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Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Names Wheeler Vice President Transportation

NORFOLK, Va. — Michael J. Wheeler has been named vice president transportation for Norfolk Southern Corporation, effective Feb. 1, with headquarters in Norfolk. He will report to Mark D. Manion, executive vice president operations. Wheeler joined Norfolk Southern in 1985 as a research engineer. He served in positions of increasing responsibility in operations before being named general manager mechanical field operations in 2006 and general manager transportation in 2007. Wheeler holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from Virginia Tech. — PRNewswire-FirstCall

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STB

STB: New Method for Calculating Railroad Industry Cost of Capital

WASHINGTON — the Surface Transportation Board issued its final decision revising its method for calculating the railroad industry’s cost of capital. The Board adopts a simple average of a Capital Asset Pricing model (CAPM) and a multi-stage Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model to calculate the cost of equity—one component of the cost of capital. The Board concludes that this methodology will yield a more precise determination than relying on CAPM alone. In January 2008, the Board replaced its single-stage DCF model with a CAPM model. During the CAPM rulemaking process, several parties urged the Board to use a multi-stage DCF

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Amtrak

Amtrak to Host ‘Civic Conversation’ in Savannah on Rail Depot Redevelopment & Restoration

WASHINGTON — As a part of its Great American Stations Project, Amtrak is hosting its fourth Civic Conversation in Savannah, Ga., Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, to discuss the redevelopment and restoration of passenger rail stations along the routes of the Carolinian, Crescent, Palmetto, Piedmont, Silver Meteor and Silver Star. The Atlantic Coast trains serve passengers between New York and Florida and New Orleans. During the meeting on Feb. 4, case studies from both large and small communities will be highlighted. Representatives of those communities will explain how they shepherded their projects to successes that sparked additional redevelopment in their

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CSX

Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility Opens at Savannah Port

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) officially opened at the Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City (Ga.) Terminal. The new facility features three working tracks at 2,145 feet each and a total of 12,406 feet of storage tracks. The Port of Savannah is the only single facility on the U.S. East Coast with two on-terminal ICTFs. “A thriving business climate requires a transportation network that can support commerce and act as a catalyst to propel our economy forward,” Gov. Sonny Perdue said. “The completion of the Chatham ICTF will help achieve this goal.” The Port of Savannah’s

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Amtrak

Amtrak Handles Crowds for Presidential Inauguration

WASHINGTON — Amtrak trains have been carrying large crowds to and from Washington since Jan. 17, many of the passengers traveling for events associated with the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The railroad estimated that more than 78,000 passengers will have used Amtrak for travel to and from the nation’s capital through Jan. 21, surpassing the same Martin Luther King holiday weekend last year by 63 percent. “This has been a great opportunity for Amtrak to demonstrate its capabilities during a very historic and high-profile time,” Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said. “The choice of an Amtrak train for

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CSX

CSX Announces Fourth Quarter Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. announced fourth quarter earnings per share of 63 cents. These results include a noncash impairment charge of 27 cents per share related to the write-down of its investment in The Greenbrier resort. Excluding this charge and gains from insurance recoveries in the prior year quarter, comparable earnings per share increased to 90 cents, a 6 percent increase on a year-over-year basis. “CSX achieved solid financial results in the fourth quarter,” said Michael J. Ward, chairman, president and CEO. “The company finished 2008 in a strong financial position and began taking aggressive actions in the quarter

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Amtrak

Crescent Trains Temporarily Canceled Between Atlanta and New Orleans

ATLANTA — Due to track work by Norfolk Southern Railway, Amtrak’s Crescent Trains (Nos. 19 and 20) will not operate between Atlanta and New Orleans, La., on a number of dates. Alternate transportation will not be provided. The service will be affected Jan. 26-29, Feb. 2-5, Feb. 9-12 and Feb. 19. Southbound Train 19, which normally operates between New York and New Orleans, will originate in New York and will terminate in Atlanta on the dates shown above. This change affects Train 19 that originates in New York Sunday through Wednesday (Jan. 25-Feb. 18) and arrives in Atlanta the following

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Commuter Rail

Woman Falls on Metro Tracks

WASHINGTON — A 68-year-old woman fell on the tracks at Washington Metro’s Gallery Place station on the red line on Jan. 20. Authorities initially said the woman was hit by a train, but later revised their account. After falling, the woman was taken to a hotpital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The woman’s fall comes during an extremely busy travel period on the Metro and more passengers than normal are using the subway system to attend the presidential inauguration. Hundreds of thousands of people attending the Inaugural Opening Ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial helped Metro set a new Sunday ridership

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Commuter Rail

Metrorail Sets new Sunday Record for Ridership

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of people attending the Inaugural Opening Ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial helped Metro set a new Sunday ridership in the transit agency’s 32-year history on Sunday, Jan. 18. Riders took 616,324 trips, smashing the previous all-time high ridership day for a Sunday by 75,000 trips. Combined with 86,836 Metrobus trips, the Metro system carried about 703,000 trips. Yesterday’s high rail ridership also makes it the third highest overall weekend ridership day in Metro’s history. The highest weekend ridership day occurred on June 8, 1991, when 786,358 trips were recorded for a Desert Storm rally. The