Amtrak
Month: April 2009
Commuter Rail
MTA Budget Deficit Grows by $621 Million
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) re-forecast its annual revenues, projecting a $621 million deficit for 2009 even after approved fare/toll increases and service cuts are implemented. The growing deficit is due to the continuing decline in the real estate and dedicated taxes that support the MTA, all of which are economically sensitive. In addition, increasing unemployment and higher fares led the MTA to predict a 7.2 percent drop in usage of its facilities in 2009. The re-forecast identified the following specific changes from the revenues assumed in the budget passed by the MTA Board in December 2008:
Miscellaneous
Rail Freight Traffic Remains Down from Year Ago
WASHINGTON — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads remained sharply down from a year ago during the week ended April 25, the Association of American Railroads reported. U.S. railroads originated 260,652 cars during the week, down 22.4 percent from the comparison week in 2008, although up 2.1 percent from the previous week this year. In comparison with last year, loadings were down 20.7 percent in the West and 24.7 percent in the East. Eighteen of 19 carload commodity groups were down from last year, with only the catch-all category of all other carloads defying the trend and showing a 12.8 percent
Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific and IBM Sign a Five-Year Services Agreement
TORONTO — IBM has signed a five-year renewal with Canadian Pacific to provide strategic outsourcing services. This current infrastructure agreement includes mainframe, database, architecture and project management services. IBM will continue to operate the information technology infrastructure for the Calgary, Alberta-based railway. This renewal provides CP with effective cost management while improving services to customers. “With the current economic situation, there is a growing need to build smarter transportation systems around the world,” said Saad Toma, general manager, Global Technology Services, IBM Canada. “IBM will continue helping Canadian Pacific optimize technology to reduce operational costs and to improve fluidity of
History
Miscellaneous
AAR: Sharp Decline Reported in Rail Freight Traffic
WASHINGTON — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off sharply during the week ended April 18 in comparison with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads reported April 23. U.S. railroads originated 255,269 cars during the week, down 24.3 percent from the comparison week in 2008, although up 2.8 percent from the previous week this year. In comparison with last year, loadings were down 20.6 percent in the West and 28.6 percent in the East. All 19 carload commodity groups were down from last year, with declines ranging from 9.3 percent for grain mill products to 63.6 percent for
Amtrak
CSXT Employee Named Rail Industry’s Top Environmentalist
WASHINGTON — A CSX Transportation employee from Jacksonville, Fla., was recently named the railroad industry’s top environmentalist. Michael E. O’Malley, who is assistant chief engineer, facilities, for CSX Transportation in Jacksonville, was one of five railroaders who were nominated to receive the John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award, named after the late Senator from Rhode Island, a strong environmentalist who understood and promoted the environmental advantages of rail transportation. Also honored at the reception was Delaware Senator Thomas Carper, who received the Congressional Chafee Award which annually goes to a member of Congress who, like Senator Chafee, is dedicated to
Miscellaneous
Freight Rail’s New Carbon Calculator Touts ‘Green’ Advantage
WASHINGTON — Shipping freight by rail instead over road not only eases traffic congestion, but drastically reduces CO2 emissions, as evidenced by the Association of American Railroads’ new interactive carbon calculator. For all shipments measured, the CO2 footprint was significantly smaller when moved by rail rather than by truck. One calculation reports that 1,088 tons of CO2 would be eliminated by moving 100 cars of fresh and frozen food from Washington, DC to Portland, OR by train instead of by truck. The calculator estimates that it would take 25,323 tree seedlings 10 years to remove the same amount of carbon
Canadian National
CN Appoints Luc Jobin Executive VP, CFO Effective June 1
MONTREAL — E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, announced the appointment of Luc Jobin, C.A., as the executive vice-president and chief financial officer of the company effective June 1. Jobin, 50, will be responsible for financial management and strategic planning at CN. Jobin will succeed Claude Mongeau, whom the CN board of directors recently selected to become CN president and chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, 2010. Between June 1 and yearend, Mongeau will act as executive vice-president, spending most of his time in the field broadening his knowledge of CN’s network and operations before assuming
Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific Trains Pause for Day of Mourning
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific employees will pause to honor workers who have perished or have been injured in the workplace at 11 a.m. local time on April 28, the designated International Day of Mourning. “Each year we remember those employees who have lost their lives or suffered injury in occupational incidents in an effort to continuously strengthen our focus on workplace safety,” said Brock Winter, Senior Vice-President Operations. “Safety is our number one priority.” Trains across Canadian Pacific’s 14,000-mile North American rail network, locomotives in CP yards and terminals, and crane operators in intermodal terminals will stop at safe locations