USA railroad industry news – Page 35
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NewsAmtrak welcomes FRA rule on passenger train performance
USA: After a hotly contested process lasting more than a decade, the Federal Railroad Administration published a Final Rule on November 16 establishing metrics and minimum standards to measure the performance and service quality of inter-city passenger trains.
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NewsPacific Harbor Line to test EMD Joule battery locomotive
USA: Pacific Harbor Line is to test progress Rail’s 3 200 hp EMD Joule lithium-ion battery shunting locomotive in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from the second half of 2021. Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary PHL provides shunting services and dispatches all BNSF Railway ...
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NewsJaguar buys short lines
USA: Jaguar Transport Holdings has acquired five short line railways and a construction and maintenance company from The Western Group. The acquisitions which came into effect on November 1 cover the: Cimarron Valley Railroad in southwest Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and eastern Colorado; Washington Eastern Railroad ...
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Metro Report InternationalMTA uses WhatsApp to reach more New Yorkers
USA: New York subway and bus users can now communicate with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in real time using the WhatsApp messaging platform. MTA expects this to prove especially helpful for non-native English speakers, with frontline personnel from the Digital Communications Unit using Google Translate to ...
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Metro Report InternationalEight Covid-19 mitigation technologies to be tested by transport operators
USA: Eight finalists have been selected for the Transit Innovation Partnership Covid-19 Response Challenge, a global competition seeking to evaluate technologies to increase public transport safety and responsiveness during the coronavirus pandemic.
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NewsAmtrak quick to welcome Biden win
USA: National passenger rail corporation Amtrak was one of the first organisations to welcome the news on November 7 that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election.
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NewsBrightline West construction delayed as bond sale fails
USA: Construction of the privately-funded Brightline West passenger line between Southern California and Las Vegas in Nevada has been delayed indefinitely after a $2·4bn bond offering failed to attract buyers. It had been hoped that construction of the electrified line designed for 200 km/h operation could start ...
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NewsPatriot Rail to acquire the Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway
USA: Short line and regional freight railway group Patriot Rail is to acquire the privately-owned Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway in Utah, along with storage and transload service providers Caballero and Caballero 2. The transaction announced on October 28 is subject to customary closing conditions and ...
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NewsSan Diego NCTD orders more Charger locomotives
USA: San Diego’s North County Transit District has ordered a further two Siemens Mobility Charger locomotives, taking its total order to nine. The latest order announced on October 26 will complete NCTD’s project to replace the locomotives currently used on Coaster commuter services with a more ...
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Metro Report InternationalUpdating information for the ‘less-stressed traveller’
USA: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a contract to supply a real-time passenger information system for the Muni light rail and bus network. This will include upgraded software for more accurate prediction of vehicle arrival times, multimedia LCD signs at rail platforms ...
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NewsTelematics joint venture to boost US rail freight
USA: Operators Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming and Watco have joined wagon manufacturer TrinityRail and leasing company GATX Corp in a joint venture intended to accelerate the adoption of GPS location tracking and other telematics across the North American freight wagon fleet.
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Metro Report InternationalBoston commuter operator hit by ransomware attack
USA: Boston commuter rail operator Keolis Commuter Services was subjected to a ransomware attack on its computer systems on the morning of October 10. The company’s threat detection systems alerted the operator, which deactivated its network within a few hours. Employee data may have been stolen, but ...
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Metro Report InternationalLA Regional Connector makes final push
USA: Services on Los Angeles’ Gold light rail line will be split into two sections with effect from October 24, as the city embarks on the final stage of its $1·8bn Regional Connector project.
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NewsFirst wagon produced at Mexican factory as US site closure agreed
NORTH AMERICA: Wagon manufacturer FreightCar America has reached an agreement for the early termination of the lease on its Shoals factory in Cherokee, Alabama, with effect from February 28 2021, and has completed Association of American Railroads certification audits for the plant at Castaños in Mexico to ...
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NewsCP to acquire full ownership of Detroit River rail tunnel
NORTH AMERICA: Canadian Pacific has entered into an agreement to acquire full ownership of the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership, which owns the 2·6 km immersed tube tunnel that has linked Windsor in Canada with Detroit in the USA since 1910. CP currently holds a 16·5% stake the ...
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NewsChicago – Minneapolis enhancements funded
USA: Plans to launch a second daily inter-city service between Chicago and Minneapolis-St Paul are set to move forward following the award of federal funding under the Consolidated Railroad Infrastructure & Safety Improvement grant programme.
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NewsDerailment analysis software launched
USA: PS Technology has released its Precision Train Builder software, which is designed to provide a physically accurate simulation of train and vehicle behaviour, both to assist with analysing derailments and to support forward-looking scenario building to improve the safety of operations. Precision Train Builder can be ...
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NewsRail Runner Express wi-fi upgrade
USA: Wabtec and its networking technology partner Rajant Corp have been awarded a contract to upgrade the wireless networks onboard New Mexico’s Rail Runner Express commuter train fleet. This is the suppliers’ first contract since they formed a partnership to provide wireless technology for the rail sector. ...
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Metro Report InternationalPhoenix Valley Metro orders more LRVs
USA: Phoenix’s Valley Metro has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply a further 14 S700 light rail vehicles, augmenting the 11 ordered in 2017 The feet expansion is intended to support the 9 km South Central Extension/Downtown Hub extension which is scheduled to open in 2024. ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART CBTC contracts awarded
USA: Hitachi Rail STS USA has been formally awarded a $798m contract to design, supply and install lineside and onboard communications-based train control equipment on the San Francisco Bay Area’s 200 km BART network. Replacing the existing fixed-block signalling with CBTC forms a key element of the ...