Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
May 18, 2020
MTA Launches New ‘Essential Connector’ App to Move Essential Workers During Overnight Subway Closure
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today launched the ‘Essential Connector’ app to help essential workers plan their alternative travel to or from work during the overnight subway closure from 1 to 5 a.m. Essential workers can use the new app to navigate and take advantage of the MTA’s dramatically enhanced bus service schedule.
May 15, 2020
Norfolk Southern adapts to COVID-19 challenges, forges ahead with strategic plan to ‘Reimagine Possible’
Despite economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Norfolk Southern is well-positioned to safely and successfully weather the unprecedented situation, CEO James A. Squires said Thursday at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders. “We will get through the challenges ahead and emerge as an even stronger company,” Squires said.
May 15, 2020
Federal Railroad Administration Publishes Railroads’ First Quarter 2020 Positive Train Control Implementation Status Updates
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released a quarterly status update on railroads’ self-reported progress, as of March 31, 2020, toward fully implementing positive train control (PTC) systems by December 31, 2020, as required by Congress. Based on railroads’ First Quarter 2020 PTC Progress Reports and current PTC Implementation Plans, nearly all railroads subject to the statutory mandate are operating their systems in revenue service or in advanced field testing, known as revenue service demonstration (RSD), with PTC technology remaining to be activated on only approximately 1,100 required route miles.
May 15, 2020
MTA to Begin Major Construction in Westbury and New Cassel to Eliminate Street-Level Railroad Crossing
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that School Street in the Village of Westbury and Hamlet of New Cassel will temporarily close beginning Monday, May 18, between Railroad Avenue and Union Avenue, as part of MTA Construction & Development’s Long Island Rail Road Expansion Project. A new bridge to span this crossing is scheduled to be moved into place on Sept. 12-13, and the newly built roadway below the bridge is expected to reopen in November.
May 14, 2020
American Shortline & Regional Railroad Association awards 2020 Shortline Marketing Award to Reading & Northern Railroad
The American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association has named the Reading & Northern Railroad as the winner of its 2020 Shortline Marketing Award. This is the fifth time that Reading & Northern has been honored with this award, winning previously in 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018.
May 14, 2020
Amtrak’s Passenger Commitment During COVID-19 Outbreak
In an effort to simplify and safeguard the travel experience as America gradually reopens, Amtrak wants to reassure passengers that several added cleanliness and convenience measures have been implemented.
May 13, 2020
Weekly Rail Traffic for the Week Ending May 9, 2020
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 9, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 412,549 carloads and intermodal units, down 22.1 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 9 were 185,144 carloads, down 28.4 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 227,405 containers and trailers, down 16 percent compared to 2019.
May 13, 2020
Metro balances budget with federal CARES funding
Federal relief funding of more than $767 million is helping Metro close out the current fiscal year with a balanced budget, following an unprecedented drop in fare revenue due to the pandemic crisis response
May 13, 2020
NJ Transit Awards Initial Construction Contract for Raritan River Bridge Replacement:
The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today approved a contract with George Harms Construction of Farmingdale, NJ for the initial construction phase of the Raritan River Bridge replacement project. The approximately $250 million contract is part of NJ TRANSIT’s Resilience Program initiated following Hurricane Sandy to make its transit systems and infrastructure stronger and more reliable for its customers.
May 12, 2020
SEPTA Fare Restructuring to Focus on Free Transfer & Discounted Child Fares
In an effort to help customers during this challenging time and aid in the region’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, SEPTA plans to implement free transfers and discounted $1 child fares on July 1. In addition, all proposed fare increases would be deferred until at least January 2021. If approved by the SEPTA Board in June, these elements of the overall Fare Restructuring Plan would go into effect on July 1.
