WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE WEEK ENDING Friday, July 06, 2007
BY: DAVE MEARS
(Posted by permission)
WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, JULY 6, 2007
BY DAVE MEARS
THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT
NEWS (in chronological order):
(SUN) Prolonged
heavy rains and severe flooding hampered rail operations in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas this date and for the next several days. BNSF reported that
it had lost nearly one-quarter mile of track on its Emporia Subdivision, part
of its Transcon Line, near Melvern, KS. BNSF also
experienced flooding and washouts on its Douglass and Fort Scott
Subdivisions. Amtrak temporarily
curtailed operation of its “Heartland Flyer” passenger train between Dallas, TX and Oklahoma City, OK, substituting buses.
Union Pacific reported flooding and washouts on its north-south
main lines connecting Kansas City, KS, Fort Worth, TX and North Little Rock, AR. Kansas City Southern reported its main line between Amsterdam, MO and Hume,
MO under water and inoperable. In Texas, a Fort Worth & Western Railroad freight train
derailed near Commanche, TX after heavy rains washed out about 50 feet of track. In Kansas and Oklahoma, Watco Companies’s South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad reported
fifteen miles of track submerged and two bridges damaged due to flooding. (ffd: Kansas City Star, Progressive Railroading, Railway Age, Trains,
wire services)
(MON) CSX announced that it would
start decentralizing its train dispatching out of its Dufford Control Center in Jacksonville, FL. A CSX spokesman
said that Dufford would be converted into a regional
center with 54 dispatchers, that existing dispatching centers in Chicago, IL,
Albany, NY and Indianapolis, IN and would be upgraded, and that new dispatching
centers would be opened at existing CSX division offices in Baltimore, MD,
Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, Cincinnati, OH, Huntington, WV and Florence,
SC. The regionalized dispatching
concept, utilizing modern technologies, was pioneered in the late 1980s by the
former Conrail and its SVP-Operations, Dick Hasselman.
(ffd: Florida Times-Union, Railway Age)
(MON) As a means of promoting
commuter alternatives, the California Department of Transportation and San
Mateo County Transportation Authority began displaying commuter rail travel
times on information signs along Highway 101 between San Jose, CA and San Francisco, CA. The digital signs,
which currently show the amount of time it will take
commuters to drive between San Francisco and San Jose, now also display Caltrain travel
times and scheduled departure times for trains.
Caltrain operates frequent daily commuter
train service between San Jose and San Francisco. (ffd: Caltrain, Progressive Railroading)
(TUE) Officials announced that new
and expanded plans for converting Manhattan’s Farley Post Office Building to the Moynihan train
station would be offered within the next few weeks. Additional to converting the Farley Building,
the new plans include rebuilding the existing Pennsylvania Station, parts of
which will continue to be used by Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, and
also moving Madison Square Garden, replacing the Hotel Pennsylvania, and
erecting a pair of skyscrapers, one of which would be taller than the Empire
State Building, over the site of the existing station. The project’s new cost is estimated at $14 billion, double that of the original development plan. Included in the plans for the new Moynihan
station is a vast, street-level waiting room under a glass canopy that would
allow sunlight onto the train concourse two levels below. Officials noted that agreements with the many
agencies involved in the project still need to be worked out. (ffd: New York Times)
(TUE) Arizona governor Janet
Napolitano vetoed much-watched state legislation that would have given the
Arizona Corporation Commission the power to review any railroad plans to build
new facilities on property acquired by eminent domain or through state
auction. Officials said they were
uncertain if sufficient votes existing in the legislature to override the
veto. Railway Age reported that the bill
was a response to a Union Pacific proposal to build a yard near Picacho Peak, AZ on land to be purchased from the state. (ffd: Railway Age, wire services)
(TUE) The Federal Transit
Administration signed a full-funding agreement committing federal funds to the
Portland Mall-Interstate 205 light rail project in Portland, OR. The agreement
contributes $345.5 million in federal funding to the project, the total cost of
which is expected to be $575.2 million.
Construction has already started on the 6.5-mile light rail line that
will parallel Interstate 205 between Clackamas Town Center and the Gateway Transit Center, and extend light rail on the downtown Portland transit mall between Portland Union Station and Portland University. (ffd:
RT&S)
(THU) Amtrak announced that it had
invited representatives of station stops along the route of its “California
Zephyr” train to a “civic conversation” in Denver, CO on July 24 as part of its “Great American Stations”
initiative. An Amtrak spokesman said
that the day-long workshop will feature representatives of communities that
have successfully shepherded station redevelopment projects explaining how
those projects were accomplished. The
spokesman added that the workshop will also include information on station
standards and a how-to session on getting started on a station renewal project
and the types of state and federal grants available. (ffd: Amtrak, Trains)
(THU) BNSF announced two new
technological developments. BNSF said
that it was installing four new wide-span cranes at its Seattle, WA intermodal terminal. BNSF said that the new cranes can access four
rows of containers stacked four-high, three truck lanes and three ramp tracks,
compared with current cranes that can only access one track or lane and don’t
feature stacking capabilities. BNSF also
said that it was now using a new in-train wheel-change process for coal trains
at its Alliance, NE yard. The new
process uses a 5,300-pound hydraulic scissor jack and heavy-duty forklift to
replace wheel sets in train. BNSF said
that the new process reduces wheel change-out time to an average of 30 minutes,
compared with an average 4.5 day cycle time when a car has to be cut out of a
train and switched onto a repair track. (ffd:
BNSF Corp.)
(FRI) Pittsburgh, PA transit operator Port Authority Transit announced the extent of cuts it would
have to make effective September 2, should the Pennsylvania state legislature not be forthcoming with additional
transit funding. A PAT spokesman said
that it will have to eliminate 34 bus and light rail routes, eliminate Saturday
and/or Sunday service on 18 others and reduce service on 65 additional routes,
representing an approximately 10 percent service reduction. “We remain hopeful that the transportation
funding crisis in Pennsylvania will be addressed by the legislature, and we continue to
work diligently toward that goal,” said Port Authority Chief Executive Officer
Steve Bland. (ffd: PAT, wire
services)
(FRI) The Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority announced record-breaking ridership
for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2007. A WMATA spokesman said that the authority
carried 207.9 million riders on its Metrorail subway system
during the year, marking the 11th consecutive year ridership has increased and the second time it has
surpassed 200 million riders in a single year.
The spokesman added that average weekday Metrorail
ridership totaled 702,171 riders and that it carried
1.1 percent, or approximately 2 million, more passengers in FY2007 than
FY2006. (ffd: WMATA)
(FRI) The New Hampshire state legislature passed legislation created the New
Hampshire Rail Transit Authority to promote development of passenger rail
initiatives in the state. The new
authority has the power to issue bonds, make contracts, and apply for federal
and state funds, as well as work with state transit authorities, local
governments and railway companies, and also set and collect fares. A state spokesman said that New Hampshire
Governor John Lynch was expected to sign the bill into law. (ffd: wire services)
STATS – TRAFFIC:
(NOTE: Canadian traffic includes
that on U.S. operations of Canadian-headquartered railroads.)
(THU) For the week ending June 30, 2007, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.3 billion ton-miles, down 1.4
percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 2.6 percent, down 3.7
percent in the East and down 1.8 percent in the West. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down
0.6 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 0.3 percent and Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 3.5 percent.
For the month of June, 2007, U.S. carload rail traffic was down 2.7 percent compared with
June, 2006. Also for the month, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down
1.8 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 1.8 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 2.3 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic
was down 4.2 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal
rail traffic was up 7.6 percent.
For the Second Quarter, 2007, U.S. carload rail traffic was down 3.3 percent compared with
the Second Quarter, 2006. Also for the
quarter, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down
2.6 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 1.3 percent, and Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 2.0 percent.
For the First Half, 2007, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 857.9 billion ton-miles, down
2.8 percent from the First Half, 2006. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 4.1 percent. Notable traffic increases included petroleum
products up 5.7 percent and chemicals up 2.2 percent; notable traffic decreases
included crushed stone, sand and gravel down 11.0 percent; motor vehicles and
equipment down 9.6 percent; and coal down 1.7 percent. Also for the half, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down
1.3 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 0.7 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 1.6 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 4.7 percent and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic
was up 10.4 percent. (ffd: AAR)
MORE STATS – OPERATING
PERFORMANCE:
(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnishing operating performance
statistics to the Association of American Railroads began applying a new
standardized definitional framework, aimed at eliminating differences in
calculation methodology. Concurrent with
but unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish
these statistics.)
(WED) For the week ending June 29,
2007 and versus the comparable week last year, average total cars on line was
as follows: BNSF, 230,770 cars versus
223,715 cars; Canadian Pacific, 79,945 cars versus 81,835 cars; CSX, 223,681
cars versus 227,257 cars; Kansas City Southern, 27,824 cars versus 27,265 cars;
Norfolk Southern, 204,909 cars versus 203,491 cars; and Union Pacific, 310,068
cars versus 322,606 cars.
Also for the week ending June 29,
2007 and versus the comparable week last year, average train speed was as
follows: BNSF, 23.1 mph versus 22.9 mph; Canadian Pacific, 22.1 mph versus 25.1
mph; CSX, 20.3 mph versus 18.2 mph; Kansas City Southern, 23.4 mph versus 24.5
mph; Norfolk Southern, 20.9 mph versus 20.6 mph; and Union Pacific, 21.3 mph
versus 21.0 mph.
Finally for the week ending June
29, 2007 and versus the comparable week last year, average terminal dwell time
was as follows: BNSF, 24.1 hrs versus 23.9 hrs; Canadian Pacific, 20.7 hrs
versus 20.3 hrs; CSX, 23.6 hrs versus 26.5 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 22.5 hrs
versus 21.8 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 22.5 hrs versus 23.9 hrs; and Union Pacific,
24.4 hrs versus 27.2 hrs. (ffd:
AAR)
EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND
ALIKE:
(MON) American Railcar Industries
and Amsted Industries jointly announced that they have entered into a joint
venture to manufacture and sell railcar axles.
ARI, a manufacturer of tank cars and covered hoppers, and Amsted, a
freight car component supplier, will each have a 50 percent stake in the joint
venture. This is the second such venture
for ARI and Amsted. In 2003, the two
companies, along with The Greenbrier Companies, joined to form Ohio Castings
Company to manufacture railcar components. (ffd: Railway Age, wire services)
(MON) The Surface Transportation
Board announced release of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a new
43-mile rail line in Sanpete, Sevier, and Juba Counties in Utah. The new line would
serve the Southern Utah Fuel Company coal mine and other customers. Utah’s Six County Association of Governments proposed building
the line from a connection with the Union Pacific near Juba, UT
to just south of Salina, UT. (ffd:
STB)
(MON) Canada’s La Tribune newspaper reported that the government of Quebec had agreed to purchase the 100-mile Vallee
Jct – Sherbrooke portion of Quebec Central Railway’s Vallee
Sub. Purchase terms were not
disclosed. The remaining 30 miles of
QC’s Valley Sub between Canadian National’s Joffre
Yard in Charny and Vallee Jct are not part of the sale and will remain in
operation. Trains Magazine additionally
reported that the 78.5-mile portion of QC’s Chaudiere
Sub between Valley Jct and Lac Frontiere
remains a candidate for abandonment, as does the 16.1-mile portion of QC’s
Levis Sub north of Scott Jct. Later in
the week, the governments of Canada and Quebec announced that they would invest more than $65 million
during the next five years to upgrade shortline
railroad infrastructure in the province. (ffd:
La Tribune, Progressive Railroading, Trains)
(TUE) Coffey International
announced that it had acquired the Australian railway engineering firm Asia
Pacific Rail and the project and contract management firm John Wertheimer
Consultants. The purchase price was $6.4
million in cash and $500,000 in shares.
As part of the deal, more than 50 track, signaling, rail infrastructure
and project management specialists from the two companies will join Coffey’s
staff. (ffd: Progressive
Railroading)
(TUE) Columbus & Greenville
Railway filed to permanently discontinue service over a currently
out-of-service line between West Point, MS and Greenwood, MS, totaling approximately 90 miles. (ffd: STB)
(TUE) Genesee & Wyoming’s
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad announced the signing of a 20-year agreement
with Norfolk Southern Railway to lease the 36-mile line between Buffalo, NY and Machias, NY. The B&P
currently uses the route south from Buffalo for overhead traffic under a trackage
rights agreement with NS. (ffd:
Trains)
(THU) Progressive Rail filed to
acquire control of Central Midland Railway.
CMR currently leases and operates a line of Missouri Central Railway and
a line of Union Pacific. (ffd:
STB)
(FRI) BNSF filed to grant Union
Pacific temporary overhead trackage rights over UP’s
lines between St. Louis, MO and Pacific, MO, totaling approximately 32 miles. The purpose of the temporary overhead trackage rights is to allow UP to perform
scheduled maintenance work on its nearby lines. (ffd: STB)
(FRI) Union Pacific filed to
abandon approximately two miles of its Weeping Water Industrial Lead in Weeping
Water, NE. (ffd: STB)
APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND
MILESTONES:
(MON) Norfolk Southern announced the retirement of Henry Wolf as its
Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, effective this date. Mr. Wolf will be succeeded by James Squires, NS’s current EVP-Finance.
Mr. Squires joined NS in 1992 as a tax attorney. (ffd: NS Corp.)
(MON) Union Pacific appointed Rich
Castagna its General Superintendent-Transportation
Services of its Los Angeles Service Unit and Tom Lischer
Superintendent-Transportation Services of its Salt Lake City Service Unit. A UP spokesman said that these service units
will continue to report to the VP-Western Region. (ffd: UP Corp.)
(TUE) New York State’s
Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the following appointments:
Barbara Spencer as MTA’s Deputy Director for
Strategic Planning-Office of Security; Michael Chubak
as New York City Transit Authority Acting EVP, succeeding Ms. Spencer; Ralph Agritelly as Long Island Rail Road Director-Labor
Relations; Judith Pierce as NYCTA VP-Labor Relations, succeeding Mr. Agritelly; Millard “Butch” Seay
as MTA SVP-Regionalization, with responsibility for merging MTA’s
three bus companies; and Joseph Smith as NYCTA SVP-Buses, succeeding Mr. Seay. (ffd:
MTA, Progressive Railroading)
(THU) The U.S. National Mediation
Board announced the appointment of Harry Hogland as
its chairman, succeeding Edward Fitzmaurice, whose term has expired. Elizabeth Dougherty and Read Van de Water
will continue to fill the other two seats of the NMB’s
three-member board. An independent
federal agency established by the Railway Labor Act, the NMB governs
labor-management relations for U.S. railroads and airlines. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)
*
* *
Weekly Rail Review (WRR) is edited
from public news sources and published weekly to those working in, or
interested in, rail and transit. Send an
e-mail to weeklyrailreview@aol.com to receive it, with my compliments.
BE SAFE AND PROSPER,
Dave Mears
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
Posted: 07/09/07