North America – Page 66
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News
Repairs to begin as Hudson Bay Railway sold
CANADA: Arctic Gateway Group has bought the 1 300 km Hudson Bay Railway and associated port facilities in Churchill from OmniTRAX, the government announced on August 31. This is expected to allow repairs to the flood-damaged infrastructure to get underway with the aim of restoring train services by the winter. ...
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NewsFRA awards $204m of PTC implementation grants
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration announced the award of grants totalling $204m to support 28 Positive Train Control deployment projects in 15 states on August 24. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 provided $250m for PTC implementation. FRA invited applications in May and the selection process was completed in just ...
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Metro Report InternationalKC Streetcar sets ridership record
USA: The KC Streetcar recorded its highest monthly ridership to date in July, when 262 593 passenger-journeys were taken. Ridership is higher on Saturdays than on weekdays, with the respective figures averaging 14 085 and 7 909 in July. The average ridership on Sundays was 6 453. The highest ...
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NewsGBW Railcar Services joint venture ends
USA: The Greenbrier Companies and Watco have agreed to end their GBW Railcar Services joint venture, which was established in July 2014 to bring together the two companies’ workshops to form a national wagon maintenance network. The assets and employees of 12 workshops will return to Greenbrier, with 14 workshops ...
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NewsNYSW selects ARINC RailwayNet technology
USA: New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway has selected Rockwell Collins’ ARINC Railway Net service to support the roll-out of Positive Train Control. NYSW operates a network of more than 600 route-km in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, carrying commodities including lumber, construction materials, chemicals, food ...
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NewsInternational Rail Partners buys its first short line
USA: International Rail Partners has made its first short line acquisition, buying Grenada Railroad from Iowa Pacific Holdings and taking over operations on August 2 under a lease-purchase agreement with the North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority which owns the infrastructure. Terms were not disclosed. Oppenheimer & Co acted as ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutonomous shuttle to be tested in mixed traffic near Montréal
CANADA: Keolis Canada announced the launch of a 12-month pilot of an autonomous electric shuttle in mixed traffic on public roads in Candiac near Montréal on August 10. A Navya Autonom shuttle, with capacity for 15 passengers and an operational speed of 25 km/h, will serve several stops on ...
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Metro Report InternationalLight rail extensions supported in NJ Transit budget
USA: On August 8 New Jersey Transit announced that it would be spending $3·8bn in the 2019 financial year as the operator seeks to address an urgent shortfall in investment. The budget allocates $2·3bn for ongoing operations and $1·5bn for capital spending. As well as operating a large main ...
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NewsNJ Transit to invest more as PTC pressure prompts service cuts
USA: On August 8 New Jersey Transit announced that it would be spending $3·8bn in the 2019 financial year as the commuter railroad seeks to address an urgent shortfall in investment. NJT is one of the largest commuter rail operations in the USA, running an extensive network of services which ...
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Metro Report InternationalElectronic ticketing for smaller operators
CUBIC: Cubic Transportation Systems has invested in Delerrok, which provides cloud-hosted electronic ticketing technology for small to mid-sized transport agencies. This will enable Cubic to offer Delerrok’s TouchPass Fare system in combination with its Transit Management as a Service platform. Announcing the investment and alliance agreement on August 7, Cubic ...
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Metro Report InternationalUSA seeks restrictions on Chinese suppliers
USA: The Senate has formally adopted measures which would see a one-year ban on any procurement from Chinese state-owned companies using Federal Transit Administration funding. The ban is part of an amendment to a much larger package, which in turn forms part of the annual Transportation Appropriations for the ...
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NewsUS policymakers seek to restrict procurement from Chinese suppliers
USA: In the clearest sign yet that US policymakers are seeking to clamp down on Chinese involvement in the transport sector, the Senate on July 31 formally adopted measures which would see a one-year ban on any procurement from Chinese state-owned companies using Federal Transit Administration funding. The ban is ...
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NewsGATX announces long-term wagon order
USA: Leasing company GATX Corp has entered into an agreement to purchase 7 650 wagons from American Railcar Industries over five years from April 2019. The order announced on August 1 covers a mix of tank and other types of wagon, and there is an option for up to 4 ...
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NewsSunRail heads south
USA: Orlando commuter rail operator SunRail began revenue operations on its 27·4 km southern extension from Sand Lake to Poinciana on July 30. Serving central Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties, the extension adds a further four stations to the 51·5 km route with 12 stations which opened in May ...
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Metro Report InternationalKawasaki wins PATH metro car contract
USA: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has awarded Kawasaki Heavy Industries subsidiary Kawasaki Rail Car a $240m contract to supply new trainsets for the PATH metro network and refurbish existing stock. Kawasaki is to supply nine eight-car trainsets for $180m in 2021-22. To be made at ...
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NewsVancouver – Seattle – Portland high speed rail study
NORTH AMERICA: Washington State Department of Transportation has appointed WSP to prepare a business case analysis for an ‘ultra-high speed ground transportation system’ connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. WSP will be assisted by Steer, EnviroIssues, Paladin Partners and Transportation Solutions. The proposed high speed railway would be between 435 and ...
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Metro Report InternationalToronto Transit Commission orders BYD electric buses
CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission has placed an order with BYD for up to 40 battery buses. The base order covers 10 of the 12 m long electric buses. TTC plans to buying only zero-emission buses from 2025, with the aim of having a fully zero-emission fleet by 2040.
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NewsHydrogen engine research grant
CANADA: The federal government’s Clean Rail Academic Grant Programme is providing C$25 000 for the University of Windsor’s Hydrogen Enabled Low-Emissions & Fuel Efficient Diesel Engine Combustion Technology for Clean Locomotives project, which aims to develop an experimental diesel engine capable of running on blends of hydrogen and diesel. The ...
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NewsVancouver rail upgrade funding
CANADA: The Government of Canada is to provide C$167m to support three projects to improve the capacity of railways serving the Port of Vancouver. Two projects are led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority with investment from CN and CP. They include improving the ventilation of the Thornton Tunnel to ...
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Metro Report InternationalElectric bus leasing programme launched
USA: A joint venture of electric bus manufacturer BYD Motors and infrastructure financier Generate Capital has launched a $200m electric bus leasing programme. The aim is to help public- and private-sector clients accelerate the adoption of battery electric buses. Generate Capital notes that while electric buses are cheaper over ...