supported by any publicly available safety data.

Caltrain awards $1.25 billion train and electrification contracts

Caltrain, which operates the San Francisco – San Jose commuter rail line in California, has awarded contracts to Stadler Rail for new trains and Balfour Beatty to electrify the 52-mile line.

GWI moves to acquire P&W

Add regional Providence & Worcester Railroad Co. (P&W) to Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s growing stable of Class II and III carriers. GWI announced Aug. 15, 2016 that it plans to acquire the P&W for $126 million at $25.00 per share.

PTSI, CRSA offer physical characteristics training conference

PTSI Transportation and the Chicago Railroad Superintendents Association are jointly offering the Railroad and Rail Transit Physical Characteristics Training and Testing: Are We Where We Need to Be? conference in Chicago on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016.

APTA System of the Year Award to Metro Transit

The American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) announced on August 10th its 2016 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award, also known as System of the Year, to Metro Transit.

Fishman joins Nossaman Infrastructure Practice Group

Edward Fishman, an experienced attorney who specializes in infrastructure projects, principally in the transportation and logistics sector, has joined the Infrastructure Practice Group of Nossaman LLP as a Partner.

AAR: Weekly rail traffic down 5.5%

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on August 10, 2016 reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 6, 2016. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 531,595 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.5% compared with the same week last year.

Capturing BNSF’s record crop season

Contributing Editor Bruce Kelly captures the growth of BNSF’s grain haul this summer: a westbound grain train at left in Marshall, Wash., just outside of Spokane, passing an empty grain train seemingly on its way to reload in BNSF’s record crop summer.

Amtrak prepares RFQ to turn P3 attention to Baltimore Penn Station

Amtrak continues on the public-private partnership (P3) path for Baltimore’s Penn Station. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is in the works, seeking a Master Developer partnership for the station and adjacent properties. Amtrak expects to release the RFQ later this month.

CP: Ackman cashes out

Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. principal Bill Ackman has sold all his shares in Canadian Pacific, walking away with a cool $1.5 billion.

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